Travel Tips: Getting from Baltimore/D.C. to New York City

Bolt Bus.

It's the only way to go. There are other options -- a $90 train or plane ticket, for example -- but none beat the quality and price. The Bolt Bus leaves from D.C., Baltimore, or Philadelphia and drops you off at different Manhattan locations.

Finding the Location of Your Bus Stop

We left from the Baltimore stop near Marc-Penn Station. Keep in mind that the bus is not associated with Penn Station nor does it leave from the station. I was expecting a more obvious location, so we had a hard time finding out where our stop was. We drove by the street address they listed and saw nothing but taxis parked along the whole strip of the sidewalk. Not knowing what else to do, our friends dropped us off at the station, we said our good-byes, and thanked the heavens that we were 30 minutes early and had time to figure things out. We decided to go inside and ask someone at the station if they knew. Luckily an employee had heard of Bolt Bus and told us that they met "somewhere around the corner." We used Travis' iPhone to get to the specified address, even though it appeared that nothing was there. Once we got there, however, we noticed a small A-frame (which was originally blocked by taxis) with the Bolt Bus logo, and a lady on a stool was sitting there ready to sell snacks to those boarding the bus. I didn't take a picture of the location, but yesterday when I pulled up Google Map's street view, they had conveniently managed to capture people boarding a Bolt Bus.

This was two years ago, however, and after looking Bolt's website recently, it looks like they've changed locations again. Just go to the sidewalk and wait, even if it doesn't seem like a logical location. And look for an A-frame. Here's another Google Map, only from Earth view. The star is where we boarded, and the Google Map marker is supposedly where they pick you up now.

Tickets

I bought our tickets 3-4 weeks in advance. I paid $6 for one ticket and $13 for another. You'll notice when you're buying them that each ticket is associated with a group letter. Since we bought our tickets so far in advance, we were put in Group B. Basically these groups just specify who gets to board first. The bus driver will call for Group A first, they'll load their luggage under the bus, and go pick out a seat. Group B goes next, and so forth. The earlier you buy, the better luck you'll have getting a seat that you want.

The Buses

The buses are really nice. They're equipped with wifi, and, if I remember correctly, they even had spots where you could charge your electronics. The seats were large and comfortable (for bus seats). I believe we stopped once for a break, but I didn't get off. Travis enjoyed the views and I enjoyed my book. The ride was about 3 1/2 hours and we chose to get off at NYC's Penn Station. They also had other NYC stops like Chinatown, but Penn Station was only a few blocks from our Hotel.

I'd do it again and I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone. Like I said earlier, for $9.50/pp, the quality and price just can't be beat.


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Travel Tips: Washington D.C.

DAY 1:

I have a weird obsession with cemeteries. It's not like they freak me out, I actually think they're really beautiful. We went to Arlington Cemetery very first, and, with the advice from my friend Della, we purchased tickets to ride the tour buses that drive around. The cemetery is larger than you can even comprehend, and it's actually quite steep. Since we had to do so much walking the rest of the day, I was really glad we bought the tickets ($8/pp, I think?). There are a few hop-on/hop-off stops. You can skip past some stops or visit them all like we did. First stop was the Changing of the Guard and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also stopped at JFK's gravesites, The Arlington House, and various other memorials. You wouldn't believe the quiet reverence of the Kennedy gravesites. It's a humbling experience.

Next we took the Metro to the Smithsonian Station. Apparently a lot of the museums are connected underground. We entered the Freer Gallery and exited from a completely different building. It kind of threw us for a loop. The Smithsonian Castle and the galleries surrounding it, we not all that entertaining. If you don't have much time, I vote you skip these.

The Hirshorn Museum was probably the only art museum that Travis liked. It had a lot of interactive installments mixed with paintings and we both found it pretty cool. I had been to the Nevada Museum of Art and various Utah art galleries, but this was my first major art museum since I had taken my art history classes and it meant so much more. I've never been a huge fan of Mondrian or Bacon, but seeing pieces from such famous artists made me giddy. It's worth a look.

There were few tourists at the cemetery and at the other galleries/museums. We didn't really even see many walking around. But when we walked into the Air & Space Museum, we discovered where they all were. It was packed. Seeing the size of the missiles, rockets, and some of the planes was interesting, but overall, I found it quite boring. I think I was expecting something different after seeing Night at the Museum 2, though I don't know what. By the time we made it through the whole place, we kind of looked at each other and said, "Huh. That was kind of lame." Personal preference, I suppose.

