A family vacation is a wonderful time to be with people I am closer to and connect with places of great significance.
I always look forward to our annual family vacation in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. Upon arriving, I feel like I haven’t missed a beat being in a place that touches the deepest parts of me.
I felt a great deal of anticipation throughout the day on Wednesday, May 6, especially as I began packing.
Shortly before 6 PM CT, I got in the car of Brian, a fellow parishioner, and he took me to Chicago Union Station.
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| The Floridian train #41 appears second from the top under Departures. |
The train I was scheduled to ride was late being released from the yard, according to Amtrak staff. It was around the scheduled departure time of 6:40 when boarding began. The train lurched forward around 7:20 PM CDT. There was plenty of daylight still to take in the sights on the way to the first stop in South Bend. (Please note that all times in this post are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) unless otherwise specified, specifically on the days I departed and then returned to Chicago. And, as typical, I took all photos in this post unless otherwise specified.)
During the night, I stepped off the train to stretch my legs at Toledo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.
Daylight emerged on the morning of Thursday, May 7, as we departed Pittsburgh and headed into the Appalachian highlands. It was foggy for a while, but then the sun shone brightly by the time we reached Connellsville.
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| Morning sunlight in Connellsville, PA |
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| At the stop in Cumberland, from the platform |
We picked up a minor delay heading toward Washington, D.C., and arrived there between 1-1:30 PM EDT. At Union Station, there was a crew change and then new passengers boarded. Around 2 PM, the train lurched forward and traveled through a tunnel underneath the US Capitol complex. When it reemerged, there were great views along the south side of the National Mall and then over the Potomac River into Virginia. About 2:30, the train arrived at Alexandria. I detrained and walked about 5 minutes to the hotel, the familiar place where Mom, Dad, and I have stayed numerous times.
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| I detrained and walked down the stairs to King Street. |
After dropping off my luggage, I began my journey to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception via the Metro system. Upon arriving, I went to Mary's Garden outdoors for spiritual reading time. It was soothing and refreshing to hear the sound of the water in the fountain, as is shown in the photo below.
Next, I went inside for quiet prayer at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel for a few minutes before going to the Crypt Church for 5:15 Mass.
When Mass ended, I walked back to the Brookland-CUA Metro Station and returned to Alexandria. At the hotel, I joined Mom and Dad for dinner.
The next morning, Friday, May 8, I departed the hotel shortly after 7:30 with Dad to attend 8 AM Mass at the Basilica St. Mary's, with so much in mind to celebrate with the first anniversary of Pope Leo XIV's election and the 10th anniversary of my MLIS degree.
Then we returned to the hotel for breakfast. Aroudn 10 AM, we dpearted for our day outing. First, we rode the Metro rails to Capitol South and then walked to the Library of Congress Jefferson Building. I thoguht it would be so fitting to celebrate my MLIS milestone anniversary by visiting the Library of Congress and getting my new Library of Congress reader card. Once I had it in hand, I went to browse the stacks of the main reading room.
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| Dad photographed me in the Great Hall. |
We then wandered around a little more and went to the Madison Building to have lunch in the cafeteria that had great views looking toward the south--please see photo below.
Once we finished lunch, we walked to the National Archives Building on Constitution Avenue. First, we headed to the rotunda to see the Charters of Freedom. As we walked toward the rotunda, we stopped to look at an exhibit about the Freedom Train. We then entered the rotunda ahead of a sizable school group, which I found out was from Tucson. Subsequently, we visited two of the other exhibits. It's always profound to visit the National Archives and view the Charters of Freedom, and even more so in this 250th Anniversary Year of Independence. I kept feeling this urge to go back and take one more look.
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| The front of the National Archives building showcases the new immersive exhibit. |
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| To the side of the entrance to the rotunda are displays with rotating materials. Here are materials from the Freedom Train. |
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| Dad photographed me inside the rotunda. |
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| Here is a special exhibit for the 250th Anniversary of Independence. |
After I parted ways with Mom and Dad, I ended up at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, where I browsed some of my favorite parts of the museum, especially the Star-Spangled Banner from 1814, the Presidents exhibit, the First Ladies exhibit, and the transportation gallery.
I was back in Alexandria around 5 PM. For dinner, we got pita sandwiches from Pita Pita, in keeping with the Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food we had 10 years ago to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my MLIS graduation.
