Warning: the $910/day posted rate at the Hilton/Doubletree may be enough to cover the warm cookie they hand you on sign-in, but EVERYTHING else is extra. Sure, we only paid $77 thanks to Capt. Kirk, but even the cheapest fleabag motels have free WiFi; here it's $10/day, unsecured! Likewise parking; free everywhere but $28/day + tax here, and don't forget to tip the valet. Water is $5/ bottle. One cup of tea brought to your room will set you back nearly $9 plus gratuity. The TV has half the channels of a Super8, and no Canucks or even Capitals playoff coverage: WTF?? And it's not like you get peace and quiet: the doors started slamming before 7AM (Sat.) and kept at it for an hour as some youth group hit the road. Good riddance. At least the tap water is drinkable, and the Smithsonian museums we came for are all free, thanks to their founder, bless him; although their cookies are $2.75/ea. US!
Lunch was at Ray's Hellburgers in Arlington, packed since Obama freaked his handlers last week by standing in line for a 10oz cheeseburger, creating a mild sensation, and a stimulus package for Ray. WE heard and just HAD to go! Two burgers for $22 had better be good, and they were! We were full for a day.
We tried driving around Washington, but the traffic is intense and there's no parking anywhere. So we swallowed hard, ditched the car with the valet and went walking. The place is so sprawling that by the time you get anywhere, you're too burnt to enjoy it, but $35/ea bought us 48hr hop-on/hop-off double-decker multi-tour bus passes, and other than the diesel infusion, they were worth it. One bus even goes right past our hotel, though the trip home in Friday rush-hour took 90+ minutes. (I was busy blabbing away to this nice old guy from Kansas and was finally told to shut up by some frustrated tourists who couldn't hear the recorded guide: how embarassing! Like I needed to know that there are 95 Starbucks in Washington. Or 1300 lawyers.)
No comments:
Post a Comment