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bigmacbear) wrote2021-12-29 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2021-12-29 11:59 pm
Christmas Trip, Day 8 of 8
WEDNESDAY, December 29th
I woke up about 6:30 to pee and went back to sleep, and got up with my alarm at 7:30. I let Gary use the bathroom first for a change, and we went downstairs for breakfast by 8:30. Gary spotted a nice-looking dude with a thick, light brown beard in line for breakfast and I spotted a South Asian dude with thick black hair and beard at a nearby table. We watched the morning news in the lobby proper and returned to the room to pack about 9:30.
By 11:30 we were checked out of the hotel and on our way to Colleen's. Sheila was also visiting and we had a nice conversation and lunch of soup and sandwiches, while Kate, Ryan, and Brynn played games and Ryan underwent a guided at-home COVID test (which was, thankfully, negative) due to an exposure on his basketball team. Brynn played with one of her Christmas gifts, a pair of doctor baby dolls with masks, a syringe, bandages, and other accessories. At one point she brought the dolls over for Gary and I to take care of.
About quarter to four we prepared to leave for the airport. We arrived just after 4:30, dropped off the rental car and walked the length of the terminal to the Alaska Airlines baggage check. A nice young dude assisted us with baggage and printed boarding passes for us (I've had lots of trouble with wi-fi in the security line for some reason). The security lines moved fairly quickly considering the number of passengers. We took our time getting recombobulated, of course, with Gary's boot and my CPAP and suspenders. We caught the train to concourse A, made a pit stop, and proceeded to the gate, where we got window seats and recharged phones while waiting for boarding to begin. Boarding started late because the flight was oversold and they needed volunteers to take a later flight.
Our flight attendant was a big balding dude with a pleasant tenor voice, while the forward main cabin attendant was young and cute, with a mop of thick black hair but clean shaven. During the safety briefing someone in the main cabin stood up so they paused until the wayward passenger sat down and buckled up. We were airborne just after seven. One of the engines made a loud buzzing noise from the start of the takeoff roll, which abated somewhat as we gained altitude. I watched the last episode of Home Town Takeover, pausing briefly as dinner was served. Gary had a fruit and cheese plate and I had Moroccan chicken. After dinner, the video stalled with about two minutes left, so I turned off the entertainment app, journaled briefly, and turned on some music. By the time we reached Spokane I had gone through one RGMC holiday concert and was well on my way through a second, which finished just before we landed. We had to stop on the taxiway for a while because the plane parked at our assigned gate had some problem that required it get hooked back up to the jetway after it had pushed back. It turned out to be about 45 minutes before we finally parked at the gate. We also had to wait quite a while for our bags, then caught the shuttle to the train station and were on the platform by 10:15, with the train arriving within about 10 minutes. At Northgate Station, Gary told me he'd spotted a dude with no shirt and no mask on the train. We took two elevators to street level and were pleasantly surprised to find a 512 bus waiting for us. The bus was nearly full but we managed to find seats in the front. At several stops passengers needed to leave the bus via the front door because of uncleared snow on curbs.
We left the bus at Everett Station intending to catch Uber home from there, but there were no drivers available. While I was calling cab companies without success, a couple of dudes asked Gary if the terminal building was open (it wasn't) and said he thought we were twins (in our black leather jackets and with our matching builds, no doubt) which Gary found amusing. Gary downloaded the Lyft app, which found us a driver on the second attempt. Meanwhile, a lady asked if we could set up a hotspot so she could get a Lyft or a cab via the wi-fi before her phone ran out of battery power. She managed to contact Yellow Cab just as Lyft found us a driver, and while the dispatcher doubted the road conditions would allow a cab to get her to Snohomish, a cab did come by and she had a chat with the driver before climbing in. Our driver, Michael, was very nice and helped us with our luggage. I told Gary the snow looked like typical Rochester snow, and Michael asked if I meant New York or Minnesota. As it happened, he's from Minnesota. We arrived home about twenty after one and were in bed around 1:45.
