The Train Trip

I was out of town for a few days with my husband. We did a train trip to visit our nephew and his fiance in Groton, Connecticut (he is in the U.S. Navy and they recently moved there because of his new Naval assignment) then we travelled to New York City to visit my husband's father and step-mother. It was a very cold trip (yesterday the temperature reached no higher than 18 degrees Fahrenheit) and it even snowed at times.

We originally scheduled our return to the Washington, DC area so we could outnumber the large number of people who are arriving in droves for next Tuesday's inauguration. While I was still in New York City yesterday, I got an e-mail from one of the many mailing lists that I'm currently on that invited me to see Barack Obama and Joe Biden arrive in Edgewater, Maryland via train the very next day. Then I got a second e-mail announcing that the train carrying Obama and Biden would arrive in Baltimore that very same day.

Needless to say, I had no advance knowledge that there was such a train trip. Had I known a week or two in advance, I would've suggested to my husband that we postponed our own train trip since our return trip was scheduled on the same day and around the same time as the Obama/Biden train trip.

Sure enough, when our Amtrak train reached around Aberdeen, Maryland, the train suddenly stopped and we were informed that we would be staying there a while because of not only the Obama/Biden train but apparently there was a police action involving some people who were hanging around the railroad tracks illegally. The train eventually re-started but it moved very slowly. We were informed again that the train was forced to move slower than usual due to the Obama/Biden train.

So we had about an extra two-hour commute added to that trip. When we arrived at the BWI Airport stop, we saw a lot of policemen milling about along with plenty of yellow "CAUTION! DO NOT CROSS!" tape streamed about. We also saw quite a few people with cameras waiting by the train track but the police officers outnumbered the photographers.

As we were leaving the parking garage at the Amtrak station, we saw traffic cones blocking all access to the upper levels of the parking lot (probably to discourage any would-be snipers). While we were driving away, we saw all roads near the railroad tracks loaded with police vehicles parked on the shoulder of the roads. The overpass that went over the railroad tracks even had cop cars parked there. The unfriendly combination of the bitter cold weather and the multitude of law enforcement officers just seemed to discourage average people from just turning out to see a soon-to-be president and vice president and wishing them well. I know the law enforcement people were there to prevent any assassinations or other types of terror attacks but that whole array of cops were just plain too intimidating to fully enjoy this historic travel.

So I ended up with reading about the train trip on the Internet, such as this one from BBC News.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/obama_inauguration/7835253.stm

US President-elect Barack Obama has retraced the steps of Abraham Lincoln by travelling from Philadelphia to Washington ahead of his inauguration.

His day-long train trip took him through towns and stations packed with cheering supporters.

Mr Obama told a crowd in Baltimore that America was facing very serious times.

In Washington, he is due to take part in celebrations leading up to his inauguration as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday.

Delaware pick-up

The journey began at Philadelphia's 30th Street station, where Mr Obama, a security detail and a media pack boarded the 80-year-old train.

Speaking just before he boarded the train for the 137-mile (220 km) journey, Mr Obama said he would be carrying the hopes of ordinary Americans with him on his journey to Washington.

"Let's make sure this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but just the beginning," he said. "Let's seek a better world in our time."

The train made a stop in Wilmington, Delaware, to pick up Vice-President-elect Joe Biden and his family.

In Baltimore, Mr Obama recalled the troops at Maryland's Fort McHenry, who had defeated the British during the War of 1812. He said it was "time to take up the cause for which they gave so much".

He added: "The trials we face are very different now, but severe in their own right."

Late on Saturday the train rolled into Washington's Union Station - only a short walk from the platform where Mr Obama will take the oath of office.