"Leon Bracey, Jr." wrote:
Here is the next part of my trip:
I toured Hampton University the next day, where my Uncle happens to work. It is an absolutely beautiful campus, but at $15,000 a year, just 6,000 students attend it. I won't be one of them!!! I went to go see "Shakespeare in Love" later that night, and woke up to catch the train. Train #194 left at about 8:30. We raced through the Peninsula and I fell asleep somewhere between Williamsburg and Richmond, and woke up near Ashland. Since the only thing I had to eat that morning was a doughnut, I was starving. The Cafe Attendant was extremely rude to the customers, like he was in a bad mood. I couldn't decide what I wanted, and he didn't seem to be too happy about that. I then messed around on purpose just to make him even angrier. That'll show him to treat me like that. I finally got some pizza and a soda, and got the heck away from him. This time, I had a seat on the middle of the car, and I had a much smoother and more comfortable ride. The scenery was pretty much the same, so I tried to read "A River Runs Through It" for english class. I could barely even read it, because it was the most boring book I had ever attempted to read in my seventeen years. Oh well, I'll try later.
I've been to several parts of the country, and I have to say that the Virginia/Maryland/Carolinas/Georgia side is my favorite part of the country. The vibe here is totally different from any other part of the country. Although Maryland isn't as Aesthetically pleasing as the other states.
We arrived in Washington at about 12:30, on time. I ran up the gate, found a Smart Cart and hauled my mess toward the boarding area, where my aunt was. We went back to her house, and I breathed a little before it was time to go to BWI. My aunt and I raced along the beltway, and then on the Baltimore/Washington Parkway. The B/W Parkway is one of the Oldest freeways in the country. It is maintained by the National Park Service, and looks even more ruraler than the busier I-95 just miles to the west. It has these brown signs just like in the Nat'l parks, and the median is raised on a curb. The bridges are old, and the off/onramps are basically small driveways. The freeway is charming, but it doesn't have the dramtic tunnels and high hills like the Pasadena freeway (CA 110) in LA. Then, the freeway drastically changes as it approaches BWI. We listened to a very engrossing audio tape story. I forgot the name of it, but I remember it was narrarted by Angela Bassett, and it was a mystery story. Too bad I dodn't find out the end. We got to the Airport finally, and after confusing the Skycap, I ran to my gate. I was #74. I wasn't going to be on standby this time! I bought an "Entertainment Weekly" and sat down. The plane was late (this is getting kind of redundant!!), but we boarded the plane. The flight began peacefully, but there were all these obnoxious kids from Rhode Island behind my seat on their way somewhere for Spring Break. For some people from the smallest state, they had some big mouths, and they were very annoying. They swore and cursed, and pretty much made it miserable for the other passengers. When the plane shook from turbulence, they screamed "Ahh!! We're goin down!!", absolutely scaring the crap out of this small child sitting next to me. Amtrak may not be fast, but it sure beats the plane for comfort. Even the bathrooms were bigger. I also noticed that the Amfleet cars were designed to resemble a plane with its round shape and small windows. At least it was more spacious.
The plane served raisins and this trail mix, because this girl was allergic to peanuts. With Peanut allergies getting such bad press, I guess Southwest doesn't want any litagation. The pilot announced we would be arriving in 20 minute. 40 minutes later, we finally landed in Jackson-Home Sweet home!! The RI kids made fun of our town and airport, and this older man shouted from his seat a few rows from mine told them to shut up much to the applause of the passengers. We arrived to the gate, hugged my brother, mother, and cousin. I went to the HS state championship game (Lanier won), saw the Holyfield fight, and went home, went to sleep after this long and exhausting day.
