• Published 25th Feb 2016
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Silver Glow's Journal - Admiral Biscuit



Silver Glow takes an opportunity to spend a year at an Earth college, where she'll learn about Earth culture and make new friends.

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September 4 [More Trains]

September 4

When I woke up we were still rushing through the countryside, I didn't know where. It was hillier than it had been, and very dark. Every now and then I'd see a couple of lights flash by in the darkness, and I could hear the train's horn blow now and then and we'd pass by a flashing railroad crossing.

We went by a few small towns, and around a lot of curves. The train felt like it was going a little bit slower, maybe because the track had so many turns in it.

I got out of bed and took a shower which was really not all that pleasant because I couldn't anticipate when the train would suddenly go into a turn, and then I'd slide across the shower until I caught myself and a couple of times I had to hold out my wings for balance, too, and the shower was really too small for that. It must be really crowded for humans.

The train was slowing down by the time I finished, and the conductor announced that we were about to stop in Connellsville, Pennsylvania.

I shook myself off and then got out of the shower and sat on the bed and looked out the window. The town was nestled at the bottom of a mountain, and when I opened my door and looked out the other side, I could see a river and more town on the other side of that, so we were in a river valley.

We didn't stay there for very long, and as soon as we left town, there weren't any more houses or fields or anything except for trees on the side of the mountain, and the river on the other side. I think the other side of the car had a better view, so I propped my door open and watched out that way for a while before I decided that I wanted breakfast.

I knocked on the little connecting door and Mister Salvatore opened it. He was looking happy and cheerful, and his bed was folded away and the table was set between the chairs and already covered in papers and his folding computer. He smelled clean and I thought about asking him how he'd fit in his shower but I didn't.

He asked if I was ready for breakfast, and I said that I was, and he told me that Miss Cherilyn was getting ready and when she did we could go, or I could go by myself if I wanted to.

Well, I thought it would be rude to go if they were almost ready, so he invited me to sit over on his side and pretty soon Miss Cherilyn came out of the bathroom all dressed and ready to go. And she petted me on the head and Mister Salvatore put his papers in his briefcase and then we went to the dining car.

They didn't have the crab cake biscuit on the menu on this train, and I wasn't really in the mood for an omelet, so I had the oatmeal and croissant instead. And being in the dining car was nice because we could see out both sides and see the river that ran right next to the tracks.

Mister Salvatore said that we were in the Appalachian Mountains, and that we had to cross them to get to Washington, DC.

As we were going down a hill, a train passed us on the other track. The locomotives said CSX and all the cars it was towing were identical black cars that were full of coal. It was kind of neat to be on the second floor of the train and be able to look down inside of them.

We went through a couple of towns while we were eating, and then we went to the Viewliner car to watch from that. In the morning, the car wasn't so crowded because people didn't like to get up early.

We got to Cumberland, Maryland—which was also nestled in a valley—and the train made a long station stop so we got off and walked around some. It was a little strange having the platform not moving under my legs.

The train went out of Maryland and into West Virginia, which was almost the same as Maryland. Mister Salvatore said that the river we were alongside was the border between the two states, so when we looked out the windows on the north side of the train we were mostly seeing Maryland, which I thought was kind of interesting.

We passed a big factory that made railroad ties and telephone poles, and they were all neatly stacked along the tracks. It was very strange to see, because there hadn't been anything else around it, and it just came up all of a sudden, and then we were back in rural land again. There was a little village to the south of the tracks, and I wondered if everyone who worked there came from that village. It seemed impossible; it must have taken thousands of people to make all those railroad ties.

We went through another little town that was called Paw Paw, and right after that the train went over a bridge and we were back in Maryland again, then it went right over a second bridge and we weren't any more. Mister Salvatore said that the train would keep crossing back and forth between states as it went to Washington, DC, 'cause the train tracks were a lot straighter than the river. I thought it would have been cheaper to stay on one side, 'cause that way they wouldn't have needed as many bridges.

