It was difficult finding cheap fares to Washington, DC, because of the high gas prices, but I found one through CheapTickets.com for under $500. The problem is that it's not refundable, but then I just purchased travel insurance.
I didn't sleep and I had to pack in a hurry. By 3am, I was on the road to the airport. Harmony gave me the link to a cheaper parking lot than the one I found. The counter guy talked too fast. Either that or my brain is mush that I had to keep asking him to repeat what he just said. The shuttle driver was very friendly, on the other hand.
My flight was with US Airways and I couldn't reserve a seat online. It was a very full flight. Thankfully, I got the window seat in the bulkhead row, right behind first class. I only had 45 minutes to get to my second plane in Phoenix, so I figured I needed to be able to get out of the plane faster. Well, it took me a while (short on sleep, remember?) to figure out that US Airways load up their planes differently. From what I can figure, they assign zones so that people in the windows load up first, as opposed to loading up the back of the plane first.
Anyway, we arrived at Phoenix a bit early and we were only a few gates from the gate where I had to go. So I had time to grab some Asian Chicken Salad for breakfast.
On the second leg, I was on the exit aisle. Those window seats were the only window seats available. I think it was my first time sitting in an exit aisle. We were supposed to put all our bags, including our purses in the overhead compartment, but I kept mine right under my feet. It's not like it's going to get in the way, unless we had to open the exit doors. I slept a bit on this leg of the trip.
Reagan National Airport is pretty much like an ordinary airport. I didn't notice much in terms of exhibits, like sculptures and such. But then it's only a secondary airport.
I called Budget to get instructions how to get to their booth, caught a bus to the garage, picked up my rental car, turned on my GPS, and off I went.
Well, there's a point where the GPS kept beeping at me because the turns were right next to each other, so I missed the exit to 394S. So I ended up going towards Washington. I saw the obelisk almost as soon as I got out of the airport anyway. I just saw a bit more.
What struck me was how wide open the place feels. I mean, there are almost as many trees here as in Seattle, but there are no tall buildings, and the buildings are miles from each other. Well, there are probably more buildings behind the trees, but that's the impression I got from the freeway.
I guess I'll find out more tomorrow. I'm gonna try to go for a tourbus tomorrow and maybe a cruise on Friday.
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