Leaving Virginia behind Part I - the train ride

Leaving VA is always such a hard thing to do.  I had enjoyed my weekend stay immensely.
Shakespeare was right, parting is such sweet sorrow.
We awoke early that morning, and said goodbye with lots of hugs and kisses to Lola Boo girl, and my "daughter" and her dad. 

 Lola Boo saying goodbye until next time

 My girlfriend at the wheel serenading us with hilarious stories about her crazy neighbours as we pass their houses for the last.

 We rode with my girlfriend to the Leiland Station where she parks her car for the day.  We then took the 7.47am VRE train to our stop at Lorton where we would take the bus back to NYC.
On the train ride, we sat and laughed and chatted, knowing the inevitable goodbyes were coming up a few stops away.
The friendly conductor, David, came by to authenticate our tickets, and when he discovered we were from Barbados proceeded to regale us with some stories of his trip to Barbados back in the 60's.  He was funny.
I took  a few photos on the way.

One of our stops was Quantico.

 Quantico Marine Corps Base - "The Crossroads of the Corps"

I had to be careful not to photograph any Marines on duty at the gate.

Quantico US Marine Corps base is used primarily for training purposes. 
Located on 100 square miles in the Virginia woods, it is where all Marine officers begin their careers.  Over 12,000 personnel (including personnel and their families) are based here.
The FBI Academy and the training facility for the Drug Enforcement Administration are also located on the base.
I did see some Marines training on the agility ropes in the trees as the train went by.

 Lots of lovely scenery along the way

The leaves on the trees were beginning their dramatic show for fall.

The Potomac River

As the train pulled into Lorton Station, and we gathered our things to disembark, I could feel the tears in the back of my eyes.
Here I was saying goodbye to my dear friend once again.
She is such a sport, she said to me, "Don't you start that tear crying thing again missy....last year you had me crying....not this time."
I hugged her and gave her a kiss on each cheek, but I knew that if I looked back she would have had a tear in her eye too. Who was she trying to fool?

Lorton Station

We arrived at the Lorton bus stop just 20 minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave.
We didn't have long to wait, the bus rolled up a few minutes later.