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| Above is our dinner collectively, and below is my pita sandwich. |
Following dinner, I went down by the waterfront, where I bought postcards at a souvenir shop and got a scoop of ice cream that was enjoyable in the warm evening. And I stopped by St. Mary's.
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| From what I remember, I got peach ice cream in a cone, or maybe mango. |
The next day, Saturday, May 9, I went with Dad to 8:30 Mass at St. Mary's. Following Mass, we met with Mom at the Alexandria Farmers' Market. Due to renovation work at City Hall and the adjoining plaza, the market was in Royal Street and in a plaza area to the west--please see photo below. Visiting the market is a great experience because it has a storied past stretching back to the 18th Century, and still provides something enjoyable for people today.
Then we returned to the hotel. A little later, I set out for my favorite bike ride. I biked to Jones Point Park and then biked over the Potomac River on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over to Maryland and then back.
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| Looking north from the path on the bridge |
When I returned to the hotel, I had a light lunch. Around 2 PM, I departed for a shopping center to meet up with someone I met in the National Catholic Singles Conference community. After some shopping, we shared a meal at a Subway. Just after 4 PM, I boarded a bus to East Falls Church.
Shortly before 5 PM, Mom, Dad, and I had joined together and arrived at the Westover Baptist Church for a concert of the Arlington Chorale, in which Naomi sang. I especially liked hearing Sicut Cervus, which reminds me of the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil. Following the concert, we went to Life Alive Organic Cafe for dinner. I liked the falafel pita I got, accompanied by Greek lemon soup--please see photo directly below.
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| Our server photographed us right before we began eating dinner. |
When Mom, Dad, and I reached Alexandria, Mom and I went to Casa Rosada for gelato, always a highlight. I got a scoop of the MOM flavor, Mango, Orange, and Maracuya, which I later found out is passion fruit.
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| Someone at the shop got a photo of us with our treats. |
The next morning, Sunday, May 10, Mom, Dad, and I went to 8:30 Mass at St. Joseph Parish in Alexandria. It was special to be there on this Sunday as the parish marked 110 years since its founding. The story resonates with me because St. Mother Katharine Drexel furnished funds to start this church. The rest of the morning was a relaxed time with breakfast at the hotel.
Around 1 PM, I departed for my pilgrimage outing of the day to the Catholic University of America neighborhood and the National Shrines therein.
It took more effort because part of the Yellow/Blue Line corridor service was suspended for construction, so I boarded a shuttle bus at Braddock Road, which went to Pentagon City, where I boarded the train.
Around 3 PM, I reached the Brookland-CUA station. First, I went to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to briefly browse the gift shop. From there, I walked to the National Shrine of St. John Paul II. I briefly passed through the exhibits, including a temporary exhibit on the Shroud of Turin and another temporary exhibit with panels from St. Carlo Acutis's website. I even posed for a photo with him. I also stopped for prayer in the main chapel and the Luminous Mysteries Chapel.
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| There were beautiful peonies in bloom outside the entrance. |
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| Relic of St. Carlo Acutis |
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| The special St. Carlo Acutis exhibit was on the second floor. |
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| A fellow visitor photographed me as I pose next to St. Carlo Acutis. |
I made a quick dash through a rain shower to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in time for 4 PM Vespers. This
video of the livestream shows a glimpse of me at the 0:58 mark. It was an uplifting, transcendent experience.
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| A fellow visitor photographed me inside the Great Upper Church of the National Shrine. |
Once it ended, I headed straight for the Brookland-CUA Station and rode the Red Line to Union Station. In an effort to expedite my return to Alexandria, by skipping the shuttle service I rode earlier, I booked passage on Amtrak train #99 from Washington, D.C., Union Station to Alexandria. It was actually the same train I rode from Philadelphia to Alexandria last May. Furthermore, it was wonderful to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad by riding Amtrak.
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| Train #99 is fourth from the top on this display board. |
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| I noticed a special design on the engine of train #99. |
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| Train #99 is second from the top at the Alexandria station info board |
It got me back to Alexandria around 5:30, and I walked back to the hotel and joined my family for Mothers' Day dinner. Naomi and Eric prepared chili and asparagus. Following dinner, Mom, Dad, and I watched The Andy Griffith Show.
