Hurricane Irene

Well, Faith and I are sitting in the Washington D.C. train station waiting for our next train. We are lucky because our train has not been cancelled due to the storm approaching the coast. There were twelve trains scheduled originally. So far... we've been doing well!

We boarded our first train yesterday around 6:00 P.M. and for about four hours we played Bananagrams and met two other music majors (who were also playing bananagrams) headed for Philly. Concerned family members and friends texted with weather updates and warnings, but we kept being told what trains were still in motion by our conductor. Their is definitely a sense of chaos right now. People are worried and are hoping to make it to their final destination without delay. Faith and I are not worried at all. We are just sitting around with our heavy bags trying to find something (anything) to do. I was a little nervous when we heard that Philly wasn't letting any mass transportation systems into the city, but mine is clear to go. We are one of the last trains to head into Philadelphia/New York for the weekend.

SO! Funny story... at the beginning of our last train ride Faith and I were trying to hook up our laptops to the internet. There were outlets next to our seats and we wanted to make good use of them. We were very disappointed when we discovered there would be no connecting to the internet while on this trip. Once we settled in the the D.C. train station we saw large signs telling us to join their wireless network. I haul out Marcell the Dell (my new computer) and try to connect... it doesn't work. Distraught, I keep trying to get on the internet. A man with a camera walks over and asks us if we are stranded because of Hurricane Irene. Right away, Faith and I noticed he was from a newspaper and he was looking for a story. We told him the truth-- our train has not been delayed and we don't expect any problems. He was slightly bummed, but decided to take our picture and interview us anyway! He says he's from the Washington Post, stuck his camera out and starts shooting. He took our names, gave us his business card, and told us to TEXT him when we get on the train; IF we get on the train. We put out a plug for Hope College and talked about our plans in Philly. It was a nice distraction-- and I am going to be in the Washington Post. YES!!! Oh, and the reason he came over was because we looked upset... he assumed it was because of the train delays, but in all actuality, it was because I couldn't update my facebook status. True story.


It has been an interesting day to say the least.

Faith says this is an accurate description of our trip thus far.
We do have a bird walking around inside with us-- he wants shelter from the storm :)

Change of plans-- our final flight was just cancelled so we have to stay in a hotel in the city. Also, orientation has officially been moved to Monday afternoon... so Faith and I are just going to see Philadelphia underwater! We are also the LAST train to leave D.C.