magnificent union station

this shows the beautifully designed ceiling in the gate area of Union Station. You can also see the shops that line the hallways like a mall.
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9.14.06 12:41pm

I’m sitting in Union Station in Washington, D.C. on the top floor of restaurant that has two floors right in the middle of the main hall. The station is beautiful.

No brushing till Chicago

After navigating to baggage claim (this station is a city compared to Atlanta’s station) I grabbed my rain jacket out of my clothes bag, rechecked it for Chicago, and began my self-guided tour of this wonderful station.

the entrance to the main hall, where food is and it also leads to the pathway to the capitol.
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After a decent amount of sleep last night, I felt rested enough to take a walk around D.C., despite the steady drizzle. After all, I was on this trip to see as much as I could. I walked to the Capitol building from Union Station, and immediately realized that it would be to wet to take many photos besides quick snapshots, and only of important things. I wanted to walk to the art museum, so I grabbed a map before I left so as not to get lost. After about 20 minutes of walking in the ever increasing rain, and having to detour all over the place because something was going on at the Capitol building, I decided to skip the art museum for now, and loop back around the Capitol back toward Union. I was getting hungry and could smell food, but could see no restaurant which added to the frustration of the wetness(especially in jeans).

A view of the main hall. You can see the cafe that I ate at on the left.
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So here I am now, finishing my lunch and waiting for my train to come. As I’m writing this, I remember that I left my toothbrush with my checked bag. No brushing till Chicago. I’ll find some gum.

The station is so vast, it's basically a mall, but with cooler architexture. I'm going to walk around and shoot photos.