Things learned from this weekend’s trip

and I decided that after our 10-hour hell-trip getting down to DC on Friday that it’d be better to skip on sightseeing and catching up with friends and drive back on Sunday instead of Monday. We got back in 7 hours, only hitting minimal traffic around NYC. Here’s a list of things I learned this trip:

  • New Jersey Still Rocks! Much like Texas’ “Tolltag” system, NJ has EZ-Pass Express Lanes on the Turnpike that allows you to keep cruising at “55 mph” through the toll. This is something I always knew was technically possible with the system, but it’s the first time I’ve seen anyone use this capability for EZ-Pass.
  • DC Taxis don’t use meters. You rely on the honesty of the driver to not pad how much you owe.
  • DC Liquor Stores apparently close at 10pm on Saturday Night. And I thought Massachusetts was puritanical.
  • The Hotel Helix bar closes at 11pm on Saturday night. What kind of alternate reality stone age is DC in?
  • Entering our room at the Hotel Helix we were greeted by a cold Yoo-Hoo and a pack of Twinkies. This is how all Hotels should greet you.
  • While you may think to yourself “I don’t think adding cooked corn kernels into pancake batter is a good idea”, you are wrong.
  • You can kinda, sorta, almost pretend to slow dance with a broken leg.
  • All hotels need to have free internet service. Learn your lesson, Hilton, and stop charging. Thank god Hotel Helix knows this information.
  • Amenity does not mean complimentary
  • Don’t keep the atlas in the trunk.

11 thoughts on “Things learned from this weekend’s trip

  1. !!! i -hate- mass liquor stores! i went to one during my last rendevous weekend and they wouldn’t let me buy anything because i had out of state id! i called another store (i heart you google sms) and they said theyw ouldnt sell to me either!

    after i turned 21 i didn’t think i’d ever need to use a straw purchaser again…

    1. In MD they can’t even sell beer in the grocery stores. Thank god Virginia is just a few minutes away (never thought I’d say that…heh).

      1. Not in NJ either. Of course, at least that makes more sense than NY, in which you are allowed to sell beer in Grocery stores, but NOT IN LIQUOR STORES, which has *never* made any sense to me.

      2. MD has different alcohol regulations by county. When I lived there I could drive one direction to get beer at a 7-11, but the other I could only get it in liquor stores.

    2. pa

      Pennsylvania is the worst.

      We have state stores, different stores for beer and liquor, none sold in grocery stores, and they all close ridiculously early. Until two weeks it was impossible to purchase alcohol or go to bars on election day. Until this year all liquor and beer stores were all closed on Sunday.

      Beat that, other states.

  2. The Tapan Zee bridge has had two express ez pass lanes since 2003. They only run at 35 mph becuase it is the entrance to the bridge but use the same system as the highway 55 mph tolls.

    1. That’s a good point, although it’s at the exit of the bridge, not the entrance (Tappan Zee charges the tolls after you’ve crossed the bridge, and only as you’re travelling east)…

      I think the fact it’s 35mph caused me to forget about it. Since it’s at the exit of the bridge it seems like they could crank up the speed a bit more. :)

      1. My mistake. Half the time I’m not all there by that point in the trip which was preceded by a mind numbing drive down the Thruway.

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