Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport aka: DCA

While I was leaving the airport I overhead the TSA and a passenger arguing about whether someone’s salad dressing needed to be thrown away, or whether it could be put into another container.

A nice flight in with views of the capitol!

You have to exit and re-enter security zones to go between the two terminals – make sure to leave extra time.

The aerial view of the monuments in Washington D.C. might be worth it. However, naming it after Reagan is a bit much.

I spent entirely too much time going through here when I was in a long-distance relationship with a guy in Arlington. Admittedly, this was also back when US Airways was still doing student fares, and anyone under the age of 25 could pick up a pack of four round-trips for under $500. But for sheer convenience, you can’t beat National, particularly if you’re planning to get around by public transportation the entire time.

I decided to surprise said boyfriend one weekend. He was at a morning meeting, so I’d coordinated events with his roommates very carefully re meeting at a restaurant near their apartment. Walked off the plane, realized I was cutting it close with our meeting time, sprinted to catch the blue line train. Switched at Rosslyn, flew down the escalator as I realized there was a train right there about to leave heading my direction, dashed into the nearest subway car barely scooting through the doors on time – and there they were, seated, heading exactly where I was headed.

(He was so stunned he couldn’t speak for about five minutes. :) )

So yeah, I have more fond associations with this airport than most people do. It’s even worth the “No, we’re flying into DC, you cannot get up for the last half-hour” bit.