Arrival:
After a series of flight delays, and a delightful conversation on the BWI airport shuttle with a man who looked like George W. Bush, I am happy to report that I have finally arrived in Ft. Meade! I’m anxiously awaiting hearing observations tomorrow and Friday. Kristi is going to brief me about today’s events over dinner tonight.
For future Ft. Meade go-ers:
Car Rental – I advise renting a car instead of relying on taxi service. Although all cabs must charge the same rate for travel in this area, the charge is quite pricey. Additionally, another observer, Kristi, arrived yesterday and had a horrendous time trying to get a cab to show up at the hotel. Renting the car was quick and easy. I called from BWI and took the airport shuttle to the rental car pick-up. Furthermore, I found it easy to navigate from the airport to the hotel.
Pictured: My Nissan Sentra car rental for the trip. I rented from Enterprise for about $40/day + gas. Just to give everyone an idea of cost: I drove the car from the airport to the hotel, then to and from base twice, drove to the airport to drop Kristi off, and then went to Washington, and drove back to the airport all for about $15 in gas. If I hadn’t rented, cab cost to and from the base would have been around $20/one way, and the hotel shuttle to and from the airport would have been $32/one way.
Hotel – Although I just arrived today, I intended on staying at the Ramada Inn Hanover. Kristi checked in to that hotel yesterday and said the service was and room were abysmal. We have since switched to the Courtyard Marriott located at 2700 Hercules Road Annapolis Junction. Thus far, no complaints. I will detail any abnormalities should they arise.
Hotel Update 5/30/14 – We had a great stay at the Marriott! It had a bistro open of breakfast and dinner. The food was delicious! There was a not-so-delightful chirp of the smoke alarm at 5 a.m. An attendant came in and yanked it off the wall so we could sleep. Good thing there wasn’t a fire! But, it was only a minor inconvenience and the staff was pleasant and apologized for it. The cost for the room (2 queen beds) was approximately $150/night, but with a roommate, it was affordable and much nicer and safer than economizing at the Ramada.