bigmacbear (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bigmacbear) wrote2021-11-11 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2021-11-11 11:59 pm
Augusta, day 0-1 of 4
WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY
We caught Uber to South Everett Freeway Station about 7:15 PM and sat in our usual seats by the luggage shelf downstairs on the 512 bus. When we arrived at the platform at Northgate Station, a short 2-car train was parked on the northbound track with a sign saying Out of Service. Our train soon arrived on the southbound track. At University Street Station, our buddy James Mulvaney boarded and we talked about travel, hockey, and bartending until he left at Tukwila International Boulevard Station one stop before the airport. At Sea-Tac Airport Station we took the shuttle to the terminal. There was almost no line at security and it didn't take too long to get recombobulated. As we made our way to the end of the A concourse where our gate was, I noticed all of the restaurants and most of the shops (except for Hudson News) had already closed for the evening (it was after 9:30) which interfered with our plans for dinner at the airport. Fortunately Gary found an open McDonald's in concourse B and fetched our dinner from there while I watched our bags. There was a delay in boarding while the aircraft was cleaned and sanitized, which resulted in a chaotic queue at the gate that an arriving passenger characterized as "Jesus, what a clusterf**k". But we managed to board the plane (a wide-body Airbus with two aisles and eight seats across) without incident and our seat belts fit nicely. I put on a playlist on the seat-back monitor and slept much of the flight to Atlanta, except for a few moments when the dude seated in front of Gary carried on a loud conversation with the crew about his malfunctioning monitor; they ended up making a paper shield to hide the screen because it wouldn't turn off.
When we arrived in Atlanta I realized we wouldn't have time for breakfast before boarding the flight to Augusta. Instead, after a stop in the bathroom, we caught the train from concourse E to D and walked to our gate at the extreme end of the concourse. We were seated together on one side of the small aircraft from Bombardier and, of course, the seat belts were too small. The chief flight attendant handed us extensions and suggested I take the vacant seat across the aisle. Beside us, there were two other big bears on the flight; the one in front of us in First Class was waving to his grandchildren seated in the back of the plane. When it came time for the safety briefing, the chief flight attendant pointed out her assistant on our flight was her granddaughter (who looked a bit embarrassed by the attention). The flight was too short for drinks to be served; it seemed we had only just reached cruising altitude when we began our descent.
We arrived at the gate in Augusta (one of two with jet bridges and six overall) and it was a short walk to baggage claim (where we saw two unusually long bags which were clearly for golf clubs) and the Hertz counter. The car was parked right across the street from the terminal, and we were soon on our way. Our first stop was Waffle House near the airport, where I had coffee and a bowl of grits with bacon, scrambled eggs and cheese on top, and Gary had iced tea and a bowl of hashbrowns with sausage, eggs, and cheese. While we were eating, someone called Gary from Lillie's house phone and when he returned the call, he spoke with his aunt Charlene and we drove to the house and met her, his uncle John (Lillie's older brother), and a family friend Sharon. We sat and talked with John in among a string of phone calls.
About one, Gary called the hotel and found a room was ready for us, so we headed there to check in. We zonked out on the bed until about 3:30, when Gary took a call on the room phone and headed for the lobby to meet some family members. Later he called me to come down to meet him. Lillie had arrived with her other siblings and some of their children, and they brought Popeye's chicken and fixings so we had a late lunch. I also texted Alan Braden and we decided since he's hosting a game stream (About Us) at 8 PM it would be a squeeze to fit in a dinner out, so I suggested we make a day of it tomorrow since he and Alan are off work. Lillie went home to grab a few more things. After we finished eating, the ladies present brought out the liquor. Gary's cousin Tamecka, her brother Damien, and sister arrived with beer for themselves, and moscato wine for uncle John of which we shared a taste. After a nice chat, John, his brother Larry, Gary and I played a game of dominoes with Charlene kibitzing with Gary. (John won rather handily.)
As it was getting close to eight and we wanted to grab dinner, we excused ourselves, returned to the room for pills and a bathroom break, then drove to Texas Roadhouse just down the highway. I ordered my usual steakhouse meal (sirloin, loaded baked potato, and chili) and Gary ordered a grilled chicken salad. Our waiter was a lean young black dude wearing a form-fitting shirt, and a simply huge bear passed by in the next aisle. After dinner we stopped by Kroger for distilled water and Powerade Zero, then returned to the hotel and turned on the Kraken game on Internet radio when it started at ten. Gary was fast asleep by the time the game got underway. He woke up during the first intermission (when the Anaheim Ducks were leading the Kraken 1-0) as I prepared for bed about 10:45. Then I fell asleep and woke up when Gary got up to do his bedtime rituals he'd skipped, and the Ducks had just scored an empty net goal to lead 6-4; they scored *another* empty-netter for a final score of 7-4. (Cue TPIR loser horns.)
