Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (by guest blogger Rhett Fenton)

Ever seen the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles starring John Candy and Steve Martin? Well, that title sums up my travel experience to D.C. An early start Thursday morning (2 am) was followed by a short delay on my first flight out of SeaTac. The flight to Newark was flawless, but the chaos began when we landed in NJ. The original delay caused my layover to be cut short and I had to hustle off the plane to make it to the other side of the unfamiliar airport and board my short connecting flight to D.C. I showed up just as a sweat began to form on my brow with plenty of time to board the plane... There was only one problem: no plane at the gate.

I patiently waited for updates on the situation while eavesdropping on the travelers around me, all of whom sounded displeased with the situation. Apparently, the airport hadn't sent any flights out of NJ in the last 24 hours because of thunderstorms. The outlook did not look promising and neither did the reader board. CANCELED, it read, followed by a short message over the loud speaker directing passengers to the already overflowing customer service line.

I was given three options at the service desk: stand by for another flight that evening and risk having it cancelled as well, stay in the airport overnight and catch another flight in the morning, or get on a bus to D.C. provided by the airline. I had no desire to stay in the airport overnight so I opted for the bus. At this point I didn't really care how long it would take, I just wanted to be at my final destination. The bus arrived an hour later than was expected, but the small group of us who had opted for the ride were relieved. The predicted storm had arrived and not only caused my original flight to be cancelled, but caused a two or three hour bus ride to take about five hours. While it wasn't the greatest travel experience, I finally arrived safely at my destination!

I tried to imagine what D.C. would look, feel, sound, and smell like before I made the trek. Though I had some idea from pictures of the famous sights, I really didn't know what to expect. Other than a small bit of time spent in Florida, I had also never been to the east coast. I was excited to take in everything and that's exactly what we did!

We wasted no time on my first full day visiting Halee's workplace. We had planned on taking a tour of the capitol building, but were alerted of a temporary evacuation. Nothing too crazy, however, thankfully just a fire alarm. We decided we would put the tour on hold and visit the sights of the National Mall starting at the Washington Monument. Arriving at the footsteps of each monument it was hard not to be overcome with a sense of pride and appreciation for what each stood for. Each was different from the next, yet evoked similar feelings of patriotism and wonder.

We concluded the day by catching a game of our national pastime. We arrived early to the stadium in hopes of doing some exploring, catching a little bp (batting practice), and enjoying a couple of cold beverages. The ball park and our seats (about four rows up) were extraordinary!

The next few days included a lot more sightseeing: museums, monuments, new restaurants, the metro (we went on every line), outdoor market, the national zoo, and more. We walked countless miles across the city and racked up many more on the metro transit system. I might not be able to pinpoint a single favorite part of the trip, but some of the highlights were: seeing Halee and getting a better understanding of what her internship is all about, watching the Nationals game, and the spectacular WWII monument. All in all, I had an amazing experience in D.C. with the best tour guide possible!