We flew into Ronald Reagan Airport Washington DC and planned to stay for two days but as you will find out things did not go quite to plan. Weirdly there was no train from the airport to town and we were told it was for security reasons. So we had to get the bus and that meant we would have to be careful when we flew out as you could not guarantee your time to get to the airport based on traffic.
This post continues on the journey I took with my son in 2010 around the world. If you would like to see the story so far you can start it all here.
LINK: My First World Trip : Where It All Started
As usual we had accommodation sorted and booked the Hop On / Hop Off bus. Since they only charge a small extra fee for the second day we got that as well. We rode around on the bus with me snapping away with my camera at anything that moved, and some things that didn’t. We passed the Capitol Building and then onto the White House. When we got there we jumped off so we could take a few snaps of each of us in front of the Presidents Humble Little Home. It’s very white.
After wandering around for a while we got back on the bus and headed to the Lincoln Memorial. Heaps of tourists everywhere, but as it was a beautiful day we decided to spend it walking around instead of the bus.
We saw the Korean War Veterans memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial and the Washington Monument.
Before we hopped back on the bus we found some lunch and more water at one of the many vendors around the city. We wanted to have a real american hot dog. We know what they give to tourists is the dodgy stuff but it was an experience nonetheless. Just ignore the crazy lady eating the picture of the pretzel.
While it was interesting my son was a little miffed at not getting to see the large rockets as they were all out near the airport. The moon rock which millions before us had touched that I am guessing post Covid they don’t allow people to go near now.
We even found a space suit for the retired astronaut that we thought was quite funny.
Later we visited the Franklin D Roosevelt Gardens. So well laid out and a lot of historical statues and information etched into the stone walls. Lots of waterfalls, fountains and trees, so we were able to stop and relax every now and then. Really loved this area with all the azaleas in bloom.
Took the bus to Arlington Cemetery to see the Changing of the Guard. Quite a crowd there and pretty noisy, but when the guards started to change you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was so quiet and respectful. It was very impressive, so glad we were able to watch it.
We then walked around the cemetery and were amazed at how well it was kept. Finally saw President Kennedy’s grave with a flame burning. It was very moving.
Having walked out feet off we headed back to our accommodation to pack up and headed to the airport. This was back in the day where we tried to fly at night and sleep on the plane on longer flights. So we jumped on the bus and headed back to the airport.
The Volcano and Dentist Saga
Little did we know that there had been a volcano eruption in Iceland that would cause such a world wide problem, and also a problem for us getting to the UK. All flights from the US to London were CANCELLED due to air pollution that would shred plane engines on take off or landing.
There was no information as to how long it would take before flights would be available so we thought. We had travel insurance so it was not a money thing but it was worrying due to connecting with out European tour in London.
Luckily the airline had booked and paid for us to stay at the very beautiful hotel near the airport for 3 nights. Talk about luxury, the furnishings and the bed linen were top shelf and I’ve never slept in a softer bed in my life. No-one thought to book more than the first few nights as we all thought it would clear up and we would be able to travel again. That did not happen.
The only downside to our stay there was on the first morning I woke up with a very swollen jaw so away to the local hospital to get it looked at. The nurse at the reception was Australian which was lucky and she knew her way around the USA system. And also really lucky that I had good travel insurance that included dental.
She sorted things out and organised the doctor and it turned out I had an infected tooth. I had been to the dentist before the trip and he had said everything was ok so this was the last thing I expected. Not only did I have an infected tooth but they could not even look at it until the swelling and infection had gone down.
So I had to stay in the hospital while I had intravenous antibiotics and then headed to the dentist. Got into the dentist, had the tooth filled, it took about 2 hours, then I got the bill and nearly fainted. Thankfully my son always insisted on us having top travel and medical cover so I only had to pay the small difference.
While we were there my son had his teeth whitened and while it seemed an ok price at the time it was a bit of a rip off as we later discovered. Thank goodness the Australian dollar was very high at the time compared to the US dollar.
We would call the airport each day to check about flights and every day the answer was the same. No Flights to London and we had lost our sightseeing days in London and would soon miss the start of our month european bus tour.
After the 3 nights were up we checked if we could stay longer but the hotel was fully booked.There were so many people in the same boat as us. So we had to find somewhere else to stay and the mad scramble was on to find a place to stay. Just as you thought you would get one by the time you checked out the room was gone.
We finally found one in Maryland and had a sigh of relief. We travelled by train to the end of the line and noticed by the end of the line we were the only whites in the village. I am not racist in any way shape or form and my son is not either but there was a shock that we thought we may have booked a hotel in the Ghetto.
Australia is a very multicultural place and very accepting of all races, cultures and backgrounds but we don’t have suburbs of just one race so this was completely new to us. There was a little transfer bus waiting for us as the last stop on the line.
When we got to the Motel the room smelt like a cat house, carpets dirty, no locks worked and the balcony doors didn’t even close, it was a dump. So we went and saw the guy on the counter and asked for our money back and got it. We walked out into the streets wondering where we’d stay, maybe under a bridge.
Walked through a carpark where a lot of guys were waiting outside of a 7-11 to be picked for the jobs of the day by contractors. Then a Police car turned up, so we quickened our pace and found another Motel just down the road. We made a beeline for it and got the last room.
It was brand new and even had an indoor swimming pool. What a difference from the first one. We ended up staying there for a couple of nights but every day we’d take our little carry-on bags and catch the train back to the airport to see if there were any flights going.
On the second day as luck would have it we were able to get two seats on a plane going back to Madrid, Spain. We grabbed them without a second thought. Even though we weren’t going to London that was ok as our European Tour had already left. They had been around London and Paris, Bordeaux and was now in Barcelona for 2 days.
It was only a one and a half hour flight from Madrid to Barcelona so we bought two seats and away we went finally back on track. There was a collective sigh of relief.
The final amusing thing was a lady who was pulled up in front of us at security for having a half bottle of vodka in her carry on luggage. She got quite animated and wouldn’t let them take it. So she just stood there and drank the rest of the bottle and then went on through. The security guard warned the gate not to let her on drunk and we assumed they did not let her board.
Our trip to the USA had definitely been eventful but we hoped that was the last of the drama on the trip and everything else would go smoothly.