In my last post, I discussed my recent trip to Washington for the Colorado Capital Conference.  While the event was interesting, it was also disheartening to marinate in the unhealthy atmosphere of the D.C. political miasma-even for a few days.

However, on the last night of the event, a “happy mistake” at the hotel caused me to miss the scheduled trip to watch the famed Evening Parade at the Marine Corps Barracks.  In truth, I was not too downcast; I had to catch an early flight the next morning and the Parade would run late.  Maybe next time.

Instead, I asked the concierge for his recommendation for a good place to get oysters.  After all, D.C. is a lot closer to the Chesapeake Bay than Denver is; how could I go wrong?

He recommended Hank’s Oyster Bar.  So, after a short cab ride, I found myself at a quiet table on the sidewalk outside the restaurant.  The concierge knew what he was talking about; Hank’s slippery little rascals went down very satisfactorily.

But as I sat waiting for my dinner to come, I began thinking about getting back to the hotel.  And giving Uber a try.  After all, my kids use it routinely and like it.  And when I had been in the Legislature, I had enthusiastically supported allowing it and Lyft to compete with traditional cab companies.

Thus, old dog and grandpa that I may be, I went to the App Store on my iPhone and loaded up the Uber app.  If my kids could see me now!

So, when dinner was over, I put in a request for my first Uber ride.  And there, as I watched transfixed, the little car icon on my phone began making its way toward me.  Soon enough, the real thing pulled up in front of the restaurant.  I got in and was back at the hotel in about the same amount of time as the taxi ride in the other direction.  But at a lower price and without the hassle of having to dig out my wallet for the cash or a credit card to pay the fare; all that was built right into the app.

I repeated the process well before the crack of dawn the next day for the ride to Dulles. With the same satisfactory results.

Would I use Uber or Lyft again?  Absolutely.  Now if I can just persuade my skeptical wife to give it a try on our upcoming visit to Boston.