Re: DCA: The airport was already named after a president. Now its named after two: "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport."

It is NOT a safe airport. I can't tell you how many times I've nearly suffered whiplash as planes desparately try to stop on that shockingly short runway. It should have been closed ages ago, and except for congressional intervention (for the sheer convenience) it would have been. The new terminals are nice but, IMHO, gaudy.

When I lived in Alexandria, I literally used to drive PAST DCA on my way to IAD to catch flights. I NEVER regretted it. There's not much point of cenvenience if you're dead.

Re: ATCs: I really don't give a rat's patoot about the illegality of the thing, but Reagan was WRONG from a safety standpoint. And his legacy from a FF point of view was his steadfast refusal to acknowledge the antiquated ATC computers and do something about it even as he championed the Aegis Cruiser, one of which cost more than the entire civilian system would have.

Re: DC area: if you have down time, skip the Georgetown scene and make your way up to Adams Morgan or Kalorama for funky bars and great ethnic food (esp. Vietnamese and Indian).