We have been in the Washington area since last Thursday (7 October) and will be here until next Sunday (17 October). I am just about managing to keep track of which day of the week it is and remembering to shave. It will be a few days yet until the Hawker report on Washington is released to an expectant audience, so I will fill the gap with some tips and advice from our experiences over the past few weeks.
- Don’t forget your toe nail clippers. You may be on holiday for nine weeks, but your toe nails are not.
- Wireless Internet in motels is not always what you might expect it to be. When everyone in the motel is trying to read the internet sports pages at 8.00 pm, then your email access may be a little (English understatement) slower than usual. Suggestions to the manager that you think someone nearby may be playing internet games or downloading videos, sometimes seems to free up bandwidth....and forget about video with Skype.
- Don’t believe the propaganda that “You can easily book a motel” and “It will be real cheap”. Cost and quality of motels is highly variable. Holiday-area motels need to be booked up at least 10 years in advance. Having said that, the chains have been the most reliable.
- On the subject of motels, laundry facilities and wash basin plugs seem to be a general problem. Obviously plugs have a black market value, in the same way that lead is stolen off the roofs of English houses. Why on earth this should be a recurring theme is anyone’s guess, but such is life.
- If you are English, bring your own teabags. This is essential. (The local “Breakfast” tea is not bad, but fails the “Get the spoon to stand up in the cup on its own” test.)
- Drawing cash out of ATMs can be challenge. People who tell you, “They are everywhere. You won’t have any problem”, have obviously never tried doing this, 6,000 miles from home. 1) Bank may not accept the domestic cash card 2) Drive-through ATM only. Standing in front of a pick-up is OK, but the glare of the sun on the ATM can caused temporary defeat. 3) $200 maximum withdrawal, but with $3 fee. Skinflint Hawker will do this only if desperate.
- If travelling from Switzerland, do not forget your Swiss Army Knife (this is more of a confession than a piece of advice). U.S. orange skins are made of the same stuff as the U.S. Marines, and in a battle between “Orange Skin” and “Nails”, casualties are high. (The oranges themselves are worth the struggle)
Sorry, but that’s all for now, folks.
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