Uber Rides Resume

We took our first Uber ride in 2014. It was to the Libraty of Congress concert at the DAR building by the White House. We took a few rides more here and there. But since we moved to northern Virginia four years ago - and the pandemic - we haven’t used it since - except twice for food delivery. Our car needed to have a major checkup yesterday and we didn’t want to spend all day at the dealer. So they provide a free one way Uber ride back to your house, but you need to get your own ride to pick up the car. So I made sure the Uber app was updated and ready to use. There is a lot more on it since we last used it, including safety reminders. The service people arranged for the ride and the driver arrived promptly in a grey RAV4. We validated names and got our ride home. We tipped the driver with paper money this time. Our car needed to stay over night so this morning we called up the nearest vehicle and it arrived within five minutes - a red Camry this time. It’s still amazing to me how all of this works and how things are all connected and fairly easy to use. Unfortunately my husband doesn’t deal with any of this stuff so I need to stay on top of digital services. We don’t have any friends in the immediate area who we could rely on for a ride so it’s nice to have this option since I really hate buses and metro. All I can say is that it felt very weird not having our car for the day - like we were really missing it. We don’t do well whenever there is a change in our routine - even if there are other options. 

Uber and Willie Nelson

It's been awhile since we took Uber, so I was a bit confused about how to enter the right address. The driver called to clarify exactly where we were located. He finally got us to our destination in rush hour traffic - the DAR Concert hall for the Willie Neslon Gerswhin prize concert. But it was quite expensive at $26.00? So we took our free seats that were a lottery win from the Library of Congress employee pool and waited for the music. Not long after we sat down, Mr. Nelson entered and sat within our view and seemingly enjoyed the show - Neil Young, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Don Johnson, and several others whom I don't really know. At the end Willie sang "on the road again," but we didn't hear "you are always on my mind." They had to redo the Cyndi Lauper duet because there was something wrong with the production truck. Nevertheless it will be broadcast in January.  We'll probably watch it because it's a very different show watching it on tv. It was a nice event, but I'm not a huge fan. But my husband enjoyed it. I think the songs of Billy Joel last year had more meaning for me. I didn't know half the songs played at Willie's show. When we left the concert hall, we walked a couple blocks and hailed a cab. He got us home in short order and it was $15.00. I'm sure it had something to do with the time of day - or did it? 

A Second Ride With Uber

We used Uber one time last year to take us to the free Billy Joel concert at the DAR auditorium. Since it was the first ride we got ten dollars off - and it was cheap. We thought we would use it again to get to Ford's Theatre for a matinee with our neighbors who were visiting from Wisconsin. Luckily I checked the credit card information and updated it before we started out. Still a little confused at how it works, a driver responded within a few seconds to our request. We needed a vehicle for four so the Camry would do. The driver was very polite and we all had an interesting conversation about where he was from, and he made his way to tenth street. If it was a nicer day we could have walked. In the end the trip cost less than eight dollars. We took the bus back home and the fare for four cost more than Uber. Our neighbors were impressed with the ride and the cost and may end up using it on their travels. Although it has only been two experiences, both times we used the service were great. It offers an alternative to the bus, traditional taxi, metro, and personal car. Now I'm waiting for the driverless vehicle. That would be a real experience.