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Baby Huey
Advanced Member
Username: Baby_huey
Post Number: 171
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 173.79.30.81
| | Posted on Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 12:03 pm: | |
DBM: No, I do not remember seeing a drop-off box for rental car keys in the Dover air terminal. I thought I read that somewhere, but do not know if it is true. bf |
D.B.M UK
Senior Member
Username: Overlandrover
Post Number: 5639
Registered: 04-2005
Posted From: 88.105.108.118
| | Posted on Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 11:25 am: | |
BH,when you were in Dover terminal, did you see the Enterprise drop off box. If so, it must be new from the last time I went through.
Good report, know what you mean about different ways to get to Dover from the North. I have been several different ways till I got a Tom Tom. |
John D.
Moderator
Username: John_d
Post Number: 3937
Registered: 06-2003
Posted From: 95.208.80.143
| | Posted on Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 06:57 am: | |
Leland suggested "by an SD card with the Europe maps on it for about $250. That should work in your 265."
To prevent this trip report turning into a GPS discussion I suggest the discussion be continued under the existing "GPS for Europe" Thread. |
Bill Gregory
Senior Member
Username: Bill_gregory
Post Number: 423
Registered: 07-2004
Posted From: 74.162.57.214
| | Posted on Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 06:20 am: | |
The next time you are in Rota, try the food at Corazon de Jesus. Just keep going straight where you turned to go the the policia and you will come to a rotary that has a sangria stand on the beach side. The restaurant address is 65.
You were probably in Puerto de Santa Maria. Check my write up on the Christmas Markt trip we took in October/November last year and got hung up in Rota for the particulars on both Corazon and La Dorada in Puerto. The food is great and you WILL go back for more.
Good write up! |
Earl
Senior Member
Username: Myramstein
Post Number: 631
Registered: 11-2007
Posted From: 108.108.118.190
| | Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 10:29 pm: | |
Baby Huey,
I take my Garmin GPS (it is in the truck now so will guess on the model number)..think it is the 275 model.
Has preloaded maps of Europe. Got it at the WP AFB exchange on sale.
Works fine. Even speaks English to me in Spain.
With, or without, rental car I take it.
Great for finding places and getting "unlost."
Even great to use when on bus or train...to see where you are at and what is close by as you travel.
Also nice finding the back roads to Dover AFB.
And finally, great trip report. Thanks |
Earl
Senior Member
Username: Myramstein
Post Number: 630
Registered: 11-2007
Posted From: 108.108.118.190
| | Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 10:17 pm: | |
Tony: you back in Cadiz now?
See you in the Rota terminal in March. |
Tony Cabrera
Senior Member
Username: Tonyc
Post Number: 1470
Registered: 08-2006
Posted From: 64.237.197.0
| | Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 10:13 pm: | |
Baby Huey,
Great trip report! I wholeheartedly agree with all of your comments, especially those that describe life in Spain.
Happy travels! |
Leland
Senior Member
Username: Leland
Post Number: 5722
Registered: 05-2006
Posted From: 98.218.147.237
| | Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 08:53 pm: | |
You can buy an SD card with the Europe maps on it for about $250. That should work in your 265. |
Baby Huey
Advanced Member
Username: Baby_huey
Post Number: 170
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 173.79.30.81
| | Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 08:32 pm: | |
JohnD, shoot. I bought the Garmin 265 because it had Bluetooth and thought I was being smart. I knew that GPS had been discussed on the site, but hadn't checked it out. I just got frustrated trying to get to Dover on those back roads. I used it coming home and it took my smack through downtown old Dover with its 25 mph speed limits and trucks stopped in the road for deliveries. I may have to fine tune it some more. bf |
Leland
Senior Member
Username: Leland
Post Number: 5721
Registered: 05-2006
Posted From: 98.218.147.237
| | Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 08:18 pm: | |
bf wrote: I drove the 2 hours from the DC-Baltimore area to Dover AFB without incident. I have driven that route at least a dozen times, never the same way twice. There is no easy direct route, you have to make a few cutbacks on small roads around the DE-MD line, and I always manage to find a new route.
Roger that. Once you get across the Bay Bridge it is free form time. In the afternoons smile, keep the sun in your rear view mirror, and drive. My Garmin, however, has some pretty set ideas on how to get there. |
John D.
Moderator
Username: John_d
Post Number: 3934
Registered: 06-2003
Posted From: 95.208.80.143
| | Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 08:18 pm: | |
Baby Huey asked, " I didn’t bring the new GPS (does anyone know if it would have worked?)"
The Garmin 265 GPS only comes with North American maps. The GPS itself would have worked and provided you with your location (Lat/Long coordinates) but you would not have had a map display of the local area. If you had bought a Garmin 275 (or other GPS with European maps) then you would have been golden. |
Baby Huey
Advanced Member
Username: Baby_huey
Post Number: 169
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 173.79.30.81
| | Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 08:06 pm: | |
Dover>Rota>Marbella>Manzanares>Rota>McGuire>Dover
22 JAN – 02 FEB 2010
One CAT IV SpaceA Traveler
I didn’t think I would get around to writing this up, but 2-3’ of snow kinda slows things down to a manageable pace. So here goes!
So work was slow and I got antsy for a trip to Europe. Usually that means a flight from Dover AFB to Ramstein (or Rhein Main in the good ol’ days) but I have a kid teaching English in a small town outside of Madrid. So I thought I’d see how things worked at Rota. I usually plan things to death, buying a Thomas Cook Rail Time Tables book to go along with my Eurail pass, but this one had a shorter fuse. On THR night I asked my wife if she cared if I went to Spain to see our kid. She said, “Sure, when are you thinking about going?” I said, “Tomorrow.” And the adventure was on.
