Washington or bust! (Part2)

I awoke around 5.00 am to one of those chilly and breezy fall days and after the hiccup yesterday with accommodation, it was a last minute pack. Walking to the Campus Center bus stop I was rugged up in my winter coat, scarf and leather gloves and I was still cold. The chill of the winds off Lake Ontario cut right through you...brrr. With daylight saving nearing its end, the days will be steadily marching towards their shortest and coldest. Because of the extreme winter weather, everybody still comments that I’m leaving Oswego at the right time and how true they are! I’m continually thinking of the summer past and how enjoyable the warmer temperatures were.

The Syracuse bus arrived as scheduled at 7.30 am and once again the route took in the picturesque colours of fall. Although it was only a few weeks ago when I travelled the same route, you notice that many of the trees have already lost their leaves. I arrived two hours later at the Syracuse Regional Transportation Center (RTC) and to save a few dollars I booked a taxi to the airport from the RTC.

This time the cost was $21, a saving of $4.90 instead of the pre-paid flat-rate taxi service at $25.90 for a 6 mile (10 minute) journey. The taxi turned up on cue at 10.00 am and everything was going to plan to catch my 11.30am flight to New York City (NYC). Even the check-in and security check points flowed well. And then came the announcement...”The flight to NYC has been delayed and we will update you when we have more information”. In other words, we don’t know how long the wait will be.

30 minutes, an hour, then two hours went by and finally a boarding time of 2.00 pm was announced. Numerous passengers had already missed their connecting flights, however, with a quick calculation I would still make the boarding time in NYC to catch my 3.30 pm flight to Dulles International Airport, Washington. But would my luggage make the trip? The aircraft finally departed from Syracuse around 2.30pm and yes, it’s going to be a close call to make the connecting flight.

Thankfully, the Chief Officer on board the flight had radioed ahead to hold the connection to Washington. We arrived at JFK Airport an hour later and just like the movies it was a sprint through the terminal to our departure gate. As luck would have it, NOT, the boarding gate is located at the other end of the terminal. I was seated above the luggage loading area of the haul of the aircraft, so it was with great relief when I noticed a JetBlue transport vehicle carrying my luggage. With a short delay of 15 minutes I was finally off to Washington.

Arrived at Dulles International Airport around 5.15 pm and boarded the Aero Train to the luggage carousel. It was an amazing space age journey just to pick up your luggage.

I collected my luggage and then made the important phone call to the Comfort Inn, Dulles International Airport, Herndon, Virginia for their courtesy bus service. So here goes their response:

• Based on their records I had no reservation
• The Inn would not send their courtesy bus to the airport to collect me, and
• They would not honour the internet price.

They weren’t interested at all and suggested that I had made a mistake and booked in to one of the other Comfort Inns in the area. But why did I record their number from the website and call them instead of the other Inns? Rational thought was out of the question. Also, the reference number from HostelBookers was no help. After several pleas for accommodation assistance it was to no avail. I then phoned the two other Comfort Inns in the area and they also had no booking. In the end the Comfort Inn in Sterling, Virginia, were prepared to come and collect me from the airport but naturally it was at a higher cost and about 28 miles from Washington.

Three hours after arriving at Dulles International Airport I had finally arrived at a place to rest my weary body and mind (what was left of it). It’s been a very long day and one great adventure. The lesson continues.

Zzzzzzzzzzz,

Mark