Darrell's weblog

I’m typing this post (sadly, my first in over a week) from my hotel room in Falls Church, Virginia (just outside of Washington, D.C. for the geographically-challenged). The trip up here so far could not have gone better for me. Instead of making a really long paragraph with lots of run-on sentences, I’ll just make a handy bullet list of all the nice things that happened today during my trip:

1. Got a nice parking spot at the San Antonio Airport
2. For a mere $65, I got an upgrade to first class. (Note that the rest of the ticket is being reimbursed, so I paid $65 for a first class ticket to Dulles. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get the upgrade on the way back to San Antonio.)
3. The flight out of San Antonio left on time! (This is important, since my layover in Atlanta was only 30 minutes and involved a change from one terminal to another.)
4. Opened up the Powerbook and watched Dr. Strangelove.
5. I made my connecting flight in Atlanta with time to spare. (I count this as a good thing, but had I known that I was going to make such good time, I would have grabbed some munchies before boarding…don’t worry, my hunger will be remedied shortly.)
6. First class has a couple of perks, among them being the “goodie basket” that the stewardess presents to each first class passenger several times during the flight. The basket contains your typical in-flight snacks, except instead of being given an arbitrary snack (just one, only one), you are invited to a free-for-all with the goodie basket. Several chocolate chip chewy granola bars were able to put my appetite in check until a real dinner could be had.
7. When I got to the Hertz lot to pick up my rental, I was pleased to see my name on a large reader board with a number (parking space) next to my name. Instead of going inside and waiting in line, I simply walk to the specified space, hop into my PT Cruiser (not great, but nice for a compact), and head out. Of course, I had to present my paperwork and license at the gate to exit the lot, but still, what a huge time-saver! (My plug for the benefits of Hertz #1 Club Gold.)
8. So I’m off to to my hotel, at which I arrive without incident (or getting lost). After I check in, the desk clerk hands me my key and (wait for it…) a nice warm gooey chocolate chip cookie! Man, that hit the spot.
9. Now that I’m all checked in, it’s time for dinner…but where to eat… Ah-ha! Moby Dick House of Kabab is only 3 miles away! What luck! So I had kababs for dinner, and boy, were they good.
10. Back to the hotel, and time for a shower before bed. To my amazement and joy, the shower gushes forth a high-volume, high-pressure jet of water that I never thought possible at a hotel. Yay Doubletree!

So that’s it, a day of greatness. Now I’m off to bed, and hopefully tomorrow I’ll have time to visit the Lush store in Georgetown and maybe even hit up the preppy mall in Tyson’s Corner.