Can't they just cab it from Dulles to fairfax?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Yeah just to clarify - our house to Dulles is 38 miles. So about 80 miles round trip during rush hour all to take them from Dulles to Fairfax (12 miles).

[Anonymous]

I don't get this mentality, but my father had the same mindset: there is something about being picked up/dropped off at the airport by family that means something and asking him to take a cab was like some kind if rejection or insult. Had nothing to do with the $$ saved on cab fare, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get this mentality, but my father had the same mindset: there is something about being picked up/dropped off at the airport by family that means something and asking him to take a cab was like some kind if rejection or insult. Had nothing to do with the $$ saved on cab fare, either.

My mom is this same way and it really pisses me off. I never ask someone to come get me because it is not convenient. Her parents are the same way, so I know where she gets it from. I don't bend to it. She lives in Bowie, I live in MoCo and picking her up in Bowie and driving to Dulles for sll her international flights is insane! She travels abroad 4 times per year, so it is tedious. I started saying no 8 years ago and it is awesome.

[Anonymous]

I don't get this mentality, but my father had the same mindset: there is something about being picked up/dropped off at the airport by family that means something and asking him to take a cab was like some kind if rejection or insult. Had nothing to do with the $$ saved on cab fare, either.

I get this too because my dad and stepmother travel all the time. I have had many a mid-afternoon Dulles drop off when I turn around into horrible traffic and have had to scramble to get my kids picked up on time (we're in CCMD.)

The key is that my dad reciprocates by taking us to/picking us up from airports when we travel (much less frequently) which saves us beau coup airport parking bucks.

[Anonymous]

my parents are like this ... w/o going into all the details, it led to major issues when I begged off of picking them up at Dulles and driving them to Fairfax after a trip a few years ago (flight was delayed, late Sunday night, I had a baby waking during the night and work the next day)

taking a taxi seemed to be really off putting to them and they complained bitterly about the cost and made us reimburse them - mind you, they were returning from a trip to Europe that cost approx. $8000 so I thought the whining about the $40 cab ride was pretty ridiculous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH's parents were on a 12 day vacation in Europe. Prior to leaving, they drove from their house in Bowie to their oldest son's house in Fairfax and parked their car there. He gave them a ride to Dulles (a 20 minute drive). They come back on Thursday and my husband is going to drive from our house (Olney) to pick them up at Dulles and take them to their car at his brothers house in Fairfax. Wtf? I don't understand why they can't cab it.

They get back at 3:30 pm and have to go through immigration so husband will sit thru prime rush hour traffic. I feel like if he can take all this time off to schlep his folks around, he shouldn't give me such a hard time when I ask him to do stuff for me. Or maybe he would actually use his time to spend with his daughter who he hardly sees during the week because of his work (ie long gym hours) hours. Seriously, am I out of my mind thinking they are crazy for expecting him to do this and him tripping over his feet in trying to? Oh and the brother in fairfax may hsve a work meeting so can't pick them up himself.

I think your annoyance has more to do with the bolded part above than whether this is actually a practical thing to do. From a traffic standpoint, it would seem that the easiest thing to do wout be for the son who lives in Fairfax to pick them up and take them to their car at his house, but I don't think that's the real issue here.

[Anonymous]

A cab costs $45 from Dulles to Vienna. Even during rush hour because thy'd take the toll road and it's against traffic. Money well spent, if you ask me.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand the mentality but I've experienced it. I highly recommend a car service. For about $50-75, you can get a very nice black Lincoln and a driver to pick them up and take them to Fairfax. We've done it a few times and even my mother and grandmother like it now. It's money well spent and we've found the car services much more reliable than taxis and the cars are much, much nicer and infinitely more clean.3

[Anonymous]

Super Shuttle is $18/person from Dulles airport to a residence in Faifax.

[Anonymous]

OT but do you tip a car service driver? If so, how much is appropriate?

[Anonymous]

I don't understand this mentality at all either.

[Anonymous]

My husband does weird stuff like this for his family and you know what helps? When they ask me I politely say "no." when they ask him - or when he volunteers - I let the annoyance roll off my back cause there's nothing I can do about it and it's not gonna change.

Take your kid to dinner that night. Order your favorite take out. Regale him with tales of the family fun he missed while in traffic. And move on.

[Anonymous]

Is there a place they can store their luggage at the airport? So they can have dinner at the airport or take a shuttle to a hotel nearby and have dinner. Then DH can go and pick them up after the traffic has died down in the evening?

[Anonymous]

If they just went on a 12 day european vacation Im sure they can swing the $40 to 50 cab fare. My inlaws are exactly the same. Too cheap to park their car at the airport but think nothing of spending thousands on lavish vacations. Also we have gotten calls (i live 45 min from dulles) at 10 pm to pick them up bctheir flight was delayed and the completly expected us to do a 2 hour roundtrip to pick them up.

[Anonymous]

I think the car service is a great idea, or else as long as you don't have to do it, you can just chalk it up to his crazy family and try to have some fun without him (maybe by going to dinner as PP suggested, or tell him he's in charge of the kid one night while you go out?).