Travelling (Sat Nov, 19)
Well I'm not so sure that travelling around the U.S. has been such a good idea. I have had tons of time to think, feel, observe and conclude. I have been left feeling depressed and hopeless. There is no better place that reminds you that people are morons than on a train.
Wednesday November 16, 2005 0945 - Thursday November 17, 2005 1416
I was on the train to DC for over 24 hours (28.5 hours) which gave me plenty of time to read, think and enjoy scenery. I read a lot at first, then I went to lunch at the dining car where I ate lunch with "Bob" from South Jersey. I was forced to sit at his table, and it was apparent we didn't really feel like talking. We made the typical small talk. He was headed to Orlando and he had a problem with the idea that I was taking a train to Greenville. He said someone would need all the time in the world to have to do that and I affirmed that my situation was something like that.
I ate a really horrible dinner at my seat that consisted of a hotdog 7-11 wouldn't sell chips and an OJ. I read as I ate and it was much better company than I had for lunch. I slept pretty good considering the double seats I was in was taken up by just me so I could spread out. I arrived in DC the following day which just consisted of me reading more and admiring the view of North Carolina and then Virginia.
Thursday November 17, 2005 1417 - 1830
When I got to DC I tried to get some info, but the info desks were teaming with people and I figured I'd just go to "the mall" and walk around from there.
The cabby had no idea where stuff was, but he knew enough to take me to the Lincoln memorial. When I got out of the car it was pretty cold. Even the temperature without the wind was pretty intimidating to me.
The Lincoln memorial is much much bigger than one initially thinks from movies or pictures. The building is huge and Abe himself is at least three stories tall. OF COURSE everything was undergoing some kind of restoration so my pictures have these lovely scaffoldings in them in front of Abe. I visited the Vietnam memorial. There's not much to say about that other than I left with much hate for disrespectful people. Then I walked to the WW2 memorial at the end of the reflecting pool then on to the Washington memorial. On the way I spotted the White House, which is where I walked to after. After the White House (I went to the back because it was impractical for me to go to the front) I went to the Smithsonian Museums. I didn't have much time left so I walked straight to the museum of natural history. When I got in I made a beeline to the Dinosaur exhibit and just started going picture crazy. I saw the skeletons of T-Rex, Bontosaurus, Stegasaurus, Triceratops, and a bunch of other not immediately recognizable ones. Oh! Em I saw the giant land sloth. Ummm yeah, it looked like a giant land sloth. Nasty looking mother fucker!
I hailed a cab (prolly the first time I've ever done that) in front of the museum (don't worry it took a while and I got to freeze my ass a little) then got back to Union Station. I had about 45 minutes and I hadn't eaten anything all day 'cept the Nutrigrain bar I stored from the previous day so I ate at a nice restaurant in US. I was not going to eat more CRAP so I picked a decent restaurant and ordered a buffalo steak with green beans and mashed. One of those memoriable meals you never forget about... Mmmmmmm!
Thursday November 17, 2005 1831 - Friday November 18, 2005 0550
I was on my way back south to Greenville and after a few hours of sitting next to a rather large old lady that did not respect the space bubble I found a set of seats no one was sitting in and attempted to sleep. I really didn't get any sleep at all. The train was an hour late so we got to Greenville at around 6am.
Friday November 17, 2005 0551 - Present
Timm was waiting for me at the station and we crashed the second we got to his house. So we've been hanging out and doing all of the stuff that he's said "man we gotta... when you get here". Most of it has been eating at the restaurant he works at, seeing the local sites like the windy road and "Saluda Damn" which is the crazy ass train bridge that looks like the one in "Stand by Me". We ate at a Hardee's (OMG! I soooo need these in south Florida) and I got ripped off thinking the six dollar burger actually costs $6 and we saw "SAW 2" like I said we would when I got up here (second time for me was just as good!).
So I'm leeching his internet now and we're prolly gonna go to the WaHo (Waffle House) and then the pool hall (billiards). Raym is supposed to hook up with us tomorrow.
