Pat Harper
Lead Service Attendant
Hubby and I had gone to the WBG station the day before to print out the tickets. It was nice not having to worry about getting them when we got to RVR, however there wouldn't have been a problem as the station wasn't all that busy. Our train was on time, and we were able to find our coach car without problems. The car was empty because the trip started in RVR and we were able to quickly find a seat.
The coach attendant was pleasant enough, but he was an older chap and from what I saw didn't interact with the passengers all that much.
I went to the cafe car and bought breakfast fare for my hubby and me. They were out of bagels although they were on the menu.
We got to WAS without a hitch and then we were amazed at all the activity at the station! There was a private dinner that was going to be held in the main hall. It looked to me like the plates were golden, and there were a LOT of tables set up. I'm not sure when they had the dinner. Could have been the next day. The sign near the area just said "Genie", so maybe it was a business who was sponsoring the dinner.
We made our way to the exit where the tours were being booked and got two tickets for the duck tours. We'd thought about the Old Town Trolley, but it was land only. The ducks go on the Potomac River and I thought it would be more fun, which is was. He took us past most of the popular tourist spots. My only regret was that he was not able to drive around the Lincoln Memorial, since they had closed off part of the circle to vehicular traffic.
We made it back to Union Station, was still amazed at the amount of people milling around there. I did remark to hubby that it was not only Amtrak, but the Metro stopped there, as well as buses.
We had no problem finding a place to eat. We ended up at the America Restaurant. I had the pork loin with mashed potatoes and greens. Hubby had the crab cake sliders.
We had to wait a bit before catching our train back to RVR (#125), and they wouldn't update the marquis with our track no. until not long before boarding, We had a pleasant time sitting and doing a bit of people watching before boarding. We also got to see a few of the shops there in the station.
The attendant for our return trip was a nice young man who went out of his way to help PAX. One lady had a newborn baby and was struggling with the stroller. The attendant picked up the stroller and promptly took it to the front of the car and told her he would get it for her when she got to her destination. Once again, we had boarded an empty car, although the train did originate in NY. Evidently, everyone had gotten off in WAS.
The trip back to RVR was relaxing and I didn't visit the cafe car on that trip.
BTW, while at the station in WAS, we sat close to the entrance to the Acela lounge.
The coach attendant was pleasant enough, but he was an older chap and from what I saw didn't interact with the passengers all that much.
I went to the cafe car and bought breakfast fare for my hubby and me. They were out of bagels although they were on the menu.
We got to WAS without a hitch and then we were amazed at all the activity at the station! There was a private dinner that was going to be held in the main hall. It looked to me like the plates were golden, and there were a LOT of tables set up. I'm not sure when they had the dinner. Could have been the next day. The sign near the area just said "Genie", so maybe it was a business who was sponsoring the dinner.
We made our way to the exit where the tours were being booked and got two tickets for the duck tours. We'd thought about the Old Town Trolley, but it was land only. The ducks go on the Potomac River and I thought it would be more fun, which is was. He took us past most of the popular tourist spots. My only regret was that he was not able to drive around the Lincoln Memorial, since they had closed off part of the circle to vehicular traffic.
We made it back to Union Station, was still amazed at the amount of people milling around there. I did remark to hubby that it was not only Amtrak, but the Metro stopped there, as well as buses.
We had no problem finding a place to eat. We ended up at the America Restaurant. I had the pork loin with mashed potatoes and greens. Hubby had the crab cake sliders.
We had to wait a bit before catching our train back to RVR (#125), and they wouldn't update the marquis with our track no. until not long before boarding, We had a pleasant time sitting and doing a bit of people watching before boarding. We also got to see a few of the shops there in the station.
The attendant for our return trip was a nice young man who went out of his way to help PAX. One lady had a newborn baby and was struggling with the stroller. The attendant picked up the stroller and promptly took it to the front of the car and told her he would get it for her when she got to her destination. Once again, we had boarded an empty car, although the train did originate in NY. Evidently, everyone had gotten off in WAS.
The trip back to RVR was relaxing and I didn't visit the cafe car on that trip.
BTW, while at the station in WAS, we sat close to the entrance to the Acela lounge.
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Thanks for the trip report and pic!Living proff that min-vacations can be a blast when done on a Train! 
