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dustinprewitt18 April 2004
It was amazing how large Dulles International Airport was. Being my first visit to an international airport, I was quite overwhelmed by its vast size. It was almost a 30 min walk from the gate to the baggage claim area, including a brief ride via shuttle bus from one end of the port to the other. And being an international airport, the variety of cultures at there was something to behold. Several languages, some of the cleaning crew could not speak english, etc... I also saw what looked like a pakistani/indian family homecoming, complete with the turbans, beards, exotic dresses, and of course the high-tech digital camcorder...
It took me no small amount of time to locate the car rental desk. Eventualy, I found out that it wasnt even in the airport- I had to take a provided shuttle to the car port desk in order to pick up my reserved car. When I got to Hertz a few mins later, I waited in line for almost over an hour to recieve... NOTHING. Apparantly the person who booked my reservation failed to tell me that I had to be over 25 in order to rent from them, which makes almost no sense. Of course, a rental agency has to be careful who they rent to, but one would think that responsibility would be measured in credit rating rather than age. Its discrimination I tells ya! But at least the store manager was kind enough to take the time out to find a dealiership that WOULD rent out to me, and he even gave me a ride out there. I ended up paying almost double what I had originaly intended on paying with hertz- $600 for the week. Hertz, donnit? But the car was still pretty damned cool- a 2003 Red Sebring... If I have to spend the money, I might as well do it in style...
Next step- finding lodging. It was about an hour or so before I reached the city. Of course, that was after driving through three or so other cities. It was another sight to behold. I could feel the history vibrating through the city, the power, the energy, the weight. The roads were tiwsted, narrow, and blocked randomly for construction. The city was as busy as during Wichita's riverfestival on its BEST day. Lol, and I also saw my first pakistani cabdriver. It felt like biting off more than I could chew. But in my attempts to establish a base of operations, I began to feel that I would have little time to sightsee for pleasure, spending all my time looking for a place to stay. Sticking as close as I could to the highways I tired almost six places before I found a holiday inn in centeral Alexandria, but with only one night available... which was just as well since they were asking somewhere around 160 a night. One night would give me enough time to find a place for the week, as well as shower and take a load off. A few phone calls later I found a place in the Falls Church area available at only 50 a night, totaling 300 some for the week, making it very affordable (almost enough to compensate for the unexpected car rental price). I thought about heading out to the goth clubs that night, but I figure after the day that I had had, I could use a rest. I ordered a pizza via room service, and flipped through some of the channels provided. They had the old super nintendo games for rent direct to the TV, simial to pay-per-view. Too bad its not available for regular consumer service... like the sadly defunct sega channel. The local news that night- the top story was a local crazy homeless man gave an 8 year old an easter egg filled with perscription pain killers.
Next morning, I went down for breakfast... the dining room had a cute little model train going in circles. I then packed up and headed out for checkout. As I was heading down, the fire alarm went off, no drill. Perfect timing. Driving around, it was almost hard to believe that I had traveled half a continant away. The scenary wasnt that much different from that of the rich ends of wichita, Manhattan, or KC for that matter... but I think that the main difference was that it did not appear or feel artificial, like it fit the place. The forrested areas, the hills, the valleys, the curves, etc.
AND THE TRAFFIC.
Ill never complain about Wichita OR Kansas City Again.
The Motel, in Falls Church, from the outside looked quaint on the outside. On the inside however, was your typical seedy no-tell motel, but across from the local post office and Antique Society (not mall, not flea market, but *SOCIETY*). But as I become accustomed to the place, Im sure that it wont be too bad... Now that I have established a headquarters, I can now begin setting up a plan of attack... I MEAN TOUR OF DUTY! In either case, based on my experience so far, I think that I had best get started on an itenary. I would hate to travel all this way and miss out on anything important...
It was amazing how large Dulles International Airport was. Being my first visit to an international airport, I was quite overwhelmed by its vast size. It was almost a 30 min walk from the gate to the baggage claim area, including a brief ride via shuttle bus from one end of the port to the other. And being an international airport, the variety of cultures at there was something to behold. Several languages, some of the cleaning crew could not speak english, etc... I also saw what looked like a pakistani/indian family homecoming, complete with the turbans, beards, exotic dresses, and of course the high-tech digital camcorder...
It took me no small amount of time to locate the car rental desk. Eventualy, I found out that it wasnt even in the airport- I had to take a provided shuttle to the car port desk in order to pick up my reserved car. When I got to Hertz a few mins later, I waited in line for almost over an hour to recieve... NOTHING. Apparantly the person who booked my reservation failed to tell me that I had to be over 25 in order to rent from them, which makes almost no sense. Of course, a rental agency has to be careful who they rent to, but one would think that responsibility would be measured in credit rating rather than age. Its discrimination I tells ya! But at least the store manager was kind enough to take the time out to find a dealiership that WOULD rent out to me, and he even gave me a ride out there. I ended up paying almost double what I had originaly intended on paying with hertz- $600 for the week. Hertz, donnit? But the car was still pretty damned cool- a 2003 Red Sebring... If I have to spend the money, I might as well do it in style...
Next step- finding lodging. It was about an hour or so before I reached the city. Of course, that was after driving through three or so other cities. It was another sight to behold. I could feel the history vibrating through the city, the power, the energy, the weight. The roads were tiwsted, narrow, and blocked randomly for construction. The city was as busy as during Wichita's riverfestival on its BEST day. Lol, and I also saw my first pakistani cabdriver. It felt like biting off more than I could chew. But in my attempts to establish a base of operations, I began to feel that I would have little time to sightsee for pleasure, spending all my time looking for a place to stay. Sticking as close as I could to the highways I tired almost six places before I found a holiday inn in centeral Alexandria, but with only one night available... which was just as well since they were asking somewhere around 160 a night. One night would give me enough time to find a place for the week, as well as shower and take a load off. A few phone calls later I found a place in the Falls Church area available at only 50 a night, totaling 300 some for the week, making it very affordable (almost enough to compensate for the unexpected car rental price). I thought about heading out to the goth clubs that night, but I figure after the day that I had had, I could use a rest. I ordered a pizza via room service, and flipped through some of the channels provided. They had the old super nintendo games for rent direct to the TV, simial to pay-per-view. Too bad its not available for regular consumer service... like the sadly defunct sega channel. The local news that night- the top story was a local crazy homeless man gave an 8 year old an easter egg filled with perscription pain killers.
Next morning, I went down for breakfast... the dining room had a cute little model train going in circles. I then packed up and headed out for checkout. As I was heading down, the fire alarm went off, no drill. Perfect timing. Driving around, it was almost hard to believe that I had traveled half a continant away. The scenary wasnt that much different from that of the rich ends of wichita, Manhattan, or KC for that matter... but I think that the main difference was that it did not appear or feel artificial, like it fit the place. The forrested areas, the hills, the valleys, the curves, etc.
AND THE TRAFFIC.
Ill never complain about Wichita OR Kansas City Again.
The Motel, in Falls Church, from the outside looked quaint on the outside. On the inside however, was your typical seedy no-tell motel, but across from the local post office and Antique Society (not mall, not flea market, but *SOCIETY*). But as I become accustomed to the place, Im sure that it wont be too bad... Now that I have established a headquarters, I can now begin setting up a plan of attack... I MEAN TOUR OF DUTY! In either case, based on my experience so far, I think that I had best get started on an itenary. I would hate to travel all this way and miss out on anything important...
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.Cass.
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I want it -now.- I'm growing increasingly bored here. Hehehe.
.Cass.