The US East Coast Travelogue I: Experience, Notes and Observations
Once I landed on the USA, I started dreaming of someday taking a look at New York and Washington DC. This dream had lasted for a long time until the day my traveling became difficult and it must be done with the aid of a wheelchair. Suddenly, I realized that life is short, the time is not able go back and I must be hurry up to take action sooner. Our US east coast traveling took one week from Baltimore down to Washington DC, and went through Philadelphia all the way up to New York City. We spent very wonderful time during the trip. Some places are indeed beautiful and enjoyable. Local foods are very delicious and the people in the service duty in all transportation departments are so friendly and helpful. Thanks God for giving me such tremendous chance to visit the east coast.
Before starting the trip, our friend, Mr. Mitch White, wrote two pages of long list notes for helping us to figure out our traveling plans. The information he provided was really useful and helpful. Taking this chance, I want to express my sincere appreciation to Mr. White. Following are the summary from Mr. White's notes integrated my experiences and observations.
Travelogue I: Flight from Houston to Baltimore
The flight tickets were cheaper between Houston George Bush International Airport (IAH) and Baltimore–Washington DC International Airport (BWI). IAH is doing innovative improvement. It looks much more modernized and advanced than before. Safety check lines move fast due to using new testing technology. You will not need to take any things off your body. The waiting lobbies on the UA terminal are totally upgraded. It is spacious and the beautiful decorations make it looks glorious and brilliant. The customers waiting areas are set the tablets on all tables. You can read online, play games and even order food on the site without leaving your seat.
The BWI locates on the southeast side of Baltimore and the northeast side of Washington DC. The airport was quiet and silent. It didn’t look like a capital airport as I imagined. The facilities were the oldest in all of the airports I had been. The heating system almost didn’t work so that the lobby was cold. The safety check point was still using the old facilities so that we had to take off clothes, shoes and other stuff. Comparing with the IAH, the BWI was much below the time's step.
Anyway, the rental car building of the BWI can be comparable with the IAH. Staying there let us feel very comfortable and relaxed. Waiting for the car on line, an agent was so courteous. She gave us two bottles of water. Costing for the car rental items were not cheap. It was hard to imagine that total payment for the car rental, insurance, and by-pass was more than $1000 for one week. That was over my expectation. According to the notes from Mr. White, we were planned to use the freeway I-95, which connects down to DC, goes through Philadelphia across up to New York City. The agent told us that was a toll road with the tons of charge stations. So, for us it was a smart way to buy the by-pass ($16/per day) for permission to use the road.