We caught Uber to South Everett Freeway Station about 7:15 PM and sat in our usual seats by the luggage shelf downstairs on the 512 bus. When we arrived at the platform at Northgate Station, a short 2-car train was parked on the northbound track with a sign saying Out of Service. Our train soon arrived on the southbound track. At University Street Station, our buddy James Mulvaney boarded and we talked about travel, hockey, and bartending until he left at Tukwila International Boulevard Station one stop before the airport. At Sea-Tac Airport Station we took the shuttle to the terminal. There was almost no line at security and it didn't take too long to get recombobulated. As we made our way to the end of the A concourse where our gate was, I noticed all of the restaurants and most of the shops (except for Hudson News) had already closed for the evening (it was after 9:30) which interfered with our plans for dinner at the airport. Fortunately Gary found an open McDonald's in concourse B and fetched our dinner from there while I watched our bags. There was a delay in boarding while the aircraft was cleaned and sanitized, which resulted in a chaotic queue at the gate that an arriving passenger characterized as "Jesus, what a clusterf**k". But we managed to board the plane (a wide-body Airbus with two aisles and eight seats across) without incident and our seat belts fit nicely. I put on a playlist on the seat-back monitor and slept much of the flight to Atlanta, except for a few moments when the dude seated in front of Gary carried on a loud conversation with the crew about his malfunctioning monitor; they ended up making a paper shield to hide the screen because it wouldn't turn off.
When we arrived in Atlanta I realized we wouldn't have time for breakfast before boarding the flight to Augusta. Instead, after a stop in the bathroom, we caught the train from concourse E to D and walked to our gate at the extreme end of the concourse. We were seated together on one side of the small aircraft from Bombardier and, of course, the seat belts were too small. The chief flight attendant handed us extensions and suggested I take the vacant seat across the aisle. Beside us, there were two other big bears on the flight; the one in front of us in First Class was waving to his grandchildren seated in the back of the plane. When it came time for the safety briefing, the chief flight attendant pointed out her assistant on our flight was her granddaughter (who looked a bit embarrassed by the attention). The flight was too short for drinks to be served; it seemed we had only just reached cruising altitude when we began our descent.
We arrived at the gate in Augusta (one of two with jet bridges and six overall) and it was a short walk to baggage claim (where we saw two unusually long bags which were clearly for golf clubs) and the Hertz counter. The car was parked right across the street from the terminal, and we were soon on our way. Our first stop was Waffle House near the airport, where I had coffee and a bowl of grits with bacon, scrambled eggs and cheese on top, and Gary had iced tea and a bowl of hashbrowns with sausage, eggs, and cheese. While we were eating, someone called Gary from Lillie's house phone and when he returned the call, he spoke with his aunt Charlene and we drove to the house and met her, his uncle John (Lillie's older brother), and a family friend Sharon. We sat and talked with John in among a string of phone calls.
About one, Gary called the hotel and found a room was ready for us, so we headed there to check in. We zonked out on the bed until about 3:30, when Gary took a call on the room phone and headed for the lobby to meet some family members. Later he called me to come down to meet him. Lillie had arrived with her other siblings and some of their children, and they brought Popeye's chicken and fixings so we had a late lunch. I also texted Alan Braden and we decided since he's hosting a game stream (About Us) at 8 PM it would be a squeeze to fit in a dinner out, so I suggested we make a day of it tomorrow since he and Alan are off work. Lillie went home to grab a few more things. After we finished eating, the ladies present brought out the liquor. Gary's cousin Tamecka, her brother Damien, and sister arrived with beer for themselves, and moscato wine for uncle John of which we shared a taste. After a nice chat, John, his brother Larry, Gary and I played a game of dominoes with Charlene kibitzing with Gary. (John won rather handily.)
As it was getting close to eight and we wanted to grab dinner, we excused ourselves, returned to the room for pills and a bathroom break, then drove to Texas Roadhouse just down the highway. I ordered my usual steakhouse meal (sirloin, loaded baked potato, and chili) and Gary ordered a grilled chicken salad. Our waiter was a lean young black dude wearing a form-fitting shirt, and a simply huge bear passed by in the next aisle. After dinner we stopped by Kroger for distilled water and Powerade Zero, then returned to the hotel and turned on the Kraken game on Internet radio when it started at ten. Gary was fast asleep by the time the game got underway. He woke up during the first intermission (when the Anaheim Ducks were leading the Kraken 1-0) as I prepared for bed about 10:45. Then I fell asleep and woke up when Gary got up to do his bedtime rituals he'd skipped, and the Ducks had just scored an empty net goal to lead 6-4; they scored *another* empty-netter for a final score of 7-4. (Cue TPIR loser horns.)