We skipped the American Indian Museum and headed to the reflecting pool in front of the Capitol Building. We walked up closer to the building and took lots of pictures, but we never went inside. From there we walked to the National Archives. This is where we had our National Treasure moment in a room much smaller and darker than I imagined. There aren't supposed to be any lines and the security guard kept telling us to stop forming lines, but I don't know how else you're supposed to see everything without waiting in line behind others…? It really was cool to see the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence with the original giant John Hancock signature.

There's a Metro station near the Archives. It took us a few minutes to find, but we followed the crowds and headed home for the day.

DAY 2:

We started Day 2 at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. I had heard about the museum when I was in Middle School and have wanted to go ever since. We paid $1/pp to purchase the tickets online ahead of time. I hear that tickets go fast depending on the season and time of day. I wanted to guarantee my entrance so I went ahead and bought them before we even left Salt Lake. There are a few exhibits you can see without tickets, but the main ticketed exhibit is really what the museum is all about. I had high expectations and they were fully met. That memorial can be a life changer. I'd recommend it for adults and older children.

Next we took the Metro to The National Gallery of Art. I was in heaven. Travis was bored out of his mind. I had done something to my back the previous night and I was having the hardest time standing. It was the worst day to have such bad back pain. We had to stop and sit on a bench in almost every room of the art gallery and then we sat on the benches in the NGA Sculpture Garden. Unfortunately, this pattern of stopping every 5 minutes to sit, continued through the whole day. Bless Travis for putting up with me! But anyway, I highly recommend the NGA & Sculpture Garden for fans of the arts.

We skipped the National Museum of Natural History. I think Travis was a little disappointed, but when it comes to dinosaurs and the like, we kind of had this, "been there, done that" mentality. I'm sure Utah doesn't have near the exhibits of the National Museum, but I've seen a lot and we just didn't have the time for every museum. I had also planned on skipping the National Museum of American History (sounds boring), but my sister-in-law told that her one regret from her D.C. trip was that she didn't have more time for that particular museum. I'm glad she said something because it ended up being our favorite museum. They had the original ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, a Nauvoo temple sunstone, one of Abraham Lincoln's hats, and a host of other ridiculously awesome things. It was so cool. Go there. You're bound to find something interesting.

Next we walked to the Washington Monument and took pictures. Because of an earthquake the previous year, it was closed for renovations. We walked a little further and took pictures of The White House from afar. That was as close as we felt like we needed to get. We spent a few minutes just chilling at the WWII Memorial before we walked to the Vietnam Memorial. There wasn't much a view for that walk because the main Reflecting Pool had been drained for repairs (apparently we picked a bad time to visit). The Vietnam Monument is just as cool in real life, however.

Keeping up with my movie-scene mindset, I was thinking of Legally Blonde when we got to the Lincoln Memorial. I think the reason they filmed that scene at night is because during the day place is packed. There were people everyone - on the steps, in the shop, and near the statue. It was still cool to see in person. After a few failed attempts at a good selfie, a nice family offered to take our picture and we returned the favor. A nice woman had done the same thing at the Washington Monument. I like that.

Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprising at this point), the closest Metro station to the Lincoln Memorial is the Arlington Cemetery Metro. You can either cross the bridge over the Potomac for some awesome views like we did, or hit up the Foggy Bottom Station directly north of the monument. Both are about a mile walk from the Memorial. You could also try the Smithsonian Station, which is even farther but there are other things you could see (like the Korean War Memorial and/or Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial) along the way. Or, you could just save yourself the hassle by paying for a trolley or Segway tour!

It was a long day, but it was amazing.


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Travel Tips: Getting Around D.C. & Other Tips

As I mentioned in a previous post, we were staying with friends just outside of Baltimore. These wonderful friends dropped us off at the end of the Green Line each morning (about a 40 minute drive?), and we rode the Metro to D.C (about 30 minutes?). The Green Line starts above ground and the closer you get to D.C., the more time you spend underground. I get nervous trying new things. I didn't know if I could figure out the Metro, but Salt Lake City’s Trax system prepared us for the Metro; and, in turn, the Metro prepared us for NYC Subways. Just get a map and follow the signs.

