We lost a dear friend/co-worker of ours last Wednesday when his helicopter was shot down over in Afghanistan. I am trying to find a way for my husband and I to get up to Arlington for the funeral. We would really like to be there to support his wife and 3 little girls. We are military and stationed near Montgomery, AL. The funeral is going to be on the 18th and the cheapest flights I can find are about $500. It is about 16 hours to drive up there from here.....yikes!!! I guess I am looking for some good websites to help find the most reasonable airfare and suggestions from ya'll on where to stay. I have never been to the DC area so I am quite nervous about traveling up there and staying in a bad area. I think I am just rambling now...but any hints/ suggestions you could provide would be greatly appreciated.


UPDATE:
Let me just explain how things have worked out!!! I am so excited!! First off let me tell you what a good man my husband his. He is set to deploy at the end of this year.....so he is in the process of moving my mom down here to AL from St. Louis to help me out with our 3 boys while he is deployed. He flew out of Montgomery yesterday evening to fly up to St Louis to help her load the moving truck and drive the truck back down here. Well he flew from Montgomery to Memphis then had to change flight to go onto St. Louis. The plane was overbooked to St Louis so they asked for volunteers to give up their seats. He volunteered and they gave him a free round trip ticket anywhere in the US with no black out dates....guess where he is going....yep...to Arlington for the funeral for free....I was able to find a RT flight for me for $184......I am thrilled. I got discouraged today when I checked out hotel prices, but it all worked out. Today...a long time friend of our family was visiting my mom and my husband and they were discussing the situation and she has an uncled that is a retired General who lives in Woodbridge, VA (which is supposed to be close to Arlington). He volunteered for us to stay with him during our trip up there. I would be hesitant, but his friend is actually a cousin by marriage on my husbands side and we have know the majority of their family for over 25 years. I feel safe accepting their offer. So...now we only have to pay for my flight and a rental car...which is $25 a day...and whatever food we consume. Plus my mom (who is moving down here on Wednesday) will be here to watch the boys while my husband and I fly up to the funeral. Somebody up above has been working things out for us! Thank you all for you help/suggestions!!!

I am sorry I dont have any suggestions for you. I just wanted to say I am sorry for your loss

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Look for flights into Reagan National because you can take the Metro from there. If you fly into Dulles, there's no Metro service (unless you get a room at a hotel with Dulles transport service). I recommend staying in Virginia within walking distance (or hotel van service) of a Metro, because that will really cut your costs a lot. Springfield or ARlington should both be fine. I believe Read52 lives on the Maryland side of D. C. and she might have some advice for you about areas to stay over there. I don't know much about that side. The Metro is easy to use, cheap and goes directly to Arlington.

I am sorry for your loss too. My dil is in the military and did a year in Iraq. My other ds was in the military when the war started and was to go to Afganistan. His unit never shipped out. I do live on the Maryland side of DC ( the northern most border is about 2 miles from my house). I would stay in Virginia also since it is closer to Arlington Cementary and Reagan National Airport and you can take the Metro to get around. It is a safe area and you can get deals on places to stay. Silver Spring , MD is nice and on the Metro line but you would spend more time and money on the Metro. I tried looking on Southwest to see if they fly near you but I did not find your city. I would explain the situation to whatever airline and also tell them that you are military. They might give you a discount. I would do the same thing with a place to stay. If you need any other help, let me know.

You might find it cheaper overall to fly into BWI and taking a shuttle or renting a car.

cj/

Does anybody know how far the Baltimore airport is from Arlington?? One more question....I may have our flights worked out....but the only thing I can come up with is my dh flying out of DCA at 5:15 and me flying out of BWI at 5:12 then we meet up in Memphis and fly back into Montgomery together. I need to know realistically how long does it take to get from BWI to DCA airport. If he were to drop me off at BWI for my flight how long should he plan on getting back to DCA? Is one hour realistic....or is that rush hour time there?? Is there anykind of shuttle that runs between the two airports???

It would be cheaper to fly into BWI (Baltimore) but it is not connected to the Metro so you would have to rent a car. It is 35 to 40 miles from DC and traffic around here is heavy.

I used to attend a conference at the Sheraton Wardman Park near the National Zoo - we flew into BWI and took a bus/shuttle downton. Memory fails me but it was about 1/2 hour ride with one transfer. We didn't rent cars and it was not too inconvenient, but I don't remember that much about it.

We just drove through DC in April...and yes the traffic was icky. There is a bypass kinda around the city to Arlington, right??

Having driven there, gotten lost, and traffic many times...

I highly recommend Amtrak!

We took Amtrak there at Christmas last year. Their public transportation (subway and buses) are GREAT!!! (obviously not as good as NYC's, but comparable).

Amtrak usually runs fairly cheap too...plus you can get up and walk around the train, go to the lounge, etc.

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It's about an hour from BWI to DCA and can be several hours, depending on the time of day you're going. Do you mean 5:15 am or pm? If pm, I'd guess at least 2.5-3 hours. Actually, am might be close to several hours as well.

Anybody know what bases are located there that may have lodging on base??? We checked the hotels in the area and ....WOW....they are expensive...!!! I know Andrews AFB is there....but anything else???

further south on I-95, you have Quantico, Virginia (which is a USMC base)...

You have the USNA in Maryland and you have Patuxent River (spelling?) nicknamed Paxt (USN) base in Maryland

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SPJRNTGADL!

Came up on MSN this morning. Might be worth looking into Southwest Summer Fare Sale:

Southwest Airlines - Wanna Get Away

Once at the site, click on 'Southwest Shortcut to Low Fares'

How did you do on air fare? Are you both coming out of the same airport? Can you both go out of Reagan(DC)? Even though it may be a few dollars more, it would not make sense to go out of two different airports. In both airports, you have to be there 1 1/2 to 2 hours ahead of time. They are a least 40 miles apart. There is not any shuttle that I know of. The cheapest shuttles that will come to your house is $29 per person and up. Andrews and Quantico are both a distance from Arlington. What price range do you need? Have you told them that you are military? Also, traffic around this area is bad and heavy. If you are not familiar with the area, you can easily get lost. I teach in a school near a busy intersection and road. 16 years ago 2 of our students were killed in an accident. This morning, two of our students were in a roll over accident in the same spot. Luckily, they were not hurt. If you need any other help, let me know.

I updated my situation above...but couldn't figure out how to ad update to my title

Glad to see things worked out. If you get a chance, see the monuments and memorials. I think staying on the Virginia side is the best for your situation. The weather will be like yours, warm and humid.

Awesome!
Your husband sounds like a fantastic person.
Have a safe trip!

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