24 January

The morning started early, as because I couldn’t get down to sleep, our stop in Charlotte NC from 3 to 3:30 provided me with unending nothingness to look at. The sky was misty and so were my eyes. Having no room to stretch out across the two seats made things a little less comfortable. I resolved to be up and the first one at breakfast at 6:30 for my now obligatory scrambled eggs and shredded potato with bacon and scone, as I wasn’t sleeping anyway – so promptly fell asleep and didn’t wake until after 7. I was second into the dining as a consequence, and ended up having another wide-ranging discussion with a meteorologist from Alexandria VA. He had completed a course in Physics before deciding whether the weather was for him and was just returning from a conference in New Orleans where the guest, via Internet, was from Australia. His daughter was a musical director, with at least two plays currently on Broadway. He was also a ham radio operator and very interested in education – and I found out conditions in some US schools are not that different to Australian schools (lack of funding and understanding, poor teacher pay rates and even worse class accommodation). We parted after I interrogated him about possible places to stay in Washington which wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg (a pound of flesh I wouldn’t mind, especially if it was for a few nights and I could specify where on me it came from). Back in my seat I prepared for our 10 a.m. arrival in Washington DC, which became our 10:30 and eventually our 11:30 arrival. I bade farewell to Lily and, gathering all my worldly goods about me I detrained (and the weight of my worldly goods on my shoulders and arms made me wish I had less of them).
Into Washington Union station I marched, off to find the Travellers Aid location outside Platform M – the only problem being the platforms only went up to L. So I resorted to assistance from Messers Wheeler and co., and consulted my Lonely Planet guide and rang Washington Accommodation. After they finished laughing at my idea of a fair price for a night, I ended up taking the Metro to Van Ness UDC. The ticket machines are very good – once you find how to get to the Metro, and once you have had a ten-minute lesson from a local on how to use them. I found the place – Days Inn – despite being told to go in the wrong direction by a Greenpeace advocate, must likely because I refused to sign up on the spot to become a paid-up supporter and that was her way of getting back at me (actually it was her friend, who I think took the whole thing more personally than the girl who had accosted me). I checked in, got to the room and set up the computer. A loong ( as opposed to a looooong) shower say the grime of two days go down the plughole. After dressing, I took my soiled (actually, totally filthy around the collar) shirts to a laundry who offered to clean, iron and put them on a hanger for only $1.09. I figured it was cheaper than me trying to scour the filth of ages from them – I’ll find out tomorrow evening if miracles still do occur and I get them back white instead of brownish. I tried to find somewhere to repair my bum bag, but such establishments are few and far between – and where I am is the between. After a splurging meal at Burger King (which is not as good, to my taste, as Hungry Jack’s) I tackled the 100 metre walk to the metro and purchased a day ticket. I went to Arlington and on the walk into the cemetery met a couple from Wisconsin. We went on the tour and saw some sights, especially the Kennedy grave, Arlington (the house) and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Two events made my mind recall the past. One was the marching and presenting arms – it made me fondly remember the instructors at the Officer Recruit School at RAAF Point Cook. The other was that many children who acted as crossing guards at Elementary schools were present (apparently that was their reward for the work they did voluntarily). I couldn’t stop myself and told them to move down and along – and they DID! I haven’t lost my touch.
Seeing Arlington was quite moving, as I had visited some other war cemeteries and will later visit the place where my grandfather won his medal.
It really does make you wonder if anyone can learn from previous mistakes as soldiers from over 200 years of conflicts are buried there – and more are added daily (around 25, at current rates).
There was snow on the ground and the temperature made it feel as if more will come soon. I headed back home with jacket firmly fastened and hood on to keep out Jack Frost and felt like a seasoned veteran as I flourished my card, rushed to make connecting trains and made it home in time to write these memoirs up (and reply to the odd email).
The sun had already gone down on my fifth day of travel within the US.