Early on Friday the 17th, we loaded up the minivan and began our trip to Washington DC.  We met at one of the couples home at 7:30 AM and decided to get some breakfast before starting the long drive north. After a somewhat uneventful 8 hours or so of driving, we stopped for the night in Columbia, South Carolina.  We inspected two or three motels, before selecting one to spend the night.

At one of the motels, Americas Best Value Inn, we asked to see a room, and they gave us a key to check the room.  We open the door and found that the room had luggage inside and the television was on.  We quickly closed the door and went back to the desk where we were given another key. Again, when we opened the door, we found the room occupied, this time the occupants were there, and after we had closed the door, they opened the door and questioned us. 

 

We explained that the front desk had given us a key to check out the room, thinking it was available. After the embarrassment, we returned to the front desk and again we returned the key.  The desk attendent told that they were having a computer problem and really had no idea which rooms were rented and which were not.  So we left, and now, tired and more desperate for a place to get some rest, settled for rooms in an older national chain, without Internet access.

Summer is speeding along just fine.  Final payments have been made on each of our October cruises and our trip to Washington DC is only days away.

Julia and I along with 4 of our friends will be driving from Port Charlotte, Florida to a time share owned by one of the other couples.  We will be leaving on Friday morning, staying overnight en route, and arrive at the time share close to the 4pm check in time. The time share is actually located in Front Royal, Virginia, about 60 minutes west of Washington DC

Our plans, subject to modification, now call for a leisurely day at the timeshare on Sunday, swimming and taking part in some of the other amenities offered.  We then plan for two days touring Washington DC on the "Old Town Trolley"

Julia and I took an "Old Town Trolly" tour of San Diego when we arrived a day before our November 2005 Hawaii cruise.  We were able to see a lot of things in a short amount if time,  This time we will have the advantage of having enough time to return to those places which are of particular interest.

We are packing, being careful not to take up more than our allotted space.  Six people traveling in a minivan is a challenge in packing and may be an even greater challenge in traveling and living together.  Hopefully everything will work out  because our October cruise on the Azamara is with the same four friends.

We will post as time and Internet access allows. Posts will be written and in a worst case scenario will be posted upon our return. 

As always, your comments are welcome.