A Dulles Airport Arrival Pick Up

We haven’t been to Dulles Airport since before we moved to northern Virginia five years ago. That means we haven’t been on any international trips either. We did pick up a friend from the Midwest several years back who happened to be in town so we were familiar with the cell phone lot. And, we always used Reagan Airport when we lived on Capitol Hill and are more familiar with that airport. So when our grandson called to say he would be needing a pick up from Dulles after spending two weeks in Ecuador paddling down the Amazon river, we were all too happy to get him. He lives in central Virginia so he needed an alternative to parents or friends. And he left his truck at his girlfriend’s father’s house in Reston - so he just needed to get there as he would then be on his way to New York to see her for the weekend. Luckily the flight from Ecuador was on time and he went through customs in Atlanta. The flight from Atlanta to Virginia was an hour behind - but at least it was just delayed and there were no weather issues. So we headed out for the cell phone lot around 10:15 AM and waited just a few minutes. He was landing just as we arrived. He texted the arrival gate number that he was standing at on the arrival pick up area. It was really very easy and organized. We got from the lot to the terminal in five minutes. It was so good to see him and we drove him to his truck, then we headed for a quick bite in our neighborhood to chat before he went to pick up a bouquet of flowers for his girlfriend at the local shop where he had called in an order earlier, based on our recommendation. It was a different kind of morning for us and it was good to know we can still find our way around. And, who wouldn’t want to see their twenty year old grandson? He will be finishing his third year at UVA starting next week. How the time flies. 

Dulles Airport Cell Phone Waiting Area

Whenever we have guests visiting, they typically arrive at Reagan airport. If the traffic is good, it takes about 15-20 minutes to get there from our house - about the same time it took for us to get to Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee when we lived in Wisconsin. Sometimes we wait in a small parking area along the GW Parkway. It's all very familiar. So when a friend said she would be visiting her niece in Virginia, she said she would be flying in to Dulles. We wanted to meet up for lunch during her short weekend here and it worked out that picking her at the airport would work the best. We only use Dulles for international flights and rarely drive there. So we needed to research the process before we left. Plus the hoopla with the I-66 tollroad started this week and we didn't know if that would affect the drive. Luckily we weren't coming or going during rush hour times. So we drove to Virginia and followed the signs to the airport and the cell phone location and waited for the call. There was constant movement in the lot at this time of the day. So when our friend arrived she needed to tell us the specific door number she would be near so we could drive by and easily find her. It all worked out nicely and we had a lovely time catching up on things. Once we got her to her final destination it would be a long commute home. We didn't mind because we set aside the day for this excursion. But pity all the people who have to make this commute every day. It took over an hour to get back home - and that wasn't even during rush hour. 

The Dulles Unexpected Side Trip

We travel to Dulles airport whenever we need to catch a flight overseas. Occasionally we have taken friends there on their way to a trip overseas. Last week we took a spin to Middleburg Virginia for a ride to see a plantation site, and check up on the seasonal changes throughout the charming countryside. On the way back, we stopped in Leesburg to check out a property we were once interested in, and found ourselves caught on the wrong way street to Dulles airport instead of Washington. The GPS system in our Subaru is quite weird, and we rely more on Google maps. But in this case,  neither one of us got it right. So we drove toward the terminal and it was PACKED on a Saturday afternoon. We typically leave on Thursday evenings when we do fly from there, and it is never that busy. The construction is moving along for the metro to finally make its way all the way to this final destination, but that is a long way off. After passing by the departing gates, we finally got back on track to Washington. It's odd to go to an airport when you don't have to. It added another twenty minutes to the ride home. But since we didn't need to be anywhere, it hardly made any difference.