Always great to try speciality beer from a micro brewery. Lab is a cool trendy bar that brews it's own potions. I tried the Lab IPA (taster size) with some yummy truffle micro fries served with Tabasco ketchup before heading towards an airport hotel for my shuttle to Charlotte at 6pm.

It didn't turn up! Yikes. When I called up the owner had made an error and was 2.5 hours away. So my first rescue came early. Rachael & John really stepped up and drove me to Charlotte (witnessing & steering well clear of a drunk driver who was all over the shop). I hung out at the downtown Marriott and then caught a cab to Charlotte Amtrak for my 2am train. The station is much larger than Atlanta and was busy. So my trip begins for real. It's quite a step up to the train where I was assigned seat 48 by the window in coach. I didn't catch much sleep. The seat was really uncomfortable but I saw the sunrise through Virginia and had great views in Washington.