DOC 2 BE -
Glad to be of some help to y'all. That is what I like about FT - people are always willing to help and it is usually very good help too.
As to the cab fare - yes, the hotel is "close" to the airport, but only in the sense that the airport property LINE is just west of the hotel's location. The hotel is at the bottom right sorner of the airport property and the terminal sits close to the center of the sirport property. You exit out the north end of the airport and then go east to Hwy-28 and then south on Hwy-28 to the Hilton. I would guess that the actual milage from the terminal to the front door of the Hilton is on the order of 6-7 miles. Dulles to the hotel is a rather long trip since it is easily a couple of miles just to get from the terminal to the boundary of the Dulles property and then 4-5 more miles to the hotel. I also assume that the $10 your wife paid included a tip for the driver. Seems to me that cab fares in the DC Metro area are VERY HIGH.
I once was "cabbed" from IAD to National by AA, when they cancelled the last flight from Dulles, and the charge by the cab driver was over $50. Glad all I had to do was "sign" the voucher and AA had to pay the bill!
In Dallas, I actually live about 8 miles from Term-A (just out the North exit and when I take a cab from DFW to home I "spend" $20 for fare and tip inclusive. Cabbies got a 30% fare increase in Dallas last year! So - the $10 at Dulles seems in line for "high rate" areas.
dAAvid -