Well, I'll try this again.
The DFW metroplex cab's have had meters for years. Why did it take DC that long to change?
Ann Rule wrote "The End Of A Dream" about Scott Spurlock that was from Reston Va., and that it was to of been a planned progressive free thinking community. His father a pastor and his mother we're very open to drugs and sex, and lived a life of nudity and brought the kids up around nudist. He was known as the Hollywood Bandit when he robbed several banks in Seattle in the nineties. I thought of him when one of the Boston bombers hid in a camper and was shot. Scott did holed up in a camper in a backyard after a dye pack exploded after a robbery and the police tracked him to it, and the police unloaded upon it. It's a good read. Where is Reston in relation to north south east and west of DC?
We did rent a suv for our 2006 trip to visit friends up in Baltimore and down in Richmond. DH has no trouble driving in traffic and tends to end up in undesirable sections of cities. Of course this is the man that drove my brand new valentine into Mexico legally, and drove back on a railroad trestle/bridge into the US illegally.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit hadn't reached us yet at that time, so the metro pricing from the machine was confusing. The young people were rude. Throwing themselves into seats and never standing up for the elderly, infirmed or pregnant women. Other than that it was on time. The hardest part was getting off the metro after a long day of walking and the escalator at Pentagon City was out, and you had to climb the steps up to street level to catch the hotel shuttle.
I know what you mean about living in a place all your life and never seeing the sights. I've never been to the JFK Memorial or the Sixth Floor at the Book Depository. There are some unpleasant memories of that part of my life. My father didn't make easy on us because of his views and actions. He was on the front page news after Adlia Stevenson speech the month before JFK was killed. I had to get off the bus and walk pass my fellow student the next morning. I don't think I raised my head at all in school from that point on. I always finished my work, and would read to take me to other places.
DC was clean, but there were many sidewalk hawkers selling t shirts and geegaw and were quite aggressive. It was a city I always wanted to visit, but again when I did there is a memory of my father being arrested during a march in front of the White house in the sixties.
Kids coming out of college making big bucks. I made $1.60 an hour at my first job. I think I brought home forty bucks a week. Milk and bread were under a dollar. Our first apartment was $165.00 a month, but it was a two bedroom with two full baths, living room, dining room and kitchen with dishwasher.. For some reason dh and I have always had more room than we really needed. We've had people move from up north and they are surprised about how much house/apartment they get down here. How much do you have to make to pay those high prices up there?
We did venture into Old Town Alexandria and had lunch at a place known for the largest cupcake?
Trivia factoid about Gerogetown for those that don't know - The Exorcist was filmed in several placed in Gerogetown. The Key Bridge; Georgetown University; Dahlgren Chapel; the 75 steps at Prospect and 36th streets that lead down to M Street in Georgetown; the house near the top of the steps on Prospect Street; a bridge over the C&O Canal. The cardinal's office in the film is actually the office of the president of Georgetown University. I had a friend that lived in an apartment close by the steps.
BBM
You've raised so many topics, so I'll try to through in order:
• As to the taxis not being metered until a few years ago? Surprise! It was largely political and resisted up until the last minute when fines were threatened. The biggest issue was that cabbies didn't want to pick up/drop off in SE. Well, SE is quite crime-ridden, so who could blame them. There also was the fact that the old system was so hard to figure out, tourists (and even locals), couldn't make sense of the fare system, so you were at their mercy. So for example, that could take you on a fairly straightforward ride, but veer off into another sector for a block or so (would you know?), thereby charging more money.
• I totally remember the Scott Spurlock story and reading Ann Rule's book about him! How bizarre was that!? Reston, VA was one of the first "planned communities" in the DC area. It's in Fairfax County, which is fairly affluent and has good schools, although with traffic, I consider it to be almost another country. To get there, you'd pretty much have to go out 66-W, which can be backed up at 6am on a Sunday morning. No kidding. Or, you can get there via the Dulles toll road. Either way, no thanks!
• As to your husband as a driver, you must be a saint! I hate driving and appreciate when someone else takes the wheel, but OMG! Very funny, though!
• The DC metro? I can't stand it and totally agree with your assessment. Rude people in a hurry with a total disregard to others around them. I don't know how visitors manage. Good luck finding someone to help you out, since very few people are locals; almost everyone here is from somewhere else. And, they're only here to make money and advance their careers. Not exactly altruistic people.
• Would love more elaboration regarding your dad and the Kennedy assassination, if you'd be comfortable sharing. What did he do to make it into the newspapers?
• I had to laugh that I neglected to mention the street hawkers, though it's really not funny. They are a nuisance, but I have largely become inured to them, so they're barely a blip on my radar. We also (sadly) have an extensive population of homeless people, most of whom suffer from pretty obvious signs of mental illness. There are a few I look out for and offer $$ to when I have some to spare.
• Last thing: Yeah, the cost of living is incredibly high here, so even $65,000 straight out of school barely gets you a one bedroom, probably less than 800 SF, which would probably cost about $2100/mo, though if you're lucky, that might include some utilities. But again, those who get jobs here are very ambitious and aggressive young people. Yeah, those same people who won't give up their seats on the metro.
cguru: off for the night!
