![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Cincinnati Trip, day 1 of 3
Oct. 6th, 2022 11:59 pmTHURSDAY
I booked a last-minute trip to Cincinnati to attend the funeral services for my mom's best friend Adele, who we knew as "Aunt Del" growing up; she had passed peacefully of kidney failure at the age of 95. Gary and I woke up about 4 AM and were out of bed and preparing to go about 4:30. I was packed by 5, then took a COVID test, which was negative. Gary drove us to Everett Station and parked in the A lot, which was a pleasant surprise since when I last traveled at that hour, the lot would have filled up already. We boarded the 510 express bus around 5:40 and proceeded to Westlake Station without incident. There was no elevator service to the mezzanine so we ended up using the escalators there and the stairs to the platform. The train was a newer 4-car one and we had seats the whole way to Sea-Tac.
I checked my bag (it was small enough to carry on but I packed a large bottle of contact solution so it would not pass TSA), and a tall young dude scanned my tag and checked my ID while I was in line so all I had to do when I reached the counter was toss the bag on the conveyor. We both needed to use the bathroom, then we parted company at the entrance to checkpoint 5. After several minutes of no movement we in line were advised to use checkpoint 2 at the other end of the terminal. On the way a huge and super cute ginger bear who reminded me of Justin DeMers passed me, bearing the telltale CPAP bag and muttering about the ridiculousness of it all. Fortunately the line at checkpoint 2 was fast-moving as promised. I chose to pull my bin off the belt to make getting recombobulated easy. I made my way to the basement train station and caught the shuttle train to the other side of the terminal and quickly crossed the platform to the north loop to the N gates. Ginger bear was right in front of me and we shared a pole for the short trip. I noticed he wore a Colts T-shirt and athletic shorts. I ended up following him up the escalator and all the way to our adjacent gates: as expected, he was heading to Indianapolis. The Cincinnati flight did not show up on the gate screens but eventually the agent got on the PA system and confirmed the correct gate. I stopped by the grab and go line at Barbuza and got a sandwich and a Coke Zero. While I ate, I watched the parade of people deplane from the previous flight as our airplane had arrived late.
When I got on board I was the first to arrive in my row, so I was able to stow my things quickly. The bald gentleman in the window seat reminded me of Joel Davis although his mask may have had something to do with it. A petite blonde lady took the aisle seat. I was able to buckle in without an extension. Another cute bear, more brown-haired than ginger, passed by to sit behind me, and another bear with sparse, curly black hair and a stubbly beard sat in the aisle seat of the row in front of me. We took off into a low cloud bank which soon thinned out. When we reached cruising altitude the flight attendant handed me my fruit and cheese plate I'd pre-ordered. I went to put in my headset to listen to some music but I had forgotten the adapter. When the lady on the aisle got up to use the bathroom, I took the opportunity to follow. It seemed to take minutes on end to finish peeing. As I exited the lavatory, a mother and child were waiting and there wasn't room for me to get around the child, so I gave a little tap on the shoulder to indicate where to stand. The child raised their elbows as if to protect their head. I apologized and returned to my seat. When the flight attendants returned to serve drinks, a tween-age boy was standing behind them waiting for the cart to move out of the aisle so he could use the bathroom. Looks like he made it just in time.
When we landed in Cincinnati we used the center runway (18C) which flies over my old neighborhood. As usual it took a long time to deplane because I was in the far back of the aircraft. I texted Colleen to pick me up once I got my bag which was waiting for me on the carousel. Sheila was riding in the van with her. We stopped at Skyline Chili on Colerain Ave for an early dinner; I had a 3-way and a cheese coney. We went from there to Sheila's house for coffee and conversation.
A little after eight PM Colleen and I left so she could drop me off at Matt and Tristan's for the night, since Colleen had a full house with Kate's kids. Milo was still awake when we arrived and Ella was barking her head off; Matt said she's triggered by hats and beards. She calmed down and later hopped on the couch with me and accepted scritches. I had a nice chat with Matt and Tristan and we all went to bed about 11:30; I got undressed and talked with Gary on the phone before getting to sleep about midnight.
