Washington D.C or Bust!
After a fun day in Grand Rapids it was time to head back into Chicago to catch my train to Washington D.C. I learned a very important lesson that Greyhound will not let you board the bus if you don’t have a printed copy of your ticket. I had purchased a ticket weeks ago, but because I only had an e-ticket they would not let me board, and they were not kind enough to print the ticket for me at the station. Lesson learned — try not to ride Greyhound ever again. After a long Uber ride to Michigan City, Indiana I was able to catch a commuter train into Chicago and just make my 6:40pm Amtrak to D.C.

I decided to treat myself and upgraded to a sleeper for this last long leg of the journey and it was totally worth it. A sleeper car has two comfy seats during the day that folds down into a bed at night. There is a porter who makes your bed for you and will even deliver you meals (Which are included) to your room. A sleeper is expensive, and it’s far from a luxury experience, but the money was worth it for a decent night sleep.



After another 19 pleasant hours on Amtrak we arrived in Washington D.C. and I had successfully traveled cross country on Amtrak. Overall, I would highly recommend the experience — especially the San Francisco to Denver leg. None of my trains were canceled, and we were only an hour late, once, when arriving into Chicago. The sights you see from the train are unbelievable, and I think that traveling by train would even be great for families. I would recommend not trying to do it all in one straight shot, which would take about four days and by the end I think you would be dying to get off the train. Pick a couple of cities along the route and jump off for a night or two, you’ll see more of the country this way and definitely enjoy the journey.

Amtrak arrives into Union Station in Washington D.C., which is really close to the Capitol building as well as the Supreme Court. I jumped off the train and explored the area for a while, even catching a partial view of the eclipse while standing in front of the Supreme Court. I then headed to the airport and treated myself to a DC Brau for surviving an hour in the 90 degree, 90% humidity D.C. day.
Next stop: Asheville, North Carolina!
