I was awake before my alarm at 0545, got ready and said goodbye to Erin (who'd woken up to be my backup transportation). I then walked to the Vienna/Fairfax Metro Station (still early) because the trains were on a completely different cycle and I was worried there might be delays. In fact, a disabled train on the east side of the city was threatening to cause major problems for me but I was able to board an Orange line train at 0620. Made my way into DC without much incident and I breathed a sigh of relief when the train reached Metro Center - the delays got worse for O/S/B after this... I quickly changed to the Red line and got off at Union Station before 0710. After figuring out how the Amtrak boarding process worked, I walked around in Union Station, getting food (Starbucks at 0715) and taking photos of familiar sights, before the departure time of "The Vermonter". I was on the train by 0800 and we left the station almost exactly on time. I was settled down in the "quiet car" and started to telework but then noticed that the train had stopped just as we left the station. The delay was about 10 minutes (switch problem) but then we got on our way again. Relieved, I was then able to do about six hours of work (lots of meetings) - the internet was very reliable and I had plenty of room/privacy in the quiet car. Meanwhile, I was treated to lots of pretty scenery - we had beautiful weather! I also snacked on food I'd gotten at Union Station and some delicious cookies that Erin had made. The train started to empty out a lot as we proceeded north - by the time we stopped for our engine change in New Haven (CT), there couldn't have been many people on board. I got off the train there and got some exercise on the platform. Bonus: was able to watch the electric engine & diesel engine swap procedure at New Haven. After that, we headed north and made a long stop at Springfield (MA). While there, I got some more exercise (roughly 20 minutes). After the train started moving again, I perused some more of the reading material (from my big stack at home) I'd brought - really enjoyed my new "Appalachia" magazine subscription. It eventually got dark and we skipped some stations as we proceeded north (no people were scheduled to get off). We arrived at White River Junction at around 1825 (roughly 10 minutes late) and I quickly got my stuff into my car. Headed home and arrived at around 1845. Overall, this was a tiring three day adventure! The itinerary I selected was aggressive, mostly because I wanted to see if I could travel to DC and back on short notice. Takeaways: I was able to attend my planned meeting and spend time with my daughter at her new place - I feel much better equipped to use the train for quick trips to DC. Based on this experience (and the encouragement / proselytizing of many of my friends), I think I can confidently say that this mode of travel works well for me to stay connected with my family and friends. Hope they all know that it works both ways (hint, hint)...
