Leaving Virginia behind - Part II - the bus ride back to NYC

We arrived at the Lorton bus station in time to catch our 8.50am bus back to NYC.

Another nice driver at the wheel,  Mr. Greene, kept us updated as we drove along.
I will apologise here for the quality of some of the photos, but remember I was traveling on a moving bus.

 

Leaving Lorton behind

Train parking/storage area

Passing by familiar sights - The Pentagon

 The Pentagon

The headquarters of the US Department of Defense

Arlington County, VA

Large parking area - The Pentagon

Much needed for the over 25,000 personnel that are employed there.

Leaving The Pentagon behind

You may read more on the Pentagon here.

The first stop was Rosslyn to pick up more passengers

Personnel loading the luggage on the bus

The Rosslyn stop outside Cosi Cafe

A well planted road verge

Lovely houses

Different styles

Nice brick homes

Quiet tree-lined  neighbourhoods

Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church

 Nebraska Ave, Washington, DC

US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Washington, DC

DHS is made up of a combination of 22 departments and agencies with a mission to secure the nation from the many threats it faces.

It was formed 10 years ago to improve the security of the US after the 9/11 attacks.

At our Bethesda stop, this tree held my interest as the adjoining passengers boarded the bus.
The damage done by a  woodpecker perhaps?

The Potomac River

Water storage tanks high in the air

More tolls

Around lunchtime, the lady sitting in the seat beside me, decided to do something which had me almost pulling my hair out.
Of Oriental origin, she opened up her lunch of noodles and stir-fry chicken, and enjoyed it with lip smacking delight.  It looked so good and smelled so good....why would she do that to me?
Remember Jack Sprat and his wife?  She licked the platter clean.
As you may imagine, I had to pretend I had not observed this act, so I continued taking photos out of the window like this one.

More bridges

Yet more tolls along the way

Huge power grid towers

Look at the size of the tower compared to the vehicles below

I have always wondered about the plastic balls on the power lines.  The power company puts the big red plastic balls on the high-voltage transmission lines to keep airplanes from flying into them. They are used on long stretches between support towers. Power lines are thin and can be difficult to see by low-flying aircraft.
All the big marker balls are to warn airplanes of the power lines.....how ingenious is that?

More bridges

Now I know what it feels like to have a bird's eye view.

The skyline tells me we're almost there

Last toll before our NYC drop off.

Before we knew it, we were being dropped off downtown outside Penn Station.
What a lovely journey.  We thanked the driver, collected our bags and started to make our way home.