DC Metro & Useful Maps

This is a DC Metro map from DC Transit Guide. I used the Evernote web clipper to save this map onto my Evernote account and accessed it with the Evernote App. Best decision ever. We used it at least a dozen times each day. At the very least, take a picture of the map with your phone and pull it up that way.

Each train specifies the color/track it will follow, and you can tell which direction it’s headed because it will list the name of the last station on its line. If I’m on the Green Line and I want to head north, for example, I will look for a GR Greenbelt train. To head south, I will look for a GR Branch Avenue train.

Let’s pretend you’re at the L'Enfant Plaza station (which is a major transfer point) and you want to go to the Smithsonian station. You can see that the Smithsonian station is on both the Orange and Blue lines and is west of L'Enfant Plaza station. This means that you will look for a BL Franconia-Springfield train or an OR Vienna train. Make sense? Also note that L'Enfant Plaza has multiple levels. If you can’t find your particular color or direction of train, just keep wandering. ;)

Another map we looked at frequently was this tourist map from DC Trolley Tours. We just used their map, and not their services, but I’d recommend using the trolleys or something like it. I've had two friends that have done a Segway tour and recommended it. Metro stops are few and far between. I thought I was prepared for the amount of walking we would be doing. I wasn't. Pack lots and lots of water.

Other Thoughts/Tips:

• If you’re going to any art museums and you have a backpack, you’ll be required to check it in at the front. Other museums like the Air & Space Museum and the National Museum of American History let you keep your bag with you. Each place is good at specifying what they want you to do.
• Pack a lunch. It will be cheaper, and you won’t have to walk a mile to find a place to eat.
• If you’re staying in D.C. or really close by, add up the price of single-trip fares. There’s a good possibility that you won’t be using the Metro much so it could be cheaper to do it that way instead of purchasing a day pass or SmartTrip card. Since we were so far out on the Green Line, it was most cost effective for us to buy an unlimited day pass each morning. If I remember correctly, these were about $10+/pp/day. Research your options and purchase online or at the Kiosks located at each of the stations. Note that the fares change at certain points of the day (around rush hour).
• Don’t laugh, but some of the metro stations were hard to find. It took us a while to find the one by the National Archives, I think. If you’re confused, just start watching people. There’s usually a crowd headed underground and a crowd popping up on the street.
• All tourist attractions are free! The only things we paid money for was Metro cards, an Arlington Cemetery trolley ride ($8/pp, I think?), Holocaust Museum tickets ($1/pp because I bought them online), and souvenirs.
• There are drinking fountains at almost every museum so you can fill up your water bottles. There are also plenty of benches along the National Mall. Take lots of breaks, and drink lots of water.
• If you want to tour the White House you have to contact your congressman at least 21 days in advance. Not even joking. You can read about it here. We had no interest in the first place, but I might have changed my mind anyway. That’s too much work just to see a house.
• Turns out that the trek from the Lincoln Memorial to the Arlington Cemetery Metro is more than just a casual stroll. The Potomac is beautiful, though, and the walk was still nice.

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D.C. & NYC Travel Tips: What & How to Pack

I wish I would have researched this topic ahead of time. It would have saved us a lot of effort, and a whole day wasted after a missed flight (that story will be coming up in my Transportation post).

How We Packed

Travis and I thought we had the most genius idea for packing. We packed all of our clothes together inside a fairly large suitcase and then put that suitcase inside a large suitcase. It was like a nesting doll of suitcases. We figured we'd be buying lots of "I <3 New York" t-shirts and other souvenirs and thought we'd end up needing both suitcases when we headed home. So we had two suitcases, but we only had to check one on the way there. This would have been a good idea had we actually needed both suitcases. After some intense squishing, however, we still managed to get everything to fit inside the nested suitcases. My thoughts? If you plan on checking a bag, just get a big one and put everyone's clothes in it. There's no need to pay for everyone to check a bag.

Also, one idea that we used from Pinterest was to take some crazy printed duct tape and wrap the handles of our luggage. Our black luggage looked like everyone else's except for our pink & black zebra striped handles. This was an amazing help in identifying our luggage on the airport carousels.

In addition to our checked luggage, we each took a backpack for our carry on and filled it with items to keep us entertained on the plane. We emptied Travis' at each of our destinations and filled it with our lunches & snacks for the day, water bottles, sunscreen, tickets, etc. This ended up being a really good idea, and I'll probably continue to do this for future trips.

