just to make you jealous (or may very well be, to feel sorry for us/our travel-stress).

Rudi's and Wolfram's round-the-world in 13 days (StarAlliance, paid business-class, my first 55% to make Lufthansa Senator = 1K in 99 and to compare Senator afterwards with UA 1K):

Wednesday/Thursday jan 20/21: SAS Zurich - Copenhague - Bangkok
jan 21: Marriott Riverside, Bangkok
jan-22: Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok (free transfer Marrriott-Oriental by Marriott's-boat with handluggage only); evening at Oriental's thai-restaurant "Sala Rim Naan" with classic thai-dance.
jan-23: Marriott Riverside, Bangkok
jan-24/25: Thai Bangkok - Melbourne
jan-25 to jan-29: Sheraton Hotel & Tower in Melbourne; Australian Tennis Open (and some business/friendship-talks with Australian wine producers)
jan-29: UA Melbourne-Auckland-Los Angeles-Washington D.C.: this is my first flight to arrive (at LAX) before I depart (at MEL), (my niece, Wolfram's daugther is working at the Congress to get her Dr. in politics), Renaissance Mayflower.
jan-30: at & in the White House (niece), evening flight from DCA to Miami, "a" leftover room at "a" downtown Days Inn in Miami
jan-31: Superbowl, Miami (Days Inn)
feb-1/2: LH Miami - Frankfurt - Zurich.

[This message has been edited by Rudi (edited 01-19-99).]

So which is more sleazy--the White House or the Day's Inn in downtown Miami (leftover no less)? Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

Good luck on what looks like a great trip!

That sounds really like a great, but also exhausting trip. Be aware of having enough sun blocker with you, Melbourne is getting really hot... (the excellent, fresh Australian white wines will cool you down) The Days Inn isn't that bad, especially when you're "days out" (watching the Super Bowl). I wish you a wonderful journey, good luck & GUTE REISE !!!

Hey BBomber, I bet one could say "We were never alone, right?", in either place.

Have a great trip Rudi. Above all, have fun and be "sanitation".

You could never make me jealous, Rudi. In fact I salute you and it makes me dream of the day when I can retire and do my first round the world trip (or when I win Powerball, odds less than that.)

Many Happy and Safe Travels and enjoy the SuperBowl! I'll look for you in the crowd on T-V! CATMAN

you'll find me high up in the "nose-bleed" section.

Don't think the 49'er jacket will be appropriate for the Miami weather, so we cannot look for it. Maybe we'll just look for the section with red color. Also, do not put your beach towel on any yellow sand.

[This message has been edited by JAWS_II (edited 01-19-99).]

Bon Voyage...

I *AM* jealous Rudi, all except for the DCA part. I don't envy your trip through that
mess, that's for sure. As a former resident, I was less than pleased when I found out they renamed it Ronald Reagan National Airport. I find it especially ironic when *HE* was the one that fired the ATC workers back in 1981.

Oh well, thank God ICAO/IATA have more sense than our elected officials and it's still
REALLY called DCA.

1. Reagan was right to fire the striking (illegal)controllers.
2. I'm glad they call it Reagan National.
3. DCA is one of the best airports in the country to fly in/out of! Although the new terminals are quite nice, nothing beats the convenience of the old ones. Even so, the new terminal is quite easy to navigate and the walk between the gates and baggage claim is still minimal. No trains to your baggage here!

Hey Rudi,

It looks like we'll both be shivering in D.C. together. I'm going to just across the river in Alexandria for a conference.

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).

Go MileKing!

IMHO, the important thing about DCA's name change is the way Congress forced it down our throats. For such a bunch of whiners about "states' rights," the current bunch of hypocrites seem to have no problems imposing their will over the wishes of DC locals.

Matt, my pilot friends say that DCA is not an easy airport, but implying that you're taking your life into your hands every time you land or take off is a bit much. I don't recall an accident there since Air Florida. Especially since DCA is easily accessible by Metro, whereas to get to IAD from anywhere except Fairfax County involves an extended trip on the Beltway, I-66 and/or the Dulles Access Road. Talk about dangerous!

And in terms of convenience, DCA wins hands down. One morning around X-mas in the middle of the bad weather, EasySabre said my AA flight out of DCA was cancelled. I was on hold with AA for 2 hours waiting to reschedule. When they picked up, it turned out that my flight, which was due to depart in less than an hour, was not cancelled after all. I dressed, got to DCA and checked in with time to spare. Try that at IAD -- it takes that long just to take the stupid bus to the mid-field terminal.

Charlie

When it comes to convenience, there is no comparison. As for safety, you are quite correct that it is more dangerous, statistically speaking, to drive to Dulles than to land at National (excuse me, Ronald Reagan Washington National)...But during my tenure working on Capitol Hill, I had ocassion to tour the FAA facilities at National, and heard the ATCs there tell me (as a Congressional aide off the record) that each and every day there is a "near-incident" involving a landing or takeoff. And that's at the airport...never mind the twisty, turny approach or the noise restrictions requiring low throttle take-offs. Also, if (when) the 30 year old ATC system fails, National will be scene to a trajedy if a plane is on approach from the north on a cloudy day.

I DO use RRWNA from time to time (that's how I know about the whiplash), but not if I can help it.