Morning Trip to Philadelphia 6/14/2024

 Morning Trip to Philadelphia 6/14/2024

To make a long story short, I had to make an early AM trip to the Philly VA Medical Center for some tests. In order to make some other things happen, it worked out best to take the Amtrak from Trenton, NJ to Philly’s 30^th Street station.

I set my alarm for 3:00 AM (Ugg!) and left my home at about 5 for the scheduled 5:53 AM train. Yes, I know it was about equal distance between my home and Trenton and the VA Hospital, but I had other things I hoped to do after the appointment was done.

There is little traffic on the road at this early hour, which makes for an easy drive. I had to install apps on my phone for the Amtrak ticket, the parking garage in Trenton, and for the transit in Philly. Had these all installed and accounts registered days before the trip.

 

I was at the station with plenty of time to spare.

The train was on time and boarding was quick and easy. There were plenty of seats. Things were clean and comfortable for the short ride, about 25 minutes.

I purposely had gotten a seat on the right side of the car to get a photo of the famous sign on the “Lower Trenton Toll-Supported Bridge” (referred to as the "Trenton Makes - The World Takes Bridge") which spans the Delaware River and connects Warren Street in Trenton, N.J. with East Bridge Street in Morrisville, Pa

The ride was fine and quiet. The free Wi-Fi access point was maxed out which is the only gripe I had with the trip. The scenery along this stretch of the Northeast Corridor is not very exciting unless you enjoy seeing a lot of suburbs and industrial areas. Activated my GPS-based speedometer app and saw there were short stretches of the journey we reached over 100 miles per hour. It also was pleasant to see the sunrise through the train window.

I read online that the new Avelia Liberty “Next-Generation High-Speed Trains” were parked near 30^th Street Station, so I made it a point to get a photo of them. These were supposed to replace the Acela train sets beginning in 2022, yet here they sit.

We arrived on time in Philly and the train continued its voyage to Washington, DC.

The station is in the midst of a major renovation and hopefully, this will bring some needed upgrades and yet maintain its Golden Age of Railroading charm.

Currently, you must exit the station and cross the street to get to the “Metro” ( subway and trolly) station.

 

I knew four important factors that determined my dress for the day: I was going to have to get undressed at the hospital, it was going to be 90° Fahrenheit, we were expecting heavy thunderstorms in the afternoon, and it was Flag Day.

I got onto the trolly without any issues at 30^th Street and rode Line 13 to the 40^Th street Trolly Portal, where the cars emerged from the underground center city tunnel and rode on the street. This is a five-minute/one-block walk from the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center.

 

The large sign and memorial were being renovated, so I didn’t get a shot of that.
   

I was not a happy camper having to make this trip at all, but focusing on the journey itself distracted me from its purpose. This worked until the point that I was all ready for the testing. The staff at the hospital was professional and accommodating, for which I am very thankful. There was one test at 7:30 and another at 9:30, but they didn’t make me get dressed and walk from one department to the other, they just wheeled me over, this was a major blessing. The second department even got things started early and I was done about 9:15, which was before my scheduled appointment time of 9:30!  

 

I hurried out of the hospital, in hopes of returning to New Jersey before the thunderstorms started. I hadn’t purchased the return ticket back because I didn’t know what time I would be finished, honestly, I was expecting it to be about Noon! But Amtrak has at least one train each hour north from Philadelphia, so there were no issues here. I purchased my ticket on the 9:45 AM train while on the trolley. This cost $35 compared to the $10 I spent on the pre-booked early morning ticket, even got myself a cup of coffee and a donut and had plenty of time to consume them while waiting on the line to go down the stairs to board the train.

This second train was also clean and comfortable, but it was fuller. I got out of my seat early in an attempt to take another shot of the Trenton Makes - The World Takes sign, being that the river is only about one mile from the station, so I waited the last few minutes on the vestibule.  It turned out that the earlier photos came out a lot better in the end.

We got to Trenton on time. And now had all afternoon to go back home and visit the barber, grocery store, post office, and laundromat.

 

The hard part is now: I am waiting for the test results.