What I Plan to Do Differently

I never plan on checking a bag again. I haven't had the chance to test this out yet, but I'm determined to "Pack Like a Freaking Ninja" next time. Check out this post and the embedded video. It will blow your mind. This woman packs for her week+ trips just using carry on bags. It's so genius. She has multiple YouTube videos. Each one has a couple new extra tips. Seriously, check them out. (Remember to pull up your airline's website to double-check their carry on bag dimensions and limitations.)

There are also tons of other blog posts like this blog post from GetAwayToday.com. And really there are tons of tips all over the internet if you're willing to search. Look on Pinterest. Do some research. 

What I Packed

Have you ever been back East? Holy Moly it's hot and humid! The humidity was nasty every day, but we at least lucked out with rain in Baltimore and cloud cover for most of the time we spent in D.C. My point? Pack t-shirts and shorts. I'm notorious for layering my shirts, but after some suggestions from my sister-in-law Melanie, I only packed shirts that didn't require an undershirt. It's hot enough as is, there's no need to make it worse with layers. I also packed a wrinkle-free skirt (for church), a pair of black dress pants (for Broadway), 7 pairs of ankle socks, and a jacket (which I never used). For shoes I took a pair of dressy black flats, a pair of sneakers, and a pair of casual flats. Remember to wear your bulkiest shoes on the plane so they don't take up so much room in your suitcase. For the duration of the trip, I chose comfort over style and wore my sneakers nearly the whole time. The amount of walking -- especially in D.C. where the metro stops aren't quite as convenient -- make a good pair of sneakers a necessity.

We took travel size shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. We used these for the Baltimore/D.C. section of the trip because we were staying with friends, but if you're staying in a hotel I'd recommend just using their stuff. Don't pack it if it isn't necessary. That being said, do remember to pack sunscreen or, at the very least, buy some while you're there. Remember that if you're using the carry on only method, you'll have to follow certain guidelines. If you're packing a liquid or a gel (like shampoo), it has to be in a container that is less than 3.4 ounces, and all of your containers should be shoved together in a quart-sized zip-lock bag.

As for meds, I went a little crazy in preventing all possible ailments. Something to think about: you're not headed to a 3rd world country. If you forgot to (or don't want to) pack the Pepto, go to the store and buy some. Odds are you won't need anything besides your daily meds, so don't go crazy.

The humidity was my frizzy hair's worst nightmare, but I was prepared for that. I filled 2 travel size spray bottles with spray gel and scrunched my hair and/or put it up in a ponytail every day. This saved some space in my bag because I didn't have to pack a curling iron or straightener. I did pack a blow dryer but I didn't need it because I could have used my friend Della's and then the hotel in New York had one. Like I said, don't pack it if you don't need it.


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Volare: My Baltimore/DC/NYC Vacation Tips

For our 5^th anniversary I dragged my husband on a Baltimore/D.C./NYC trip. He’s a farm boy from Podunk, Utah who lives to hunt and owns his own lawn care business. Guess how much he loved our big city vacation??  I might have forced him to walk through one too many art galleries, but he’s a survivor! I love that boy.

It was my first time on an airplane. I've done the whole bus thing – my furthest was a round-trip ride from Utah to Illinois. And I've done plenty of road trips of the car variety. For our first anniversary we drove to Reno, then on to the Redwood forests, up to my brother’s house in Salem, OR, and then home again. That was probably my longest car trip. Growing up my dad drove us places – the furthest was to White Rock, British Columbia, just a few minutes across the Washington State/Canada border. It was a long ride in a Ford Taurus with my 6’5 brother taking up most of the leg room in the back seat. Still though, that was probably about the time when I realized I wanted to travel everywhere.

It’s been almost two years since our anniversary vacation, and I think it’s time to write down my travel tips before I forget all of my “dos and don’ts.” As I said, these are my tips for me to remember. You can read them and leave me more tips, but don’t be a hater.

Travel Tips: What & How to Pack
Travel Tips: SLC to Baltimore

Travel Tips: Baltimore

Travel Tips: Getting Around D.C. & Other Tips
Travel Tips: Washington D.C. 
Travel Tips: Baltimore/D.C. to New York City

Travel Tips: NYC - Getting Around, Where to Stay, & What to Eat
Travel Tips: New York City
Travel Tips: Leaving New York