2021 ConnectiCOUCH Part 1: Raleigh, Richmond, Ikea, and DC

[theinfamousj]

I had a week off of work and Connecticut CouchSurfing was throwing a CouchCrash that coincided; I listened to the universe and made a point to attend. I was going to bring my live-in significant other and we started pricing out all the travel options that would get us to Connecticut in time for the CouchCrash and then me back home in time for work the following Monday. They all seemed pricey, but a vacation is an opportunity to withdraw from the bank and not just pay in to it.

Until I had a brilliant idea! What about a road trip? We could camp or use hospitality exchange the entire way up the I-95 corridor to Connecticut and then drink a lot of coffee and power through a very long drive, possibly an overnight one, the way back down on Sunday night.

I meant driving my own car, but the Significant Other had other ideas. He researched on his favorite car-rental site, Turo, and found a Prius that could be rented with unlimited miles for less than one person's previously researched airfare. He won me over by pointing out that not only would the Prius get 50 miles to the gallon vs my car's ambitious 25 miles to the gallon, but also that one can turn a Prius into Motel Prius and, well, I love me some overnighting in a car.



So, rent the Prius we did and at 7 am the alarm sounded to roust us to drive to the nearby city where my Mom lives so that he could pick up the Prius which was to become our home base for the next 7 days. My car would live at my Mom's house where she'd keep an eye on it.

Significant Other picked up the Prius through this genius remote pickup option where the Prius owner attached a car key lockbox to the driver's side window and sent a code. This got me thinking that when I leave my car at people's houses - such as the friend who lives near the airport or the friend who lives near the Megabus stop or my Mom - this would be a great way to provide keys to move my car in the case of an emergency while still allowing me to pick up my car no matter what the hour. So I'm going to get one for myself; note to self to put this on the shopping list.

Once we'd fully loaded the Prius, we were off. We headed up through the rurals of North Carolina through the Jesus Country of southern Virginia to Richmond. I pointed out the highway-side Marlboro Box which over the years has been reduced in width to being just a Marlboro Pillar next to the Phillip Morris USA headquarters outside of Richmond, and then spoke with great enthusiasm about the Richmond Amtrak Station which happens to still be one of my favorite buildings of all time. Significant Other decided that we needed to snack on some chocolate, then pull off the highway to tour the Amtrak Station as I'd never been inside. It was to be our first leg-stretching rest stop.

The outside still has the same artwork I enjoyed previously, but the interior really wowed. Most of the photos of the inside of the Amtrak Station feature me and I'm shy, so I'll just show this one



Image description: Sign on an elevator with black writing on a field of red saying "ONLY "THREE" "PEOPLE" PER ELEVATOR". The quotation marks around "people" were added in pen. The quotation marks around "three" were part of the original printing of the sign.

which amuses me greatly not just that someone added quotation marks to the "people" but also that the "three" had originally intended quotation marks. Anyway, the take home message is that if you happen to be driving through Richmond, take a stop at the Amtrak Station. It is worth it.

Lunch was next and came from a nearby Walmart Market grocery store. Since I'd just discovered that we'd left our matching flatware travel sets at home and only had my purse emergency cutlery, I had to pick something we could concoct with that, but was also frugal and vegetarian. And thus, we settled on: a bell pepper (orange, if it matters), a tub of store-brand roasted red pepper hummus, and a loaf of $1 Walmart French Bread. Let me expand on this bread for a moment - it is one of those hidden gems of Walmart. Is it actually French bread? No. But it is damned good bread and so cheap; I mean damned good. If you happen by a Walmart in your life and you eat bread, grab a loaf and see what I mean as $1 ought to be an amount you are willing to wager.

We ate at the next rest area we encountered on our drive.

From there, my Significant Other decided that what he really needed in life was free coffee or tea from Ikea, as I happened to be a Family Member. Of all the perks I've ever used with this card, the only one has been the free coffee or tea with meal. It ended up being tea as we visited the Ikea just a smidgeon south of DC.

Also, interestingly, my brother had posted that day asking for advice on where to eat in as informal a manner and cheaply as possible, as he took his fiancé to the Van Gogh Experience in Charlotte, NC. (For those unaware, as I was unaware, Van Gogh was the painter for the famed Starry Night.) I recommended to him that he borrow my Family Card to snag a free tea or coffee while taking her to the Ikea Cafeteria in Charlotte, NC, and even sent him a picture of my card. And just to make this even more interesting, as my Significant Other and I were wandering through the Marketplace (as opposed to the Showroom) of Ikea, guess what we happened to see in the wall art section?



