Smithsonian museum at Dulles

I can relate to the European driving! When I was in Italy I soon discovered
that the green light meant "Go and haul butt", the yellow meant," what the
heck go and haul butt" , and the red meant" ahhh go for it and haul butt".
And it seemed so strange to see 4 or 5 people on those moped looking little
scooters going just as fast as they could !

Patrick
student SPL
aircraft structural mech


"Cub Driver" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 31 May 2005 16:49:08 -0400, "Morgans"
wrote:

That was one thing that I really remember, that made a strong impression
on
me, in Paris. When the light changes, the first car and the 20th car all
step on the gas! It was like formation driving.

When I drove through the Mont Blanc tunnel, and after I paid the toll,
a woman signaled me to pull over. She'd been in the car behind me. I
rolled down my wind and got hit by a torrent of Italian. I tried to
answer, and she, realizing I wasn't Italian, launched into French. I
tried to answer in French. Since I couldn't speak either language to
her standard, she realized that I must be American, so she switched to
English: "WHY YOU GO SO SLOW IN TUNNEL?"

Evidently I had broken the formation.



-- all the best, Dan Ford

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("W P Dixon" wrote)
I can relate to the European driving! When I was in Italy I soon discovered
that the green light meant "Go and haul butt", the yellow meant," what the
heck go and haul butt" , and the red meant" ahhh go for it and haul butt".
And it seemed so strange to see 4 or 5 people on those moped looking little
scooters going just as fast as they could !


Our friend grew up around Mexico City. She was surprised (after she moved to
Minnesota) the first time she saw a lone car pull up at a neighborhood 4 way
stop ... and actually stop!

She said rules of the road, and traffic signs are merely suggestions where
she is from. Yikes!!


Montblack

"Montblack" wrote in message
...
("W P Dixon" wrote)
I can relate to the European driving! When I was in Italy I soon
discovered that the green light meant "Go and haul butt", the yellow
meant," what the heck go and haul butt" , and the red meant" ahhh go for
it and haul butt". And it seemed so strange to see 4 or 5 people on those
moped looking little scooters going just as fast as they could !


Our friend grew up around Mexico City. She was surprised (after she moved
to Minnesota) the first time she saw a lone car pull up at a neighborhood
4 way stop ... and actually stop!

She said rules of the road, and traffic signs are merely suggestions where
she is from. Yikes!!


Montblack

I spent 2 years in Tehran, Iran back in the mid 1970s and it sounds like
their traffic is very similar to Mexico.

- The "Law of the Bumper" rules

- Any lane (one or more) can and will turn left/right at the next
intersection.

- Four way stops mean you might lift off the throttle a little bit, but if
you've honked the horn and/or flashed the headlights you don't have to.

- Lane markings are only there to tell work crews where to eventually
repave.

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ

Cub Driver writes:

On Tue, 31 May 2005 12:02:43 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

I really appreciate the lodging offer, but I suspect we'll probably find a
hotel near Dulles, just for convenience sake

There are a bunch (I don't know about suites), and when I looked into
the situation, they were a whole lot cheaper than downtown. But the
airfare savings by flying Southwest into Baltimore, plus not having to
rent a car, more than made up for it, and I *like* downtown DC.

There's a hotel at Dulles (Sheraton, IIRC); south of the terminal on
Route 28 there's a Hilton that's just north of the entrance ramp to
the museum. There are some hotels north of the Dulles Access Road
around Herndon and Reston, and at most of the interchanges on
the Dulles Access Road.

No, I don't know what the room rates might be except that they are
probably far cheaper than anything in DC.

Joe Morris

"Cub Driver" wrote

Since I couldn't speak either language to
her standard, she realized that I must be American, so she switched to
English: "WHY YOU GO SO SLOW IN TUNNEL?"

Evidently I had broken the formation.

Chuckle! Evidently!

In the same vein, answering another post in this thread, a cabby in
Amsterdam said (after my Dad commented on running a red light) said, "

Nah, not red, it was between yellow and red. Orange. I step on gas and
squash it. I make orange juice!"