I drove the 2 hours from the DC-Baltimore area to Dover AFB without incident. I have driven that route at least a dozen times, never the same way twice. There is no easy direct route, you have to make a few cutbacks on small roads around the DE-MD line, and I always manage to find a new route. So when I got to the terminal and confirmed I had time to spare I went to Radio Shack and bought a Garmin 265 GPS.
The two scheduled flights to Rota on FRI night left with no SpaceA PAX. This would be a recurring theme during the trip. I have a boatload of Marriott Rewards points from business travel, so I stayed out at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott for two nights before I got on a hop to Rota on SUN afternoon. It was a C5 where six of us were crammed into 73 seats. We all spread out and I was able to sleep most of the way there, which is unusual for me. I kind of like the C5 – the lack of windows doesn’t bother me. We had the usual problems with temperature control – it was cold then hot then cold. I changed rows a few times until they quit fiddling with the temperature controls and I found a tolerable row.
We arrived in Rota eight hours later at 0700 MON local time. I picked up a Chevrolet Matiz at the NEX rental car counter in the Rota Terminal without a reservation. Apparently MONs are a good day to do this as all the kids take them out for the weekend and bring them back early MON morning. No one would confuse a Matiz with a real car, but for $216 a week it’s a steal. I decided to hang around Rota for the day and got a room at the BOQ at 1100 for $50. Seemed pricey, but it always takes a day or so for me to get adventurous and venture off the base – especially when I don’t speak the local language. I spent a little time wandering around the Rota Main Gate until I found the police station where you have to get your passport stamped. I thought it was immediately off the circle outside the gate, but it is a block down and then take a left and walk another block. Search this site for better directions.
My kid was busy on TUE and WED, so I decided to stay a few days in Marbella at a Marriott Resort. I didn’t bring the new GPS (does anyone know if it would have worked?) so I spent alittle more time than I wanted in some town named Puerto Something before I found the excellent Spanish AutoVia (highway) system. Drove through a driving rain all along the Costa del Sol to Marbella. Spent two days at the Marriott resort inside while the wind howled and the rain just poured. I sat snuggled under a comforter, sipping hot tea and watching British WWII war movies on one of the BBC channels piped into the resort – quality quiet time!
On THR I set out for Manzanares, where my kid teaches English in a Spanish high school. It is a small town about two hours SE of Madrid. My supercharged Matiz was roaring down the highway and even reaching the 120km/h speed limit on the downhill stretches. Spent three days with my kid playing cribbage and going out to tapas bars with his friends. I am now officially a big fan of tapas. Basically we’d pay a Euro for a beer (Amstel – go figure) and get a small plate of something that changed with each round. If we were hungry, we’d order a ‘Racion’ (?sp) which was a bigger plate. I really liked the papas bravas, which were home fried potatoes with a thin ketchup / curry-wursty sauce. Five to ten rounds later you are full and ready to go.
My kid is living a great bohemian existence – 4th-floor walk up, not much work, lots of bars with friends, etc. He is an aspiring writer - just graduated from college with an English major - and is going thru the obligatory Hemingway period. Was fun except his apartment was cold and the hot water in the shower lasted about 15 seconds when it was there at all. Ugh. He’s also on Spanish time. On my last night, we stumbled up the stairs at 2230 after ‘dinner’ and two La Liga soccer games at a tapas bar. After a few games of cribbage, I went to bed and he headed out to start partying with his friends. He says some of the clubs don’t open until 0300….
So, I blew back to Rota and ran into two 0-PAX flights to Dover. There was some scuttlebutt that all of the Haitian Relief traffic might be affecting the seats available, I have no idea if that was true. Right after they cancelled another Dover flight, I was fixin’ to leave the terminal when a TBA to McGuire was suddenly announced. I figured getting on the right side of the pond was better than staying another night in Rota and hoping the scheduled flights to Dover the following day wouldn’t evaporate as the other had. So it was a C17 home for a dozen or so of us SPATs. A USAF unit of 15 or so went back with us, but no cargo, so plenty of room to spread out. Eight and half hours to McGuire AFB, arriving around 1800 local, just missing the Hertz Car Rental on base that closes at 1700. Lodging was full, and I was told a taxi was crazy expensive so I just slept on a sofa for the night.
Up in the am for a bird bath and then took the base shuttle bus to the BX and the Hertz car rental booth. I arrived at 0800 but had to wait (inside) until 0900 for it to open. They had a one-way rental that I could drop off at Dover for $139. I called Enterprise (who I think has a drop-off box in the Dover air terminal) but they couldn’t give me a one-way rental. So I drove to Dover long term parking, dropped my bags in the car in case I had trouble with the proffered free ride back to the base from Hertz. BUT – Hertz was happy to drive me the 5 miles or so and dropped me in long-term parking right at my car.
Thoughts: My impression is that Rota is not as busy as Ramstein and there really seemed to be a lot of evaporating flights both at Dover and Rota. But Rota is very SPAT friendly and looks to be a great way to get to Crete and Sicily. Tapas bars are great. The highways in Spain are excellent. If you are really trying to catch a hop, don’t leave the terminal. Flying SpaceA is usually great and always a story!! Cheers. bf |
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