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bigmacbear) wrote2021-08-20 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2021-08-20 11:59 pm
Cincinnati Trip, Day One
FRIDAY August 20
I got up at 3 AM because we were told to arrive 3 hours ahead due to long lines at baggage check, so we needed to be on a bus by five. As it happened, though, Gary stayed up late and overslept his alarm, so I reserved a spot at WallyPark and drove us there. The lines were long both at baggage check and TSA, but we were able to mostly bypass the first line with our First Class tickets and the second moved reasonably quickly. It took a little longer than usual to get recombobulated. We ended up walking the length of the terminal to get to security, so we took the shuttle train from the A to D gates and transferred to the train to the N gates. As we left the train, Gary found a baggage tag on the floor and picked it up to send to the address on the tag or leave with Lost and Found.
There was a plane in our assigned gate (expected because we were so early), so we had a seat in the empty food court. I checked my carry-on and it appeared for a moment I'd outsmarted myself; thinking I'd only have to take it out of my pocket at security, I thought I'd left my daily pill case on my dresser instead of putting it in my carry-on (I would later find it hiding behind something in my liquids bag). Then I arranged for my medication refill package to be held at UPS and delivered the Monday we get home, and noticed our gate had been changed to concourse C. But with over 2 hours before takeoff, I suggested we stay put as it might change again. Gary pointed out the new gate was visible directly across the tarmac from the food court, as though we could just walk across to get there.
After Gary stopped by the restroom (which, he told me, was huge and gorgeous) to test, we took the train to concourse C and had breakfast at a little Hawaiian place; he had a Hawaiian bacon, egg and cheese sandwich while I had Spam, eggs and rice. From there it was a short walk to our gate, so we sat down to wait. Our gate was reassigned once more, this time just next door, so we kept our seats and surfed the net. The incoming aircraft we were to board was late arriving, so our departure was also delayed by just shy of half an hour.
Once on board, we settled into our seats, buckled up (my seat belt just barely fit), and half slept, half watched the parade of passengers. Lots of children and teenagers on the flight, but all very well behaved. Once the cabin door closed, it took a while to reach the runway, but we were airborne soon enough. There was heavy cloud coverage so we almost immediately lost sight of the ground, but I noticed as we passed to its south that Mount Rainier, visible above the clouds, had lost much of its snow cap.
Rather early in the flight, before the seat belt sign went off, we were served our pre-ordered complimentary breakfast of a cheese omelet with bacon, a raisin roll with butter, and fresh fruit. This would serve as lunch due to the time change. It felt weird pulling my mask down and replacing it between bites as instructed. Almost as soon as I'd finished eating, I needed to pee, but had to wait while both pilots in turn laboriously exited the cockpit and used the forward restroom, then had to phone in a request to unlock the cockpit door (which can only be opened from the inside during flight). While all this was going on, at least one flight attendant had to stand guard in the aisle and prevent any passengers from getting up and walking forward. When I did finally get the chance, it seemed like it took forever to finish peeing. Apparently I just made it in time, as the seat belt sign lit up again right after I returned to my seat. So I worked on my journal and listened to a podcast about body odor of all things, and another one about MSG.
When we landed in Cincinnati I texted Colleen and Sheila to let them know we'd arrived. We stopped by the restroom and went to baggage claim. The first two bags on the carousel jammed up the belt and a maintenance dude had to unjam it and restart. We took the shuttle to Hertz where the paperwork didn't take as long as usual, but it would be 20 minutes or more before they could actually put us in a car. At least I booked Hertz; Dollar and Thrifty, who were sharing the facilities because theirs were closed for construction, only had one agent for both agencies compared to Hertz's two.
Eventually we got a car, checked in to the hotel, chilled for about 15 minutes, then drove to Colleen's house. We had 3-way chili by candlelight because there was no electricity in the dining room. We had a nice chat for almost three hours, and got to meet Alyssa's boyfriend Will. We decided to explore the area on our own for the weekend and meet with Colleen and Sheila on Monday afternoon. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by Walgreens for purified water (distilled wasn't available), beverages and snacks. We got to sleep about one AM.