When we stopped in Martinsburg, the train conductor told us that the building opposite the train station used to be a railroad roundhouse, which was kind of neat. There were some in Equestria where the locomotives lived, but I had never seen one. And the ones in Equestria wouldn't have been so big. I guess their steam locomotives must have been as big as their diesel locomotives.

There was also a set of stairs that went above the train and I thought that maybe this station did have a second story boarding ramp, but Mister Salvatore said it was so people could walk across the tracks without getting hit by trains.

Before we left, a silver train called MARC stopped at the station as well. He said that we could get off our train and get on that one and it would also take us to Washington but I liked our train better.

The land was a lot flatter now and there were more fields and houses. We saw a few MARCs go by the opposite way, and when we were stopped in Harper's Ferry, one passed us going our way.

We ate lunch in the dining car, and as soon as we'd finished we had to go to our rooms and pack our things because the train was getting close to Washington. It didn't take too long for me to pack, and then I just watched out the window as we went by lots and lots of houses and businesses, then we slowed down and it was kind of like Chicago where there were lots of tracks and other passenger trains. I saw some that were smaller than the MARC even and they just had an M on them.

There were also lots of wires overhead and I saw a train go by that had a strange arrangement on its roof that ran against the wires. It said on the side that it was an Acela, and I guess it got electricity right from the wire to run, which was pretty clever.

We had a few hours, so we put all our luggage in a little locker again and then we got on one of the mini-MARCs and went to see the Capitol.

There was a big park called the Washington Mall, and it had an obelisk at one end and reflecting pools and the Capitol and lots of museums and we didn't have enough time to visit any of them which was too bad. But we did see lots of the monuments and he said that I could fly over the park but not too high and to not go all the way to the Capitol.

So I flew around and looked at all the buildings and there was one called the National Air and Space Museum which I would have liked to go to if we'd had more time. I decided that if we went through Washington on the way back I would insist on seeing it.

We walked and looked at the Lincoln memorial, and we saw the Constitution Gardens, and we looked at the Vietnam Wall, which listed the names of all the men who had been killed in the war, and that was really sad. There were some flowers and other gifts at the base of the wall. Miss Cherilyn said it had been a terrible, stupid war and Mister Salvatore didn't disagree.

Then we went off the main part of the mall to see the White House, which is where the President lives. I thought it would be neat to meet him but Miss Cherilyn said that he was in China at a trade meeting, which was too bad. I asked if he had ever met any ponies, and she said that she was sure he had. He'd probably met the Princesses, and perhaps some of our other leaders as well.

Mister Salvatore said that he was glad that he wasn't a Secret Service agent, because he couldn't even guess how hard it would be to arrange security for a meeting with Princess Celestia. I thought she'd probably bring her own guards, and he said that that wasn't what he meant.

We ate at a pub called Elephant & Castle, because Mister Salvatore said that he used to eat there all the time when he worked in DC. He said that almost everyone eating there was an important person in the government so if I wanted to, I could stick my tongue out at anyone who went by and that would make him very happy.

I thought that was kind of mean, so I didn't. One of his friends was there, a tall man he said was just named Hush, and he shook my hoof and said that he was really happy to meet me 'cause Mister Salvatore had told him about me.

I had enough time after we were done eating for another quick flight over the mall, then we got on another mini-MARC, and it took us back to the big train station.

Our train was called the Silver Meteor, and it was all one-story cars. Our car was in the back, and we only had one room. Mister Salvatore said that we were going to be getting off the train in the middle of the night, so he'd only gotten the one room for me and Miss Cherilyn, and that he would be up front in the coach car, and he'd come and get us when it was time to get off the train. And he told her to set her alarm for four AM, which I didn't like at all.

So we folded our bunks down right away so that we could get some sleep, and I took the top bunk 'cause it had a short window I could look out of.

It was a little bit claustrophobic being that close to the ceiling, and Miss Cherilyn had to help me get up there 'cause it was a little bit tight to fly into. And then after I'd looked out the window and watched the city give way to farmland, I thought that I could read my Bible some but my saddlebags were still down on the floor and I didn't want to bother Miss Cherilyn by asking her to get it, so I just closed my eyes and let the train rock me to sleep.

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