My first experience with the metro in D.C. took place approximately two years ago with two of my close friends. We descended into the tunnel where you could buy your pass (a card that you put money onto), walk through the gates, and (hopefully) choose your correct train. The three of us purchased our passes and proceeded to the gate. The kicker: only one of us had ever used this system before, and of course, that person shot right through the gate and out of vision. The other two of us inserted our tickets, surveyed the unopened gate, and helplessly looked at each other. Luckily, a not-so-polite business woman (that I still picture as twice my size) said, "You gotta take your ticket." We took our ticket, and go figure, the gates opened.
Now PDub's first experience was a little different than mine, as his always are. PDub first visited D.C. with his family when he was in the fourth grade, and his sister was in the seventh grade. Their problem wasn't getting through the gates, but instead, determining which train to get on. Being the confident young woman she was (and is), Doubles Shark-Whisperer quickly found the correct train, grabbed PDub's hand, and jumped on it leaving their parents behind. To this day, I still picture the kids staring out the train window waving goodbye as their parents still debate over the accurate train. As you can probably guess, PDub and his sister were located and rejoined with their parents.
I recently took the metro for the first time by myself. Destination: Reagan National Airport. Time: Rush Hour. After my first lesson with tickets and carefully planning out my trip, I breezed right through the gates and found my train. However, this train was packed full, but this did not stop me from getting on it (I had a flight to make). I had to stand, hold onto my carry-on (preventing it from falling on people's feet), and grip onto the bar above. All while every portion of my body touched something/somebody else (I'd rather not think about it), and at each stop, even more people joined. I probably should have stretched before this trip because I am a little too short to reach the bar above and my luggage was a bit heavy. I most likely pulled something in my back after the ride, seeing that it hurt for a couple of days after. This experience has confirmed that I'm a bit of a germaphobe and a little claustrophobic. The metro is very convenient; however, avoiding it at rush hour is best...Lesson learned.