The next day, Monday, May 11, we departed around 9 AM for our day outing. After getting gas at Costco, we headed for Emmitsburg, MD, following the west side of the Beltway to begin. We arrived around 11:30 at the National Shrine of St. Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton. There was a museum that told the story of her life. After her husband passed and she converted to Catholicism, she left New York City where she had lived much of her life and settled in Baltimore. Eventually, she went to Emmitsburg to start a school. The shrine also includes a splendid basilica. It was special to visit this place in the wake of the 50th anniversary of her canonization as the first US-born saint and the 250th Anniversary of US Independence.
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| Inside the main lobby |
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| Looking toward the altar inside the sanctuary of the Basilica at the Shrine |
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| St. Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton's tomb |
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| Looking toward the back of the sanctuary |
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| This image was on a banner that unfurled at her canonization |
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| An image of Jesus that St. Elizabeth had |
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| Apparel of St. Elizabeth |
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| Exterior of the Shrine |
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| The Stone House, built in the 1700s, which was the first place St. Elizabeth and other sisters inhabited on the property |
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| The White House/Historic St. Joseph's House, built in the 1800s |
By 1:30, we were on our way to the next part of our day outing, about 20 minutes away: Gettysburg. We drove into town and found a spot for lunch, Newberg's Diner. It was a fine place for a meal.
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| I had a turkey meal. |
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| The outside of the restaurant |
Across the street was a great souvenir shop where I found lots of pins I like to don. Then we retraced our steps and stopped at the nearby Gettysburg Military Cemetery, which we passed on the way into town. There, we got to see the spot where Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address, a profound spot.
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| Above and below are views of the entrance of the cemetery |
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| The text of the Gettysburg Address appears at the spot where Abraham Lincoln offered this speech. |
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| Dad photographed me by the monument at the site where Abraham Lincoln spoke the Gettysburg Address. |
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| Marker for fallen soldiers from Illinois |
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| View from the area by the parking lot at the cemetery, looking in a westerly direction |
Next, we went to the nearby visitors' center to look at some of the exhibits.
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| Dad photographed me with Abraham Lincoln by the visitors' center. |
Around 4 PM, we headed back to Alexandria. After crossing the Potomac on the Beltway, we rode the George Washington National Memorial Parkway back to Alexandria. Once at our hotel, we had dinner. A little later, we played Scrabble.
The next morning, Tuesday, May 12, we were on our way for our outing around 9:45. First, we rode the Blue Line to Foggy Bottom. Upon ascending to street level, we waited for the Kennedy Center Shuttle Bus, which was delayed because there was a biking event that passed on the street by the station.
Around 11 AM or so, we arrived at the Kennedy Center. Eric met us. We walked around the upper-level terrace with its amazing views of Washington, D.C., and over the river to Virginia. Then he showed us around, even in one of the halls where there was a rehearsal for an Asian-inspired piece of music, and an annex building. (Since the Old Post Office Tower was unavailable, I was glad to wrap up my vacation with the views from the Kennedy Center terrace.)
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| Dad photographed me on the Kennedy Center terrace. |
Next, we rode the shuttle back to Foggy Bottom and rode the Metro to Federal Center SW. From there, it was a short walk to the Museum of the Bible. We spent a few minutes there viewing an exhibit on the Megiddo Mosaic. It was excavated from a site that was the earliest known church building. It was profound to look at one part of the mosaic where an inscription declared Jesus Christ as God. A volunteer named Linda was on duty to offer commentary and orient us to the various features of the mosaic and the displays in that exhibit room.
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| The Mosaic |
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| The signage in the photo below indicates the spot on this part of the mosaic that declares Jesus as Lord. |
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| Entrance of the Museum |
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| A view of the museum from about a block away |
Then we returned to Alexandria, returning to our hotel around 2 PM. We had lunch. I then went to St. Mary's to pray inside the church and view an exhibit in the parish office building.
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| Museum exhibit |
Back at the hotel, I got everything packed. Around 4:45, Mom and Dad accompanied me to the Alexandria Union Station. On the way there, I stopped to get a turkey dinner from Bob and Edith's. The train I was scheduled to ride was delayed more than 2 hours. Mom and Dad waited with me until the call came for boarding passengers to wait for boarding on the platform for the train, opposite the station building.
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| The Floridian train #40 is at the top of the info board. |
Train #40 arrived at 5:45 PM--please see photo below.
