Well, I'm done with New York City. My train left at 4:42 PM, which gave me just enough time to get into the 9/11 Memorial. Alas, I got off to a late start, and by the time I could get my ticket, my allotted time was 3:30 — way too close to my exit time for comfort. Luckily, though, it seems the guards are on the lookout for guns and contraband just fine, but pay little attention to the passes except to make sure you have one.
The train was fine. Very relaxing, once I found an open row.
Once I got there, though, I did something impulsive: I rented a car. I'd planned on using public transportation, like I did most of the time in NYC, but when I found that involved a $20 train trip each way just to get into town, I decided to save time and my feet and get something convenient. To my surprise, National has a walk-up special which was about $35 cheaper per day than anywhere else. It's still expensive, but with that train fare and the car's discount, not much moreso than public transportation. And it's tons more convenient. My biggest regret is that if I'd actually planned to rent a car, I could have gotten a room at a cheaper motel that's a little further from DC. I figure I could have saved about $100 over the course of my stay that way.
Oh well. This is a pretty nice motel, as it goes. And the car is huge and very top of the line. I actually had to break out the manual to figure out some of the controls!
For now, though, I'm just relaxing and settling in, hoping my poor feet recover a little more before I abuse them again.
The train was fine. Very relaxing, once I found an open row.
Once I got there, though, I did something impulsive: I rented a car. I'd planned on using public transportation, like I did most of the time in NYC, but when I found that involved a $20 train trip each way just to get into town, I decided to save time and my feet and get something convenient. To my surprise, National has a walk-up special which was about $35 cheaper per day than anywhere else. It's still expensive, but with that train fare and the car's discount, not much moreso than public transportation. And it's tons more convenient. My biggest regret is that if I'd actually planned to rent a car, I could have gotten a room at a cheaper motel that's a little further from DC. I figure I could have saved about $100 over the course of my stay that way.
Oh well. This is a pretty nice motel, as it goes. And the car is huge and very top of the line. I actually had to break out the manual to figure out some of the controls!
For now, though, I'm just relaxing and settling in, hoping my poor feet recover a little more before I abuse them again.