BLAZE rides Amtrak to Nationals Park

Blaze wrapped up the summer by taking the Amtrak to Washington, DC to see the Washington Nationals make a comeback and trounce the St. Louis Cardinals 14 to 5. Fourteen runs are the most runs the Nationals have scored at home since moving to Washington in 2005. It was a treat to see Cardinals' First Baseman, Albert Pujols, play in the game. Pujols is arguably the best player in baseball and who only two nights earlier reached his 400th homerun in less games than any player before him. While the train ride and the game were the highlights of the trip, on Sunday morning, our group was also able to grab some breakfast at Brooklyn Bagel in Arlington, make it to a great 10:30 AM worship service at Grace Community Church, and then hop over to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery to witness the changing of the guard. DC Travel Tips: (1) When in DC traveling with a group buy the metro passes at the station vending machines 10 at a time with a credit card. Just saves time. (2) Schedule in down time and narrow what you want to see or you can easily tire yourself out. (3) We had no problems, but you cannot over emphasize caution around the metro train platforms. (4) If you purchase the Amtrak tickets early and get the tickets printed at the station ahead of time, you need only show up along the station rails when the train arrives. However, you may want to check with station personnel to see if they will allow your group to board early. When lining up along the rails prior to boarding you may be asked to go quite a ways down the track depending on your destination. Those heading to DC were asked to board the last car. Amtrak people around the stations prior to boarding both coming and going were conspicuously not around to ask for help. The personnel on the train were pretty helpful, however it did not take long for the trash in the snack car to begin to overflow the recepticles and create quite a mess.