A Bermudian who upped sticks and steered his career in the direction of America is fast becoming king of the road in Capital City.

Limousine driver Llewellyn Gomes ? who hails from Khyber Pass, Warwick ? changed lanes ten years ago and moved to the United States, where he has launched a successful chauffeuring business.

Baltimore Bermuda Limousine has since gone from strength to strength, securing airport pick-up contract work while criss-crossing the Washington area for clients including Bermuda politicians, a major Boston hospital, Baltimore Ravens? American football players, stand-up comics, singers and talented designers.

And limo driver Mr. Gomes reckons the driving force behind his popularity is good old fashioned Bermudian politeness.

In the sometimes stuffy and impolite streets of DC, he says a quick ?good morning? and a friendly smile can work wonders.

?It?s down to my upbringing and being around tourists all my life,? he told , who caught up with him during the Premier?s recent diplomatic trip to the US.

?That really pays dividends here.?

The man who donned pink Bermuda shorts when he arrived to pick up some of the Bermuda Washington delegation from Ronald Reagan National Airport said the priority for many rival drivers is how much cash they can make from a job.

?I have been told don?t worry about the tips, look after the customer first.?

Mr. Gomes, 53 ? who married an American, Catherine, and decided to join her in the US, ?because it was easier than her moving to Bermuda? ? currently has three people working for him in a business that boasts four swish limousines.

That?s a world away from his time in Bermuda, where he grew up in Warwick and worked as a drug addiction counsellor for Government for 16 years.

?I enjoyed the whole 16 years,? he said.

?I guess it started a change in my life and gave me opportunities.

?I never went to college until I went to Addiction Services. I?m now a certified drug counsellor and I travelled a lot in Canada, to Montreal and Toronto.?

The driver also did a stint as a hotel worker in Tucker?s Town when he lived in Bermuda. Once he landed in the States he got a transfer to a Baltimore hotel where he took a doorman?s job for about nine months. And then he decided it was time for his limo business to hit the road.

?I was going to do the taxi thing, but crime is too high,? he told . ?With this business, I can control my clientele. Everything is done by appointment.?

Bellboys and doormen contacts at his former workplace helped to make sure a steady stream of customers started to come his way. But his big break came when he landed the contract to drive for Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Boston, ferrying Bermudian patients and relatives to and from Washington airports for treatment.

?With them, I work seven days a week, all year around,? said Mr. Gomes. ?But people are pleased to see a Bermudian when they arrive here.?

One of his strangest jobs was when a fashion designer jumped in his car ? and asked to be driven from Baltimore to Canada.

?She asked me to go to Montreal,? recalled Llewellyn. ?I didn?t really want to do it because it?s a long drive, a 20-hour round trip.

?I took her on Sunday morning, drove non-stop to the border and got there on Sunday night. We drove back first thing on Monday morning.?

The reason for such a rare request? ?She wanted to see her manufacturers who make fur coats,? said Llewellyn.

And the cost of the journey? ?$1,200,? he recalls, shaking his head in a mixture of disbelief and gratitude.

?She could have flown there and back for $500.?

He also drove world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, who created the chandelier at the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas, when he was treated at the Baltimore hospital.

And catering for the transport needs of high-paid sportsmen on the Baltimore Ravens has led to a few interesting experiences.

?They like to party,? says the Bermudian driver. ?They like to go to Washington, because everyone knows them in Baltimore.

?They spend a lot of money and keep you long hours. They call at all sorts of weird hours on demand.

?I never thought I would meet all these people.?

The devastating impact of 9/11 ? when terrorists crashed a plane into the Pentagon, Washington, and killed 184 people, shortly after two other hijacked jets slammed into New York?s World Trade Center ? obviously still resonates through DC, with security ratcheted up across the city.

The Bermudian said he felt like leaving America in the aftermath of those terrifying attacks, although he later gradually got used to the increased Police presence.

?I felt I could have left and come back to Bermuda,? he said. ?The Washington area is a target for terrorists, but you get used to the extra security.?

Asked if he would like to return to Bermuda one day, the driver has mixed feelings.

?I would love to, and I miss it, but I don?t think I could afford to do it,? he said. ?I bought a three-bedroom house here for $70,000; now it?s worth $140,000.

?To go back to Bermuda, I would probably pay five times as much for a house.?

Property prices back in his home country aside, it looks like it could be a while before he puts the brakes on his American adventure and hits the road back to Bermuda.