This was after he shoved 4 adults and 2 kids into an old Impala, (at our
request) and had to tie down the trunk, for all of the luggage sticking out.
He drove on the trolley track (in the middle) and stayed there to pass a
car, until he was playing chicken with an oncoming trolley. Wow. Wow. I
was glad to get to the hotel.

As far as that goes, I was glad to leave Amsterdam, after 3 days of
watching people shoot up in the streets and parks, with call girls sitting
in windows wearing a towel in their lap, (only) and pick-pockets everywhere.
One got my sisters credit cards, passport and euro-rail pass. It took her
all day to get the new passport and other things replaced. This was in '89,
I think. She did have an unusual one, being issued in Amsterdam, though.
g
--
Jim in NC

"Montblack" wrote

Our friend grew up around Mexico City. She was surprised (after she moved
to
Minnesota) the first time she saw a lone car pull up at a neighborhood 4
way
stop ... and actually stop!

She said rules of the road, and traffic signs are merely suggestions where
she is from. Yikes!!

After a couple weeks in Ecuador, I got back and had to suppress the urge to
honk the horn every time I passed a car.

The roads have no markings. If you wanted to pass, you honked the horn, and
went around them. This might be on a blind curve in the mountains, while
the car you are passing is passing a truck. If someone comes, everyone
gives a little, and you get back in line. I got to do a good bit of
driving, since we were visiting an ex exchange student and her family, and
her mom didn't like to drive.

The old AMC Eagle had a problem in the headlight dimmer switch, I found out,
as we were driving home in the dark, in the Andes mountains. The lights
would go out for no good reason. Mess with it, and they would *usually*
come back on in a couple of seconds. g
--
Jim in NC

"Joe Morris" wrote

There's a hotel at Dulles (Sheraton, IIRC); south of the terminal on
Route 28 there's a Hilton that's just north of the entrance ramp to
the museum. There are some hotels north of the Dulles Access Road
around Herndon and Reston, and at most of the interchanges on
the Dulles Access Road.

In about 1973, I went to DC with a high school group, and our hotel was
right off the end of one of the runways. Don't know which, but I do
remember it was right at the end, on the centerline. How do I know this?
One of the approach light stands was in the parking lot, or right at the
edge of it. g

If you were outside when a heavy went over, you had to stop talking for a
minute, because it was so loud. Surprisingly, it was almost completely
quite inside. I seem to remember concrete, or block walls about 3 feet
thick, and 3 sets of windows.

I would bet that hotel is one of the cheapest around! g Anyone know if it
is still there, and if so, what was the name of it?
--
Jim in NC

Can you get from downtown DC to the Dulles museum via the Metro or do
you have to take a bus?

Thanks,

BJ

Cub Driver wrote:

On Mon, 30 May 2005 00:53:46 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:



We loved the Metro!

When we visited D.C. in 2000, we didn't rent a car,



Everyone in DC rides the Metro. It is brilliantly designed, fast,
reasonably priced, and safe. I have ridden it from Greenbelt in the
north to Vienna in the southwest, from 7 a.m. to midnight, and I've
never felt a qualm.

There are no cops on the Metro, and no muggers either, and almost no
vagrants. It is rarely crowded. It may well be the best public
transport system in the world.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

As I'm moving to DC this weekend, this has been a most informative
thread.

Dave

There is a shuttle bus that goes from the Smithsonian at the Mall to the one
at Dulles. The Dulles museum is well worth seeing.

Jerry in NC

"B. Jensen" wrote in message
...
Can you get from downtown DC to the Dulles museum via the Metro or do you
have to take a bus?

Thanks,

BJ
Cub Driver wrote:

On Mon, 30 May 2005 00:53:46 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:


We loved the Metro!

When we visited D.C. in 2000, we didn't rent a car,


Everyone in DC rides the Metro. It is brilliantly designed, fast,
reasonably priced, and safe. I have ridden it from Greenbelt in the
north to Vienna in the southwest, from 7 a.m. to midnight, and I've
never felt a qualm.
There are no cops on the Metro, and no muggers either, and almost no
vagrants. It is rarely crowded. It may well be the best public
transport system in the world.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com