It was what I liked to dub "the best, most expensive summer" of my young life. I was 21, had just returned from an amazing study abroad experience with my art history pals in Greece (the best and most expensive part). I had actually had my birthday to celebrate my legal drinking status while in a small fishing village, in the southernmost part of the Peloponnese region of the country -- probably my best birthday to date.
See!? There's me and a cake in that tiny fishing village in Greece!
Opa!
I returned home and within a day or two, was set to start a full-time, 2-month, unpaid internship in the heart of Washington, DC at the Smithsonian American Art Museum -- again, hence the expensive part bolded above. To help with those expenses, I lived at home with my parents in Frederick County, Maryland and decided I would take the MARC train each day, versus the Metro where you faithful readers would know, I'd had to pay to park and it would have easily been a 1-hour drive on the congested I-270 from my little rural town just to get to Shady Grove (I'm much more conveniently located nowadays).
I remember the Sunday before I was supposed to start, my parents and I took a drive from Middletown, MD to Brunswick, MD, showing me the beautiful route through Burkittsville, MD -- where they are most famous for this cult horror film. It was about a 20 minute drive to the station from my childhood home and there was ample parking in Brunswick, so was the ideal place for me to pick-up the train. My parents thought if I could buy my ticket the day or night before I wouldn't have to worry about it on my first day. I remember I wasn't able to since the station was closed for the weekend and alas, the ticket would have to be bought on the train the next morning. (I'm just now remembering how much planning my parents instilled in me -- it's very evident as I get older.)
The next day, I woke up at 5 am (yes, you heard me) to catch the 6:30 train from Brunswick. I got to the station in plenty of time and was one of the first people on the train since Brunswick was the point of origination for this particular train. I remember the feeling of nervousness and excitement, all contained in my young, fresh 21-year-old self and I definitely remember feeling how mature I seemed -- commuting into the big city with all these seasoned, hardened professionals!
90 minutes later, I believe I made it to DC with no incident and proceeded to take the Metro the two stops on the Red Line over to Gallery Place/Chinatown. My first day, I'm sure, was a blur, and most of the other interns were living in the city, paying several hundred dollars to rent a room or be a part of a house-share, as they were not local. In that, I was very thankful. (Even though the 5 am wake-up time continued ALL. SUMMER. LONG. Let me tell you, as a college student...this was not easy and usually resulted in a 10pm bedtime...oy!) But I do remember the return trip home that first day.
Since it was the end of May, late afternoon summertime storms are a regular occurrence in an area like Washington due to all the humidity. Our train (at 5:20pm, I believe) was delayed leaving the station for some reason -- maybe for only 10 minutes, but still, delayed. Then there were heat-restrictions in place, meaning the trains have to travel at a reduced speed when the temperature gets above a certain point (85 degrees Fahrenheit I want to say?). Then finally, as we got closer to Brunswick, I recall the heavens opening up and dumping something fierce on the train. Lightning, thunder, and bears, oh my. It only lasted maybe 5-10 minutes before it was over and then the train stopped. Whaaaaaa?
Apparently lightning had struck a tree further up and part of it had fallen along the tracks. Now, we were stuck. I think we finally started moving about a half hour later. By the time I reached my car at Brunswick, it was after 8pm and I knew that when got home, I'd only be able to eat dinner before I passed out to do it all over again the next day. My mother (to this day even) could tell you I was so irate by the time I came home; I kept telling her how helpless I felt being stuck on the train and "at least in a car, you can find an alternate route!!" ...Oh, tiny, young little Me, how little did you know. How impatient you would become.
She seriously thought I wouldn't last the whole summer doing this commute. Neither did I. Today, I much prefer the being trapped on a train if there's an issue, because being trapped in a train happens FAR LESS than being trapped in car, in slow-moving traffic, in this VERY, VERY congested area of the country. Thankfully, I think I just had bad luck to have the one of very few times the train had an issue on my first day. After that, I only remember one other serious delay that summer and that was with Metro, within the District, and well, you all know how regularly that happens. (No thanks to this!)
When my internship ended at the end of July, I spent the rest of the summer before my senior year traveling to Arizona and cruising the Caribbean for one of my best friend's weddings (again, another reason why it was the best and most expensive summer ever). The internship and all the traveling had left me feeling so grown-up and ready for the next phase of life and starting my career.
Here I am in Cozumel, Mexico (via the cruise), apparently showing off a cow.
There were also moments on the train that summer where I felt very lucky. Each and every morning, the train would come around a corner before arriving at Union Station and if I was in the correct seat, you could see the dome of the Capitol in the distance. The first time I saw it, I got goosebumps and continued to get them everyday. How lucky was I to be able to travel to and from the Nation's Capital each day to learn from the people who were working in my desired field, and in part because of that experience, where I would ultimately end up for my career.
I wouldn't commute on a train again until I started working once more in the DC area back in the spring of 2010. I would then start commuting full-time on one in the fall of 2012. And since then, each and every day, I still feel that lucky as I did in 2005. You can no longer see the Capitol Dome as you round that corner -- much of the area around Union Station has changed in that 10 year period and although no buildings reach higher than the Dome, the angles and shapes of the newer buildings do obscure it from view.
But you know what? I still get goosebumps. I get them when I step off the train and all the people rush towards the station each morning. I feel them as I see the Capitol right in front of me as I exit Union Station. I get shivers daily when I walk into my Museum, knowing I ultimately ended up right where I belong. And, it's overwhelming when I actually think about it all and thank the universe for giving me that opportunity so long ago.
Sorry to have been such a sap and reminisce on this long post, but I have been crafting it in my head and in my drafts folder, probably since I started this blog, or before. Thank you for sticking with me -- through the post and through the blog so far. I hope I can continue to offer witty, intelligent and sometimes silly commentary on the life of being a commuter. Apologies for any typos - I'll firm up soon.
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