Weather: sunny & hot in Las Vegas, thick cloud over Rockies, sunny & warm in Washington
I was up early, awakened by multiple alarm clocks and a wake-up call from reception at 5.30. I completed my packing, attempted to pay my hotel bill through interactive television service, failed owing to their computer systems not yet being awake, and opted instead to fill in a payment card which I could leave downstairs for quick checkout, the hotel already having my credit card number from which to make the necessary deductions.
I struggled to find the way to the hotel's north exit owing to poor signposting, nearly taking a footbridge across to Excalibur before correcting myself. I then stood around awaiting the arrival of the airport shuttle I'd booked for 6.30, to no avail. I struggled at a payphone in an attempt to call the company, and was assured another one would arrive in a few minutes. When it didn't, I decided that I was getting a little pushed if I were to make the check-in time of 7.30 and opted instead for a taxi, despite already holding a paid-for shuttle ticket. The drive proved quick and painless, and I arrived at the terminal with time to spare.
I spent a little time waiting around at the gate before the flight started boarding, noting that some people were still playing the slot machines even at this point. I saved my money.
I was a little disappointed to get a window rather than the requested aisle seat on the plane, but found myself to have far more legroom than is normal in economy. It turned out that United are introducing an ``Economy Plus'' service, where for a small surcharge one can obtain a seat with a little more space than is normal, something I for one would be quite happy to pay for, especially on longer flights. On this occasion I'd managed to get such a seat at no extra cost, for which I was grateful.
The flight was uneventful, departing on schedule around 8.30 and offering a last view of the Strip as it left Las Vegas. The flight path travelled close to Bryce Canyon -- from the window I was able to make out the road junction near the national park entrance and hints of cliffs further down the road, but nothing overly spectacular -- and then over the Rockies, but losing the ground in a layer of cloud.
We landed at Washington's Dulles airport, some twenty-six miles west of the city centre in the state of Virginia, a little before 16.00 local time, three hours ahead of Nevada. After a considerable wait to reclaim my luggage, I headed outside in search of the ``Supershuttle'' service I'd been recommended to use in order to travel to Reba's apartment in Alexandria, a Virginia town just across the Potomac river from Washington itself. I was bustled into a waiting van by a rather hassled dispatch operator, along with three other people, all heading for different points en route despite the service's promise of ``three stops maximum''.
The driver proved to be a novice on the service with a very limited grasp of the geography of the Washington metropolitan area, and was relying somewhat on his passengers to help him find his destinations while he made slow progress through the rush hour traffic chaos. I was the third of the four stops to be made, partly because the last passenger at least had a vague idea as to where to find the destination which was more than I did, only having an address to go on.
I arrived at Reba's apartment, one of many in a large modern complex in the suburbs of Alexandria at 19.10 and found her in. I was pleased to see a familiar face for the first time in nearly a fortnight, and we spent a considerable time talking before doing anything else. In particular I was amazed to hear about the virtual shutdown of the UK owing to fuel strikes -- something of which I had heard only the briefest of mentions on the car radio while touring out west, being able to receive little other than country music stations, and nothing whatsoever on television news reports.
Eventually we got round to deciding to do something regarding food, and set out for a local restaurant, a south-seas themed establishment within walking distance. The food was excellent if a little unusual to me: I had a starter of black bean hummous and plantains as recommended by Reba, followed by a salmon dish. We then returned, spent a while longer chatting, and then unfolded the sofa into what would be my bed for the next four nights after suitable rearrangement of other living room furniture. We retired around 11.45, rather earlier than Reba's usual bed-time (her excuse being that she was still adjusting after a recent trip to Spain). I meanwhile was not at all sure what time my body thought it was -- I had jumped ahead three hours that day but also confused things by getting up abnormally early.