When selecting the hotel to stay at for the conference I thought it wise to pick a hotel near the airport and the light rail line in San Jose. I found one within three-quarters of a mile of the airport and a light rail station for a decent rate. Thus sparing me the annoyance and expense of renting a car.
Upon arriving in San Jose I set out to find city bus number 10 which went to the light rail station. I would have preferred to just walk to the hotel, but there was no direct way to get there. The airport is surrounded on all sides by freeway and the only way in or out of the airport is by automobile. I found the number 10 city bus and jumped on. It took only a few minutes for me to realize that I was on the wrong bus (I should have been to the light rail station within five minutes). Fifteen minutes later I reached the Santa Clara Transit Center, which is a commuter rail hub, not a light rail station. I asked the bus driver for directions, he informed me that I "got on the wrong number 10 bus." Apparently there are two number 10 buses that leave the airport and go to different destinations... brilliant! He instructed me to jump on the bus in front of us.
Eventually I made it to the light rail station, so I went to purchase a ticket. At the ticket machine, I realized that I could buy all of the tickets that I would need for the next couple of days all at once. Fantastic! I put in my money and pulled out all five tickets. I then read the top ticket..."This ticket is valid for two hours from the time of purchase."
I used one of the tickets to travel to my stop. I got off and began walking the three-quarters of a mile to the La Quinta Inn. It was a nice evening and I enjoyed the walk. When I arrived at the hotel I noticed that the hotel had a shuttle van. "How nice!" I thought "I wonder if they drop people off at the light rail." I went in, got my keycard, and inquired whether the shuttle would drop me off at the light rail in the morning. I was informed that it wasn't for that, it was only for transportation to and from the airport, which was unfortunate considering that I had just wasted half an hour on the wrong number 10 bus, and wasted eight dollars buying too many tickets!
The next morning I made the trek back to the light rail station, purchased a new ticket and waited for the train to take me downtown. As the train approached I noticed a white van with "La Quinta Inn" written on the side stop across the street and drop someone off. After all that had happened the night before, I wasn't surprised.
4 comments:
Hi Don - At least you got some exercise!
That is pretty funny, Don.
Do you think it might be God's way of telling you to stay out of San Jose?
Makes you want to stay out of big cities huh. Just keep that in mind in a few years when searching for a job. Dan is excited for this hut trip, maybe Em would like to come down for a girls night with Rach and I?
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