As I have mentioned, Cameron and I were in DC this week visiting the grandparents, going swimming, and having a great time! I had decided that instead of driving we would try taking Amtrak from Penn Station.
I did some research both on Parents Around the Hill and via the Fort Greene Babies yahoo group before the trip. The neighborhood moms left me fairly assured that it wouldn’t be too bad when I got to the station. I was still nervous! I took the Q from Dekalb Ave to 34th Street Herald Square for the sake of elevators, and then made my way towards Penn Station on foot above ground.
The entrance to Penn Station that has the down escalator is at 31st St and 8th Ave. I thought the diagram of the building posted on the wall said there was an elevator here, but I didn’t see it, so I went down they short escalator with Cam. (Yes, I know, you’re not supposed to do this).
Once we got down to the main area I started looking around for a red cap, who I had been told would be able to help me out. I didn’t see anyone, so I walked over to the Amtrak Customer Service desk (not the ticket counters) and a friendly man told me what track my train would be leaving from and that there was an elevator over by the police desk. Indeed there was.
I got in – the choices were a little confusing. I went down to “TL” – Track Level, I figured. When when the doors opened I found that I was stuck in between the tracks, and not at the right number. Apparently I was supposed to go to “LL” where you can move to any of the tracks and then take a different elevator down. I went back up to “LL,” found my track, then took another elevator down to “TL.”
Cameron relaxes in his PJ's
Since I had gotten to the train early there were plenty of places to sit. I found Cameron and I a section of 4 seats (2 and 2 facing each other). It was perfect – there was lots of room for him, and for all our stuff. Overall, getting to the train was pretty easy! Stay tuned for more updates on the trip to DC, and the train trip back to New York.
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