yeah the price is ridiculous. the long and short of it is that the US sucks at passenger rail service. 100 years ago we led the world. now we don't even hold a candle to systems in the developing world.
yeah if you live by IAD it's a no-brainer. Even DCA. Like I said - right now, Amtrak from DC to Boston isn't really workable (unless you don't care how long it takes lol). But DC to NYC is another story. Even if you live by DCA, I'd still rather go Union Station to NY-Penn on the Acela (if I'm trying to get to Manhattan).
Everyone should experience it at least once - a heavy snow in Manhattan is magical. The city just becomes so peaceful - it's f*cking amazing. It is very fleeting (the inconvenience of a ton of snow in the middle of the city soon becomes apparent). But man, while it's snowing - nothing like it. Honestly.
Maybe models have severe issues between jan 25 and 27
it's some whack version of the Y2K bug (look it up kids). models just crap out on those dates in certain years.
i would say model worshipper is a stretch tho. you like maps. models are plotted on maps. I mean there is a connection there but that is a bit strong imo.
i just don't want a life where I have to put my kids in the car to go everywhere. I mean where we live right now is perfect in that regard but we are running out of space, especially since our younger one will probably be walking within a couple of months.
my issue with Palisades is lack of transit tho. I'd probably pick Kalorama Triangle as 1, and where you live as 2 (Cleveland Park). We are also considering schools - I mean Eaton just got a $60M upgrade.