From there, I had one final opportunity to admire the scene from the railroad bridge over the Potomac River and the route paralleling the National Mall until the train entered the tunnel underneath the US Capitol.
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| This photo is from the crossing of the Potomac River. A Metro train travels on the nearby parallel tracks. The Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial are in the right half of the photo. |
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| The top of the US Capitol dome appears toward the right. |
The train lingered at Washington, D.C., Union Station while the new crew came on duty and then passengers boarded. The train was on its way by 7 PM, and I enjoyed the dinner as we headed out of Washington, D.C., into Maryland, and then West Virginia.
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| My dinner |
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| Sunset scene near Shady Grove Road Metro station |
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| The special 250 design on the engine |
During the night, I got off for a walk on the platform at Pittsburgh. Daylight had emerged by the time the train reached Cleveland on the morning of Wednesday, May 13. At Toledo, I got off for another short walk while the crew changed.
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| Sunrise, somewhere west of the stop in Cleveland |
Then it was onto the Airline Stretch of track between Toledo, OH, and Butler, IN. As the train passed through Bryan, I noticed the Spangler Candy Company's Dum Dum-themed water tower.
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| Farm scene in northwest Ohio |
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| Spangler Candy Company in Bryan, OH |
It was a wonderfully sunny morning heading through northwest Ohio and then through northern Indiana and into Illinois and Chicago. The train arrived at Chicago Union Station around 11:45.
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| The Floridian train #40 is at the top. |
A few minutes later, I was in Brian's car, and he brought me back to Oak Park.
We, as a family, have developed a certain routine with these regular Washington, D.C. trips. I have many familiar places I like to visit, and familiar opportunities I partake in each visit, just as I enjoy certain familiar surroundings, like the hotel in Alexandria.
Yet each trip also goes beyond the routine. The 250th anniversary of US Independence made this year's 2026 Washington, D.C., Metro Area trip extra special. Visiting many of the familiar and special places helped connect me with the founding principles, adding context to this year's celebration. Indeed, when I was at the National Archives, I kept feeling drawn to take another look at the founding documents, because it felt so profound to look at what embodies the founding of the USA and to look at the Declaration of Independence and feel the power in a piece of parchment that's 250 years old.
Its power was present a few days later when we stopped at the Gettysburg Cemetery. In the midst of a fierce conflict, Abraham Lincoln drew inspiration from the principles of the Declaration of Independence to summon a nation to take up the cause for which so many died. I'm sure that is reason why the Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches of all time. While we drove to Gettysburg without a specific plan for what to see besides the Visitors' Center, circumstances unfolded so marvelously that we drove by the cemetery on the way to lunch.
Earlier that day, it was special to visit the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. She contributed so much to making the USA what it is today. After struggling to find her place following her conversion to Catholicism, she settled in Maryland and laid a foundation for Catholic education in the USA. Education plays a significant role in a society, and her work of starting Catholic schools became a robust part of this pillar of society.
On the subject of education, when I realized that the 10th anniversary of my MLIS degree would happen during the dates of our vacation, I was eager to visit the Library of Congress. It's a true national treasure that houses a great wealth of resources that showcase who we are as a country.
Visiting Washington, D.C., always inspires me because it connects me with the heart and substance of the USA. These vacations have also been a great chance to connect with family as we all get to be together. I was glad to see Naomi perform with her chorale group. Then it was enjoyable to visit another restaurant in Arlington. And then breaking bread together on Mothers' Day was a meaningful way to tap into the spirit of Mothers' Day.
In the midst of the Easter Season, I was glad to visit the various places in the Washington, D.C., Metro Area that are spiritually uplifting, most especially the National Shrine of St. John Paul II, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, St. Joseph's in Alexandria, and St. Mary's in Alexandria. I was especially stirred seeing a relic of St. Carlo Acutis, the first time since his canonization, and posing for a photo with him. As something new, it was great to see the exhibit in the Museum of the Bible about the mosaic. It's wondrous to look at a piece of art that proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord centuries ago.
Indeed, Washington, D.C., is a place that offers new perspectives even while connecting with this country and its storied past. In this year of the 250th Anniversary of the Independence of the USA, with principles as an important part of this celebration, it was marvelous to be in an area with places that speak those principles so eloquently.
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| Dad photographed me on the Metro on my last day in the WDC Metro Area, with my Metro sock, a US flag, and an America 250 flag. |