I booked a last-minute trip to Cincinnati to attend the funeral services for my mom's best friend Adele, who we knew as "Aunt Del" growing up; she had passed peacefully of kidney failure at the age of 95. Gary and I woke up about 4 AM and were out of bed and preparing to go about 4:30. I was packed by 5, then took a COVID test, which was negative. Gary drove us to Everett Station and parked in the A lot, which was a pleasant surprise since when I last traveled at that hour, the lot would have filled up already. We boarded the 510 express bus around 5:40 and proceeded to Westlake Station without incident. There was no elevator service to the mezzanine so we ended up using the escalators there and the stairs to the platform. The train was a newer 4-car one and we had seats the whole way to Sea-Tac.
I checked my bag (it was small enough to carry on but I packed a large bottle of contact solution so it would not pass TSA), and a tall young dude scanned my tag and checked my ID while I was in line so all I had to do when I reached the counter was toss the bag on the conveyor. We both needed to use the bathroom, then we parted company at the entrance to checkpoint 5. After several minutes of no movement we in line were advised to use checkpoint 2 at the other end of the terminal. On the way a huge and super cute ginger bear who reminded me of Justin DeMers passed me, bearing the telltale CPAP bag and muttering about the ridiculousness of it all. Fortunately the line at checkpoint 2 was fast-moving as promised. I chose to pull my bin off the belt to make getting recombobulated easy. I made my way to the basement train station and caught the shuttle train to the other side of the terminal and quickly crossed the platform to the north loop to the N gates. Ginger bear was right in front of me and we shared a pole for the short trip. I noticed he wore a Colts T-shirt and athletic shorts. I ended up following him up the escalator and all the way to our adjacent gates: as expected, he was heading to Indianapolis. The Cincinnati flight did not show up on the gate screens but eventually the agent got on the PA system and confirmed the correct gate. I stopped by the grab and go line at Barbuza and got a sandwich and a Coke Zero. While I ate, I watched the parade of people deplane from the previous flight as our airplane had arrived late.
When I got on board I was the first to arrive in my row, so I was able to stow my things quickly. The bald gentleman in the window seat reminded me of Joel Davis although his mask may have had something to do with it. A petite blonde lady took the aisle seat. I was able to buckle in without an extension. Another cute bear, more brown-haired than ginger, passed by to sit behind me, and another bear with sparse, curly black hair and a stubbly beard sat in the aisle seat of the row in front of me. We took off into a low cloud bank which soon thinned out. When we reached cruising altitude the flight attendant handed me my fruit and cheese plate I'd pre-ordered. I went to put in my headset to listen to some music but I had forgotten the adapter. When the lady on the aisle got up to use the bathroom, I took the opportunity to follow. It seemed to take minutes on end to finish peeing. As I exited the lavatory, a mother and child were waiting and there wasn't room for me to get around the child, so I gave a little tap on the shoulder to indicate where to stand. The child raised their elbows as if to protect their head. I apologized and returned to my seat. When the flight attendants returned to serve drinks, a tween-age boy was standing behind them waiting for the cart to move out of the aisle so he could use the bathroom. Looks like he made it just in time.
When we landed in Cincinnati we used the center runway (18C) which flies over my old neighborhood. As usual it took a long time to deplane because I was in the far back of the aircraft. I texted Colleen to pick me up once I got my bag which was waiting for me on the carousel. Sheila was riding in the van with her. We stopped at Skyline Chili on Colerain Ave for an early dinner; I had a 3-way and a cheese coney. We went from there to Sheila's house for coffee and conversation.
A little after eight PM Colleen and I left so she could drop me off at Matt and Tristan's for the night, since Colleen had a full house with Kate's kids. Milo was still awake when we arrived and Ella was barking her head off; Matt said she's triggered by hats and beards. She calmed down and later hopped on the couch with me and accepted scritches. I had a nice chat with Matt and Tristan and we all went to bed about 11:30; I got undressed and talked with Gary on the phone before getting to sleep about midnight.