I got up at 3 AM because we were told to arrive 3 hours ahead due to long lines at baggage check, so we needed to be on a bus by five. As it happened, though, Gary stayed up late and overslept his alarm, so I reserved a spot at WallyPark and drove us there. The lines were long both at baggage check and TSA, but we were able to mostly bypass the first line with our First Class tickets and the second moved reasonably quickly. It took a little longer than usual to get recombobulated. We ended up walking the length of the terminal to get to security, so we took the shuttle train from the A to D gates and transferred to the train to the N gates. As we left the train, Gary found a baggage tag on the floor and picked it up to send to the address on the tag or leave with Lost and Found.
There was a plane in our assigned gate (expected because we were so early), so we had a seat in the empty food court. I checked my carry-on and it appeared for a moment I'd outsmarted myself; thinking I'd only have to take it out of my pocket at security, I thought I'd left my daily pill case on my dresser instead of putting it in my carry-on (I would later find it hiding behind something in my liquids bag). Then I arranged for my medication refill package to be held at UPS and delivered the Monday we get home, and noticed our gate had been changed to concourse C. But with over 2 hours before takeoff, I suggested we stay put as it might change again. Gary pointed out the new gate was visible directly across the tarmac from the food court, as though we could just walk across to get there.
After Gary stopped by the restroom (which, he told me, was huge and gorgeous) to test, we took the train to concourse C and had breakfast at a little Hawaiian place; he had a Hawaiian bacon, egg and cheese sandwich while I had Spam, eggs and rice. From there it was a short walk to our gate, so we sat down to wait. Our gate was reassigned once more, this time just next door, so we kept our seats and surfed the net. The incoming aircraft we were to board was late arriving, so our departure was also delayed by just shy of half an hour.
Once on board, we settled into our seats, buckled up (my seat belt just barely fit), and half slept, half watched the parade of passengers. Lots of children and teenagers on the flight, but all very well behaved. Once the cabin door closed, it took a while to reach the runway, but we were airborne soon enough. There was heavy cloud coverage so we almost immediately lost sight of the ground, but I noticed as we passed to its south that Mount Rainier, visible above the clouds, had lost much of its snow cap.
Rather early in the flight, before the seat belt sign went off, we were served our pre-ordered complimentary breakfast of a cheese omelet with bacon, a raisin roll with butter, and fresh fruit. This would serve as lunch due to the time change. It felt weird pulling my mask down and replacing it between bites as instructed. Almost as soon as I'd finished eating, I needed to pee, but had to wait while both pilots in turn laboriously exited the cockpit and used the forward restroom, then had to phone in a request to unlock the cockpit door (which can only be opened from the inside during flight). While all this was going on, at least one flight attendant had to stand guard in the aisle and prevent any passengers from getting up and walking forward. When I did finally get the chance, it seemed like it took forever to finish peeing. Apparently I just made it in time, as the seat belt sign lit up again right after I returned to my seat. So I worked on my journal and listened to a podcast about body odor of all things, and another one about MSG.
When we landed in Cincinnati I texted Colleen and Sheila to let them know we'd arrived. We stopped by the restroom and went to baggage claim. The first two bags on the carousel jammed up the belt and a maintenance dude had to unjam it and restart. We took the shuttle to Hertz where the paperwork didn't take as long as usual, but it would be 20 minutes or more before they could actually put us in a car. At least I booked Hertz; Dollar and Thrifty, who were sharing the facilities because theirs were closed for construction, only had one agent for both agencies compared to Hertz's two.
Eventually we got a car, checked in to the hotel, chilled for about 15 minutes, then drove to Colleen's house. We had 3-way chili by candlelight because there was no electricity in the dining room. We had a nice chat for almost three hours, and got to meet Alyssa's boyfriend Will. We decided to explore the area on our own for the weekend and meet with Colleen and Sheila on Monday afternoon. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by Walgreens for purified water (distilled wasn't available), beverages and snacks. We got to sleep about one AM.