I woke up about 6:30 to pee and went back to sleep, and got up with my alarm at 7:30. I let Gary use the bathroom first for a change, and we went downstairs for breakfast by 8:30. Gary spotted a nice-looking dude with a thick, light brown beard in line for breakfast and I spotted a South Asian dude with thick black hair and beard at a nearby table. We watched the morning news in the lobby proper and returned to the room to pack about 9:30.
By 11:30 we were checked out of the hotel and on our way to Colleen's. Sheila was also visiting and we had a nice conversation and lunch of soup and sandwiches, while Kate, Ryan, and Brynn played games and Ryan underwent a guided at-home COVID test (which was, thankfully, negative) due to an exposure on his basketball team. Brynn played with one of her Christmas gifts, a pair of doctor baby dolls with masks, a syringe, bandages, and other accessories. At one point she brought the dolls over for Gary and I to take care of.
About quarter to four we prepared to leave for the airport. We arrived just after 4:30, dropped off the rental car and walked the length of the terminal to the Alaska Airlines baggage check. A nice young dude assisted us with baggage and printed boarding passes for us (I've had lots of trouble with wi-fi in the security line for some reason). The security lines moved fairly quickly considering the number of passengers. We took our time getting recombobulated, of course, with Gary's boot and my CPAP and suspenders. We caught the train to concourse A, made a pit stop, and proceeded to the gate, where we got window seats and recharged phones while waiting for boarding to begin. Boarding started late because the flight was oversold and they needed volunteers to take a later flight.
Our flight attendant was a big balding dude with a pleasant tenor voice, while the forward main cabin attendant was young and cute, with a mop of thick black hair but clean shaven. During the safety briefing someone in the main cabin stood up so they paused until the wayward passenger sat down and buckled up. We were airborne just after seven. One of the engines made a loud buzzing noise from the start of the takeoff roll, which abated somewhat as we gained altitude. I watched the last episode of Home Town Takeover, pausing briefly as dinner was served. Gary had a fruit and cheese plate and I had Moroccan chicken. After dinner, the video stalled with about two minutes left, so I turned off the entertainment app, journaled briefly, and turned on some music. By the time we reached Spokane I had gone through one RGMC holiday concert and was well on my way through a second, which finished just before we landed. We had to stop on the taxiway for a while because the plane parked at our assigned gate had some problem that required it get hooked back up to the jetway after it had pushed back. It turned out to be about 45 minutes before we finally parked at the gate. We also had to wait quite a while for our bags, then caught the shuttle to the train station and were on the platform by 10:15, with the train arriving within about 10 minutes. At Northgate Station, Gary told me he'd spotted a dude with no shirt and no mask on the train. We took two elevators to street level and were pleasantly surprised to find a 512 bus waiting for us. The bus was nearly full but we managed to find seats in the front. At several stops passengers needed to leave the bus via the front door because of uncleared snow on curbs.
We left the bus at Everett Station intending to catch Uber home from there, but there were no drivers available. While I was calling cab companies without success, a couple of dudes asked Gary if the terminal building was open (it wasn't) and said he thought we were twins (in our black leather jackets and with our matching builds, no doubt) which Gary found amusing. Gary downloaded the Lyft app, which found us a driver on the second attempt. Meanwhile, a lady asked if we could set up a hotspot so she could get a Lyft or a cab via the wi-fi before her phone ran out of battery power. She managed to contact Yellow Cab just as Lyft found us a driver, and while the dispatcher doubted the road conditions would allow a cab to get her to Snohomish, a cab did come by and she had a chat with the driver before climbing in. Our driver, Michael, was very nice and helped us with our luggage. I told Gary the snow looked like typical Rochester snow, and Michael asked if I meant New York or Minnesota. As it happened, he's from Minnesota. We arrived home about twenty after one and were in bed around 1:45.