The departure

Under the darkness of early morning John and I awoke at 3.00 am, in preparation for our departure from SUNY Oswego. As luck or should I say good timing would have it, Professor Susan Camp (my host) was also catching an early flight out of Syracuse. Susan kindly offered a ride to the airport and arranged with us to be at the apartment around 4.00 am to catch our 6.00 am flight to JFK New York on route to Washington DC. Packed and ready to go (not really) I took some last minute photos of the apartment.

As expected there was little traffic on the road and we arrived at Syracuse Airport an hour before our flight. Again we booked with Jet Blue so our first bag is free and the second bag charge was only $30, a bargain if the bags turned up at our destination. After recent events I breathed a sigh of relief as check-in and security went to plan, however, due to a heavy overnight frost the aircraft had to de-iced prior to take off.

With only a half hour delay we arrived at JFK at 7.30am which is well before our 10.15 am flight to Washington DC. A cup of Joe, muesli and yogurt hit the spot for breakfast at a cafe while John decided to update his Face book on the free Jet Blue Wi-Fi. He was so excited to be in NYC but would only truly experience the “Big Apple” on our return journey.

Finally an on time departure...well done Jet Blue. After my last visit to Washington DC I was hoping for some kind of redemption but that was not meant to be. We arrived at Dulles Airport at 11.30 am and at the luggage collection area noticed that one of John’s bags had all three approved locks removed by TSA. However, they were not put back on. With out of pocket expenses of $60 for the locks, John approached a TSA officer who remarked “Yeah that happens all the time, just go to our website and fill out a complaints form”. I’m guessing it may be some time before John receives reimbursement for the missing locks.

Despite this small hiccup, Washington DC put on a near summers day. We were greeted by blue skies and warm temperatures. Regardless of John’s pleas to catch a taxi (approximately $80), we then caught the 5A bus ($6) from Dulles Airport to Rosslyn train station. From Rosslyn it was then on to the Metro Center and another train to Dupont Circle station ($4). From Dupont Circle it was a short 10 minute walk to the Gallery Inn. It was a great effort from us both; pulling two bags each as well as carry on. Note to John and I for next time, don’t buy so many shoes.

The hostel was well appointed and clean. We had our own room and ensuite for $100 a night including taxes. The rest of the afternoon was spent strolling around Dupont Circle and posting another two boxes of clothes back home.

Cheers,
Mark

PS: Still to come...the weekend in Washington DC and living the dream in NYC.