Oh and my sinuses have been congested since I've been in Greenville. I don't know if it's a cold or allergies, but I just have a runny nose and nothing else. Weird?
Wednesday November 16, 2005 0945 - Thursday November 17, 2005 1416
I was on the train to DC for over 24 hours (28.5 hours) which gave me plenty of time to read, think and enjoy scenery. I read a lot at first, then I went to lunch at the dining car where I ate lunch with "Bob" from South Jersey. I was forced to sit at his table, and it was apparent we didn't really feel like talking. We made the typical small talk. He was headed to Orlando and he had a problem with the idea that I was taking a train to Greenville. He said someone would need all the time in the world to have to do that and I affirmed that my situation was something like that.
I ate a really horrible dinner at my seat that consisted of a hotdog 7-11 wouldn't sell chips and an OJ. I read as I ate and it was much better company than I had for lunch. I slept pretty good considering the double seats I was in was taken up by just me so I could spread out. I arrived in DC the following day which just consisted of me reading more and admiring the view of North Carolina and then Virginia.
Thursday November 17, 2005 1417 - 1830
When I got to DC I tried to get some info, but the info desks were teaming with people and I figured I'd just go to "the mall" and walk around from there.
The cabby had no idea where stuff was, but he knew enough to take me to the Lincoln memorial. When I got out of the car it was pretty cold. Even the temperature without the wind was pretty intimidating to me.
The Lincoln memorial is much much bigger than one initially thinks from movies or pictures. The building is huge and Abe himself is at least three stories tall. OF COURSE everything was undergoing some kind of restoration so my pictures have these lovely scaffoldings in them in front of Abe. I visited the Vietnam memorial. There's not much to say about that other than I left with much hate for disrespectful people. Then I walked to the WW2 memorial at the end of the reflecting pool then on to the Washington memorial. On the way I spotted the White House, which is where I walked to after. After the White House (I went to the back because it was impractical for me to go to the front) I went to the Smithsonian Museums. I didn't have much time left so I walked straight to the museum of natural history. When I got in I made a beeline to the Dinosaur exhibit and just started going picture crazy. I saw the skeletons of T-Rex, Bontosaurus, Stegasaurus, Triceratops, and a bunch of other not immediately recognizable ones. Oh! Em I saw the giant land sloth. Ummm yeah, it looked like a giant land sloth. Nasty looking mother fucker!
I hailed a cab (prolly the first time I've ever done that) in front of the museum (don't worry it took a while and I got to freeze my ass a little) then got back to Union Station. I had about 45 minutes and I hadn't eaten anything all day 'cept the Nutrigrain bar I stored from the previous day so I ate at a nice restaurant in US. I was not going to eat more CRAP so I picked a decent restaurant and ordered a buffalo steak with green beans and mashed. One of those memoriable meals you never forget about... Mmmmmmm!
Thursday November 17, 2005 1831 - Friday November 18, 2005 0550
I was on my way back south to Greenville and after a few hours of sitting next to a rather large old lady that did not respect the space bubble I found a set of seats no one was sitting in and attempted to sleep. I really didn't get any sleep at all. The train was an hour late so we got to Greenville at around 6am.
Friday November 17, 2005 0551 - Present
Timm was waiting for me at the station and we crashed the second we got to his house. So we've been hanging out and doing all of the stuff that he's said "man we gotta... when you get here". Most of it has been eating at the restaurant he works at, seeing the local sites like the windy road and "Saluda Damn" which is the crazy ass train bridge that looks like the one in "Stand by Me". We ate at a Hardee's (OMG! I soooo need these in south Florida) and I got ripped off thinking the six dollar burger actually costs $6 and we saw "SAW 2" like I said we would when I got up here (second time for me was just as good!).
So I'm leeching his internet now and we're prolly gonna go to the WaHo (Waffle House) and then the pool hall (billiards). Raym is supposed to hook up with us tomorrow.
Oh and my sinuses have been congested since I've been in Greenville. I don't know if it's a cold or allergies, but I just have a runny nose and nothing else. Weird?