Train Crashes in DC

We were IN Union Station when this occured… both trains were heading TO Union Station at the time… we weren’t effected, but makes you stop and think…

NYC, Amish country, and DC again!

Sorry for the delay… been having long days with this group and been just too tired to blog…

We’re now on day 4 of this trip… the Bath YMCA “Freedom Tour”… we started in NYC for two days… that was actually tolerable this time around… I went in with an attitude that the bus was a tank and frig them if they got in my way!  Only had one a$$hole cabbie get aggressive with me and that was it!

Next we spent last night in Lancaster, PA… heart of the Amish community there… wasn’t THAT a blast!  Had some awesome food last night at a Amish restauraunt which was nice… the hotel, however, was a nightmare…

Today rocked though!  Took a driving / guided tour of Gettysburg… absolutely awesome in the literal sense of the word… one thing I remember the tour guide (who came on the buses and told us each where to go while he “narrated” sts…) was that during the first four days, over 1 MILLION (yes with an M) rounds were fired… for 70,000 casualties.  To see some of the buildings in “downtown” Gettysburg where there are STILL bullet holes was incredible…

Sadly… I forgot to pack my cable for my camera, so you’re gonna have to wait until Wednesday when I get home (probably Thursday) to off-load them and post.

Tomorrow it’s DC… Arlington and the National Mall… Then Tuesday it’s the war memorials (Korean, WWII, Vietnam), staying in Secaucus, NJ… then Wednesday it’s back into NYC for the Today Show (don’t bother looking for me…but if you see any kids in blue wind-breakers or adults with red wind-breakers that’s my group)… then it’s North-bound and home!

Anyways… I’ll try to post again tomorrow night…and I’ll definitely post when I get the pics up!

Over The Mountains & Through The Woods – 2045hrs

Picked up the Gray / New Gloucester High Project Gradutation kids at the Cumberland County Civic Center at 2100 hours last night… of course they were late loading so we didn’t get out of there until after 2200 hours… then it was and hour + up I95 to Route 201.

For those that don’t know… Route 201 through this area of Maine is about as back-woods as you can get.  I’m sure it’s very nice, scenic drive… during the day… not in a pouring rain… and with a bus that’s not twice my age!

But alas..twasn’t meant to be…. so we ended up unloading late… and they took longer than usual in unloading… so instead of getting back to the hotel at around Midnight like we were supposed to, it was closer to 0200 before we got here.

The hotel itself isn’t bad.. if you’re Norman Bates and like pre-1960’s furniture!  Don’t get me wrong… it’s a decent enough, basic amenities-type Motor Inn… they DO have wireless internet, and a decent speed too…but 99% of the outlets in here are only two-prong, which makes charging a latop difficult… and the giant screen TV is nice… of course the 19″ TV only LOOK giant if you sit half a foot off of it!

On the upside… it’s got two Canadian gliders with ottomans which makes for comfy sitting…

So.. bottom line… it was “bearable” being “forced” to sit around all day while getting paid watching the pouring rain outside, watching marathon Mythbusters… have to go pick up the dahlin’s at 0900 in the morning and take them back to the high school… Nice easy money!

Welcome to the Bates Motel…a.k.a. Bingham Motor Inn:

As a side note… I DO have to give kudos to the owners of Bingham Motor Inn… while the interiors are circa 1960… the price is VERY attractive, has a major ITS trail right in the back yard for both Snowmobiles and ATV’s, has a hot tub and a pool… and the owners were kind enough to give us a ride to and from a local diner to get some grub!  So while it’s NOT the Hilton Garden… if you’re up in this neck of the woods… it’s a pretty decent enough place to crash!