We're well TRAINed.

I'd like to start this blog entry by thanking everyone for their support. We've received a lot of praise and attention these past few days that only motivate us more. Thank you. I hope everyone got a chance to view our news story, on You Tube, do a search for pedal across.

So... we woke up just before 4 AM yesterday (Tuesday) to walk two miles in the rain to our train station in Richmond, VA. Nice start! Cold, wet and tired. We caught our delayed train to D.C. with plenty of room and plenty to observe. Fast forward three hours and we're in Pentagon City Mall just south of the actual pentagon. We met up with our old "boss" from the Navy, Master Chief Raymond D. Kemp (shown trying to look big!). He gave us many words of encouragement as we shared old stories and further explained our plans. We briefly Met with an old friend, Amy Baker, on her lunch break to remind her that we were serious about this trip! Apparently she didn't believe we'd ever follow through. Hah.



After 8 hours in D.C. it was time to board our 4PM train to Chicago, IL. 16 Hours of rule free travel. If you have never traveled by train; they do not search any bags or demand too much in the way of passenger behavior. Kids were running free and old ladies were singing over the sound of the tracks. Meanwhile we planned out our map and listened to music while enjoying the Maryland Country side before dark. Around Midnight we found ourselves relaxing in the lounge car with clear glass overhead and comfortable seating. There we met Ben (of northern VA) who was on his way to backpack around California. We also met Audra from Minnesota. She was visiting D.C. for the first time. It was nice to meet both of you!



1 AM bed time... only to wake up at 8 AM looking out at the Chicago cityscape. From there we stopped for coffee, necessities for the next train, and some Wifi to write this blog.

Next train is a California Zephyr... 2.5 days of tracks and maybe some stories.

take care.