Image Description: TheInfamousJ poses in front of a scaled-down reproduction of Starry Night on a wall in an Ikea. A partially obscured sign to the left of the picture says "Give art more space!" Above the Starry Night reproduction is a partially visible reproduction of Water Lillies by Manet.

So, naturally, being the best sister ever, I had to rub in the fact that for a lower admission price, I, too, had a Van Gogh experience with my beloved.

After that, we drove up to Washington, DC. We had plans to connect with a friend who had moved to DC during the COVID times, and stay with another friend who I knew from previous CouchCrashes - all COVID-negative, of course. To store the Prius, we had scored a 3-day, $20 parking spot on SpotHero within walking distance of The White House. So our first stop was the parking spot where we backed the ever tempting to thieves catalytic converter against the wall of the parking deck.

Given the proximity, we moseyed over to The White House and took some selfies, then hopped aboard the subway and headed out to Reagan International Airport for a quick walk to Gravelly Point where we were to meet our DC friends for chats and dinner. This was to be our first experience with slogging through oppressive heat while the warning rumbles of a thunderstorm happened in the background. And, let me add, Google Maps's walking directions are shit ... but after crossing some blind and fast moving streets and walking through a construction zone, we did happen to find the greenway path we were supposed to have been on the entire time.

Gravelly Point was very, very busy even though it was a Monday evening and even though rain was threatening immensely. We watched the runways switch twice takeoff-vs-landing due to wind changes from the storm, and learned more than we ever wanted to know about why Boeing 737s were terribly designed by watching the landing gear fly directly over our heads without hatch doors present to prevent icing of the wheels.

Then it was off to dinner in the car of one of our friends. We chose Ethiopian and had what was arguably the best injera I've ever had, even if service was slow. I highly recommend the restaurant. (click for Google Maps link)

At this point night had fallen and the air had cooled, even though the rain which had been threatening never fell. So we decided to start tackling some of the items on my Significant Other's bucket list: seeing the Lincoln Memorial at night - which having seen it during the day as well as at night I have to say that this is my favorite way to see it - and the Vietnam Memorial whose wall of names and design made it very clear the massive loss of life that took place simply by highlighting just the loss of life on the American side. We then hit up the Georgetown Waterfront where we played in water features, got eaten by mosquitoes, found a fountain, and passed a boat staying moored until the very possible last minute of 11 pm. After that it was off to our host's house for shut eye.

The stay was comfortable and the couches so delightful, as was the shower. However, it was at this time that I realized I had completely forgotten to bring my toiletries from the car; I did always have my towel. My shower was doomed to be just water and hard scrubbing and I was going to head to bed with teeth unbrushed, when I remembered that I had my microfiber washcloth with me (3 for $1 at Dollar Tree in fashionable olive drab). I know, I know, microplastic shedding, but also the nature of the microfiber could sweep out pores even without soap and would function as I needed in the time I needed it to and thus my shower was somewhat saved. As for teeth, if you moisten an end of the washcloth and wrap it around a finger, it will do passably in place of a toothbrush for a night and a morning which is what happened; no minty fresh breath because no toothpaste but something is better than nothing.

But at least I had remembered to bring my car dehumidifier to plug in and recharge so as to have a device to absorb our exhalations when and if we did eventually stay a night in Motel Prius.

And with that, to dreamland. ( >)

Frugal Budget Check

• Prius - $57/day
• Chocolate - Free (brought with)
• Richmond Parking - Free (street)
• Richmond Amtrak Station - Free
• Lunch - $7
• Ikea Tea - Free
• Gas - 1 tank $30
• Parking - $10/day
• WMTA Fares - $7
• Dinner - $20
• Travel Around DC after Meeting Friends - Free (thanks DC-friend! we'll be more than happy to drive you around when you come here!)
• Lincoln Memorial - Free
• Vietnam War Memorial - Free
• Georgetown Waterfront - Free
• Overnight lodging - Free

Total $131

Today was not the most frugal day we are going to have, but again a trip is for withdrawing from the bank not contributing to it.