Philly-NYC Trip, Day 9

MONDAY

I woke up to my 4:15 alarm. We were packed up, showered and dressed by 5:40 so we chilled out in the room until just after six once I got my Facebook post uploaded. We checked out of the hotel and walked along 7th Avenue to Penn Station, entering by the NJ Transit doors. A large family led by a cute young Hispanic dad, with many bags and at least one stroller, chose to take the escalator instead of the elevator, which left plenty of room for us and our bags. We made our way across the upper concourse level and down the escalators to the LIRR concourse level. From there we trekked across to the Moynihan Train Hall. We caught an elevator upstairs at Track 17, noticing someone sleeping on the floor by the next set of elevators, and purchased tickets for Jamaica Station. We found a Babylon train on track 19, which is not accessible from the Moynihan Train Hall level so we needed to return to the West End Concourse. An older lady was having difficulty using the elevator we'd ascended on so I suggested we use the next one, and so when we descended to the WEC level we came face to face with the sleeping dude, who was big, young, black, and not unattractive, with thick, spiky hair. I steered around him and we descended the stairs to Track 19 since there was no elevator. We sat in the last row of seats on the entire train. The conductor was also cute, with a dark brown, curly beard. When we arrived at Jamaica Station we had to walk the length of the platform to reach the escalators to the Airtrain station. There we refilled our Metro cards to pay the Airtrain fare, and made our way to Terminal 7.

At security a father with a small child was directed to leave the stroller with the TSO by the metal detector and the TSO had to interrupt our line to the scanner to stow the stroller temporarily. I was very sweaty and this triggered the scanner. I got recombobulated in fairly short order and we headed for the gate and breakfast. There was a long line for the one eatery open in the food court, so we sat at the wine bar across the way and had breakfast bagels with bacon, egg, and cheese. We stopped by the newsstand and picked up a newspaper, a soda, and some snacks, then waited at the gate in a couple of seats at the charging bar but unfortunately there was no power to the charger outlets. Just as our flight began boarding I got up to dispose of the trash and use the bathroom.

We were seated in the back row of the aircraft and had no difficulty buckling in. Our seat mate, a somewhat shorter and thinner dude with light brown hair and mustache, arrived immediately after us. A tallish dude ended up stuck standing behind us in the galley while a seat swapping situation was resolved at the front of the aircraft; he remarked that he was going to wait there until the music stopped. Just after takeoff, the flight attendant delivered our pre-ordered fruit and cheese plates. When she addressed me as Michael, our seat mate was surprised as that's his name too. I turned on Copland on my headset and alternately napped and journaled much of the flight. Then I put on Joe Jackson for the remainder of the flight. We had to go around on final approach because of traffic on the runway. By the time we made it off the plane, stopped by the bathroom, and caught the train to baggage claim, our bags had arrived and been taken off the belt. We caught the train to Northgate and I requested a Lyft from there home.

We arrived by three, slightly ahead of schedule. I called Colleen to let her know we got home OK, and returned a call from our broker asking for authorization to invest more of the cash already transferred from my overstuffed checking account, to which I gladly agreed. I watched TV with Gary till four, then prepared for rehearsal and left about 25 after, parking at South Everett because of the Monday Night Football game scheduled for five. I sat downstairs opposite the exit door to help with my bum knee. Dinner at FOB Poke Bowl was tasty as usual. Met a new Lower Bass, Travis, with multi-colored hair and a nice smile. After break I was fading fast and resolved to never schedule a cross-country flight and rehearsal the same day again; after all, we're not 22 anymore.

I caught the 49 bus down Pine to Westlake Station, and as I approached the train platform I realized I'd worn the wrong color shirt as I noticed the fans in Seahawks and Broncos gear leaving the northbound train from the stadium. When I got to the platform I noticed a cute cub across the way; the platform was otherwise nearly empty in both directions. On board the train I got into a conversation with a few Seahawks fans and quietly celebrated the win with them. Once again I sat downstairs on the bus back to South Everett. I drove home, grabbed a drink and some crackers, and promptly fell asleep in the recliner just after 11. An hour later I managed to get upstairs and into bed.