Making it back to NYC from DC in record time, because, the Cure at MSG!

The Cure is on tour!

I was speaking at a thing in Washington, DC. I was supposed to step off the stage at 3:05 PM. Bad timing because this same exact day, Tom and I had gotten ourselves free tickets to the Cure show at Madison Square Garden in New York City beginning at 8:00PM. Excellent seats I might add.

And so, the race began -- not only to make it back to NYC in time for the show, but also to figure out how to make it back to NYC in time for the show.

At first, Tom and I kind of thought driving would be the best option. I mean, if we drive, we can depart immediately without waiting for a train or a plane. This felt like fully utilizing every minute available. 

This impression lasted until we talked to Jeff and Shannon who used to live in DC, who commute back and forth frequently and who laughed uproariously when we explained our logic. Which was catastrophically flawed.

Because traffic.

It was only after they reminded us about traffic that I remembered attempting to make it back to the city from Baltimore last fall and it taking neigh unto 6 hours. And that was only from Baltimore. If we left at 3:05PM we might only make it back after 9. Nooooo!

So we discussed flying. But discarded the idea ultimately. After we landed, we'd still have to journey into Manhattan from JFK or LaGuardia (both far far away in an outer borough) during what might still be rush hour. This felt difficult.

So we settled on the train. 

I like the train. Riding the train is very civilized... big seats, a bar-car, no TSA... *PLUS,* Amtrak comes in to Penn Station which is not only in the same building as Madison Square Garden but also ten minutes from our apartment.

Tom worked it all out and bought Ascella tickets a half hour after my talk ended. 

Mostly the plan went flawlessly. I took no questions and only looked at my watch once or twice from the stage. Tom waited in the audience with my rolley-bag and we were off like a shot. 

Shannon had said to take the subway to the Union Train Station because. Traffic. She said it would be a lot faster. 

It probably was, even though the two of us were New Yorkers in the DC subway. We tapped our phones on the turnstiles like we do here and became well and truly baffled that nothing was happening while we loudly discussed the situation. 

Finally we figured out that we had to buy a card and then we got stuck again trying to exit because you have to tap your card again and apparently we had loaded up our card with off-peak fares and it was on-peak. 

Yeah, it was a thing but we survived.

You're probably on the edge of your seat so let me wrap up by putting your fears to rest. We made it to the show in time to pay $57 + tip for two cocktails and see the opening band, The Twilight Sad, who were amazing.