**Note: The numbers correspond to the map above. Sorry if your eyesight is diminishing and you can't read them (*wink, wink--mom, dad)1. On our way to the metro I held open the lobby door for an EMT pushing a stretcher into an ambulance.
2. Pentagon City, Pentagon
3. Crossing the Potomac
4. Nothing exciting here...
5. L'Enfant Plaza
6. Gallery Place-Chinatown; transfer to red line. All 4 of us (me, Haliaka, RaeLene, Nataly) ran through the station and up and down escalators to make the train.
7. Enjoying the ride
8. Train broke down. We had to get off, wait, and catch a train going back the other way. The sun was very bright. You can tell Haliaka loved the wait. (20 minutes)
9. Haven't we been here before...?10-14. Super long ride along the red line (45 minutes). At one stop there was a man who was smashed in the door. Someone had to press the red emergency button to un-smash him.
15. Finally exit metro. Find bus stop. Wait...(40 minutes)
16. Get on bus, begin driving...
17. Ask lady sitting next to us if she knows where the Mormon temple is. She doesn't speak English. So we asked the bus driver. He said he knew where it was--the opposite direction than where we were going. He told us to stay on the bus and he would get there eventually (60 minutes).
18. I've seen those buildings before...
19-21. We hope this driver really knows where he's going.
21ish. The driver tells us we're at our stop so we get off, but we can't see the temple anywhere. We start walking. The road doesn't have a sidewalk. We were 4 girls in skirts walking along the road to the temple (20 minutes). We were tempted to hitch hike. At this point we began making jokes about how we were just trying to follow the straight and narrow path to the temple. Unfortunately, that path was 3 hours long, uncomfortable, scary at times, and patience-trying at others. Again, you can tell that Haliaka is completely loving the experience.
Anyway, we did make it to the temple but we were 2 1/2 hours late for our appointment. The man told us there was a group coming in half an hour so we should try back then. We looked around the visitor's center in the meantime. At 4:30 we went back to the baptistry where the man told us the group canceled. BUT some random people showed up who were willing to let us join them. The assistant to the temple matron came and spoke to our small group. We had a great session with just 5 of us being baptized for family names I had from Grandma Packard. In the back of our minds we were thinking about exactly how we would get back home. All of the temple workers were trying to help when the baptistry coordinator came over and said he and his wife could give us a ride to the metro so we didn't have to take the bus. Awesome blessing.
22. Ride to the metro station. Found out this couple served a mission in Roosevelt, UT--RaeLene's hometown (20 minutes).
23. Wendy's stop by the Wheaton metro station (different side of the red line than we previously rode) Consequently, we got on the wrong train.
24. Glenmont Station, at which point we realized we were on the wrong train. This is also where we met Thomas, a Virgo who can tell the future and read people's auras. He told us which university we belong at. RaeLene-Yale; Nataly-Princeton; Haliaka-Chicago; Me-L.A. University (doesn't exist)
25. Again...haven't we been here before...?
26-30. Interesting conversations with Thomas about our church that we want him to attend and his club that he wants us to attend (40 minutes).
31-32. Home stretch on the yellow line (15 minutes).
33. Crystal City Station-- Home sweet home. Haliaka concluded that she would do it again. Maybe, but I'd prefer a car.
