The main terminal of Washington National Airport.
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
US East Coast Day 8: Washington D.C. Back to Vancouver
On Jan. 19, 08, I had to take a taxi from my hotel in the suburbs of D.C. (Vienna, VA) to Washington Reagan National Airport that was just across the river from the National Mall. My original plan was the take the Metro from the hotel which would have taken me 30 minutes and cost less than $5 but that day being Sunday, the Metro did not start operation until 7am in the morning (compared to 5am on the weekdays) so there was no way I could have made it in time for my 7:15am flight. I ended up spending $40~ on a taxi ride.
The main terminal of Washington National Airport.
The main terminal of Washington National Airport.
US East Coast Day 7: New York to Washington D.C. by Acela Express
On Jan. 18, 08, I bid farewell to my friend and the city of New York and headed to Washington D.C. I wanted to see what the best route on the American railway network was like so I decided early on to buy a ticket on the Acela Express, America's "bullet train". The ticket was fairly expensive at $167 one-way but this is only considering that the only cabins on the train were for Business Class and First Class. This train obviously does not cater to tourists or "normal people" but for business people. The journey time to Washington D.C. took about 3 hours.
The stub of the used train ticket and other Washington D.C. attraction tickets:
The stub of the used train ticket and other Washington D.C. attraction tickets:
US East Coast Day 6: Philadelphia
On Jan. 17, 08 we went on a day trip to Philadelphia. Not wanting to take the so-called "Chinatown Buses", we took the train from New York's Penn Station to Philadelphia. The whole journey took 2 hours and cost about $20 one-way.
It was not a direct train ride, we had to stop in Trenton, N.J. to change trains. During the train ride, all you could see was blight, miles and miles of abandoned factories etc. and garbage. The landscape of New Jersey is pretty depressing.
At Trenton Station, this town, the state capital of New Jersey, is also pretty depressing, we were hungry and there was nothing near the train station except for a deli 1-2 blocks away run by Mexicans.
It was not a direct train ride, we had to stop in Trenton, N.J. to change trains. During the train ride, all you could see was blight, miles and miles of abandoned factories etc. and garbage. The landscape of New Jersey is pretty depressing.
At Trenton Station, this town, the state capital of New Jersey, is also pretty depressing, we were hungry and there was nothing near the train station except for a deli 1-2 blocks away run by Mexicans.
US East Coast Day 5: Brooklyn Promenades, Brooklyn Bridge
On January 16, 2008 we started by heading out to the Broooklyn Promenades where we could see the Manhatten skyline from another angle.
US East Coast Day 4: Roosevelt Island, Central Park, Musical
On Jan. 15, 08, the 4th day on my stay in New York, we first went to Roosevelt Island to get a view of the Midtown Skyline.
Taking the elevated subway line:
Taking the elevated subway line:
US East Coast Day 3: NYC: Rockefeller Center - Top of the Rock, Nintendo World Store, Colbert Report Taping, Times Square
On Jan. 14, 08 my friend and I headed out to the "Top of the Rock" observation deck on the top floors of the GE Building at Rockefeller Center.
The tickets for going up to the "Top of the Rock" were pretty expensive. One ticket per person was $17.50. The tickets were "timed" so you had to arrive at your scheduled time printed on the ticket. We bought our tickets online and printed them out (seems to be a recent trend in tourism now). We decided to go to the observation deck at Rockefeller Center versus going to the one at the Empire State Building because I had read reviews on Trip Advisor of how crowded the the observation deck at the Empire State building was. And besides wouldn't it be better to see the Empire State Building instead of being in it? (I had been to the Empire State Building when I was a kid but now have vague memories of it...)
January is a nice time to visit New York and other popular tourist cities, because there are almost no crowds. We almost had the whole observation deck to ourselves:
Model of Rockefeller Center at the lobby:
New York skyline:
The tickets for going up to the "Top of the Rock" were pretty expensive. One ticket per person was $17.50. The tickets were "timed" so you had to arrive at your scheduled time printed on the ticket. We bought our tickets online and printed them out (seems to be a recent trend in tourism now). We decided to go to the observation deck at Rockefeller Center versus going to the one at the Empire State Building because I had read reviews on Trip Advisor of how crowded the the observation deck at the Empire State building was. And besides wouldn't it be better to see the Empire State Building instead of being in it? (I had been to the Empire State Building when I was a kid but now have vague memories of it...)
January is a nice time to visit New York and other popular tourist cities, because there are almost no crowds. We almost had the whole observation deck to ourselves:
Model of Rockefeller Center at the lobby:
New York skyline:
US East Coast Day 2: New York City: Statue of Liberty, Financial District, Chinatown
On Jan. 13, 08 I started my first day exploring New York City. I stayed with my friend's family in Brooklyn so I went around sightseeing with my friend.
The first thing we did was buy a Metrocard for transit. The 7 day pass for $24 allowed unlimited access to buses and subway trains. Although we didn't really get our money's worth (one ride on the subway cost $2 no matter how far you go), it was better than fumbling around with change.
New York City Subway:
US East Coast Day 1: Vancouver-Dallas/Ft. Worth-New York
On Jan. 12, 08 I started my week long trip to New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.
Usually a flight from Vancouver to New York direct would be about 5 hours, but since I redeemed my flight from Japan Airlines mileage bank, I had to fly with American Airlines (their alliance partner).
Since American Airlines no longer has any direct flights from Vancouver to anywhere else but Dallas, I had to fly to Dallas to change flights. They used to fly direct to New York, Boston, Dallas, Miami, Washington D.C. if memory serves me right when they had a partnership with the now defunct Canadian Airlines.
Arriving at Dallas, the airport is so big that you have to board a train to change terminals to get to your next gate:
Usually a flight from Vancouver to New York direct would be about 5 hours, but since I redeemed my flight from Japan Airlines mileage bank, I had to fly with American Airlines (their alliance partner).
Since American Airlines no longer has any direct flights from Vancouver to anywhere else but Dallas, I had to fly to Dallas to change flights. They used to fly direct to New York, Boston, Dallas, Miami, Washington D.C. if memory serves me right when they had a partnership with the now defunct Canadian Airlines.
Arriving at Dallas, the airport is so big that you have to board a train to change terminals to get to your next gate:
