June 15: Fly to DC (Jaco & San Jose)

(1) In an attempt to suck as much fun out of our vacation as possible, Jerome and I risked driving from Jaco to the airport in San Jose the morning of our flight instead of lodging in the capitol the night before. I'm glad we did. Otherwise, we wouldn't have met this guy - Dick the Drunk. An ex-pat from Oregon, Dick was bellied up to the hotel bar getting nice and pickled while the rest of humanity was enjoying breakfast. Jerome and I found endless amusement in his alcoholism, and were sorry that we had just, that morning, made his acquaintance. Sadly, we had to say goodbye (I'm sure he was crushed). To get back to major civilization, we ended up sharing a cab to San Jose with two girls, making it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Of course, I did have a minor missing wallet scare - which Jerome was absolutely loving - but I was finally able to extract it from some dark corner of my pack before heading through customs.

(2) Before we go, a quick lesson in karma... After Jerome and I parted ways at the endless customs line at the airport in Houston, I soon learned that I had missed my connection to Washington, DC. I was too relaxed from my vacation, however, to really care. So, I walked up to the Continental desk, explained my situation with a warm smile, and managed to score myself a late flight to Baltimore, free shuttle service to my apartment in Arlington, and food vouchers for the time I had to wait in the airport. Then, next to me at the desk, a girl was crying and yelling at the Continental people because she, too, had missed her flight to DC - the airport was a mess that day. This girl was very emotional, rather rude, and getting nowhere with her attitude. Finally, I turned to her and explained, like a Bob Marley song, that everything was going to be alright. I then managed to get her on my flight to Baltimore, a free ride with me to Virginia, and some added meal money on my vouchers. We had dinner at a Cajun restaurant in the terminal and sat next to each other on the plane. It was there, 30,000 feet in the sky, that we learned we were both going to see The Dead in Maryland that Wednesday... only, I didn't have a ticket. She had an extra. Karma is real, my friends. Believe it. (photo: www.dead.net)