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bigmacbear) wrote2023-10-27 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2023-10-27 11:59 pm
Ohio Halloween trip, 1 of 9
FRIDAY
We rose at 4:15 to prepare for the trip. In the bathroom I called Hertz because their website wouldn't let me access my reservation to add flight information. That settled, I quickly showered, took a glucose test, packed up my toiletries and CPAP, and dressed.
We caught a Lyft to Everett Station with a friendly driver in a large SUV, so it was a pleasant ride. We didn't have long to wait for the 510 express bus to downtown Seattle. The bus driver greeted me with "Go Tips!" because I was wearing a Silvertips ball cap. When we arrived at Westlake, the monorail elevator wasn't operating so we crossed the street with a nice lady carrying a folding scooter, and used the "S&M" (street and mezzanine 😀) elevator in the Nordstrom building. We descended to the platform and conversed briefly with the lady with the scooter, who asked where we were headed from Sea-Tac. She mentioned she's from Youngstown and she works for Alaska Airlines, but wasn't on duty today. We talked about the Alaska Lounge and she said the membership was worth it, as dinner for two in the airport could easily cost $100. The train trip was fairly uneventful except for having to get up often to readjust the luggage as it rolled away or fell over. Finally, Gary put his bag on its side and wedged mine into place with it.
When we arrived at the airport, the shuttle cart was full but the walk wasn't bad. We printed our bag tags and waited in line behind a dude pulling a huge bag containing what appeared to be a big surfboard. Once we'd dropped our bags, we took the premium security queue and were soon through security. I had a little trouble getting recombobulated but we managed. Gary told me when we were through security, "Too many bears!" I hadn't noticed, but once we arrived at the North Satellite and were seated at the gate, I saw what he meant. There was a group of four or five men with backpacks and dressed in camouflage gear standing directly in our line of vision across the terminal, one of whom I particularly noticed because of his reddish beard, barrel chest and large backpack. We figured they were boarding the flight to Anchorage from the adjacent gate. There was also a darker-haired dude with broad shoulders and massive, heavily tattooed arms seated facing us in the next row.
We took our First Class seats and watched the parade of passengers. The flight attendant offered champagne, water, and orange juice; we chose water as we needed to take our morning pills. (🎶 Morning pills, morning pills, they're the cure for all your ills... 🎶) We took off to the north and made the right turn as we passed Vashon Island. I spent the early part of the flight journaling and caught up as we passed south of Spokane, about 45 minutes in. Shortly after that, our meals were served. Gary had a mushroom omelet with Beecher's famous cheese, and I had a "Ranchero Bowl" with chorizo, beans, and some sort of grain (I think it was quinoa). Both meals were served with a small bowl of fruit and a croissant. I paused the video I was watching for the meal: it was the third of five episodes of "Home Town" with woofy Ben, his wife Erin, and their two kids. I'd seen the first two on the Dallas trip two weeks ago, and I went on to watch the remaining two before the flight was done. We landed on the central runway (18C-36C), which put us west of Mt. St. Joseph campus.
After deplaning and a short pit stop, we took the moving sidewalk back to the terminal; along the way, I spotted a dude wearing a T-shirt with a mockery of the Starbucks logo emblazoned with "Liberal Tears". Grrr... We collected our bags alongside a family of four whose youngest member was playing at the edge of the conveyor. I warned him once when a bag was about to smash his fingers. Once we had our bags, we went to the Hertz counter and were directed to the second floor, where a video monitor directed me to the Presidents Circle to select a car. I picked the SUV closest to the one I'd reserved (although I think I ended up taking a larger model, a GMC Terrain). I drove to the exit, and waited behind another car which had to return to the lot because of a paperwork issue, so I had to back up as well. The booth attendant was surprised I didn't have paperwork but was able to pull up my reservation and make adjustments.
After we arrived at Erin's house I belatedly received the email instructions to select any car and go. 😊 Erin was hosting a birthday party for several of the kids, but mostly her son Cameron who had just turned six. We had 3-way chili and I also had a cheese coney. Steve brought a gallon of nonalcoholic apple cider and a flask of Fireball. We opted for just the cider. Tristan asked us about our recent travels which I'd posted to Facebook. We watched a few minutes of a Mickey Mouse Halloween special, then went outside for birthday dessert (cheesecake or cherry pie and ice cream).
I digitally checked in to the hotel in Columbus, then we left about 7:30 and stopped by Walgreens for supplies before getting on the road to Columbus. Traffic was moderately heavy in spots, but mostly smooth sailing except for one 18-wheeler that encroached on my lane when I was trying to pass; fortunately the third lane was open. We arrived at the hotel about 9:45, only 15 minutes later than expected. Once we had our keys and parked the car, we loaded everything into the room and settled in for the night.
We rose at 4:15 to prepare for the trip. In the bathroom I called Hertz because their website wouldn't let me access my reservation to add flight information. That settled, I quickly showered, took a glucose test, packed up my toiletries and CPAP, and dressed.
We caught a Lyft to Everett Station with a friendly driver in a large SUV, so it was a pleasant ride. We didn't have long to wait for the 510 express bus to downtown Seattle. The bus driver greeted me with "Go Tips!" because I was wearing a Silvertips ball cap. When we arrived at Westlake, the monorail elevator wasn't operating so we crossed the street with a nice lady carrying a folding scooter, and used the "S&M" (street and mezzanine 😀) elevator in the Nordstrom building. We descended to the platform and conversed briefly with the lady with the scooter, who asked where we were headed from Sea-Tac. She mentioned she's from Youngstown and she works for Alaska Airlines, but wasn't on duty today. We talked about the Alaska Lounge and she said the membership was worth it, as dinner for two in the airport could easily cost $100. The train trip was fairly uneventful except for having to get up often to readjust the luggage as it rolled away or fell over. Finally, Gary put his bag on its side and wedged mine into place with it.
When we arrived at the airport, the shuttle cart was full but the walk wasn't bad. We printed our bag tags and waited in line behind a dude pulling a huge bag containing what appeared to be a big surfboard. Once we'd dropped our bags, we took the premium security queue and were soon through security. I had a little trouble getting recombobulated but we managed. Gary told me when we were through security, "Too many bears!" I hadn't noticed, but once we arrived at the North Satellite and were seated at the gate, I saw what he meant. There was a group of four or five men with backpacks and dressed in camouflage gear standing directly in our line of vision across the terminal, one of whom I particularly noticed because of his reddish beard, barrel chest and large backpack. We figured they were boarding the flight to Anchorage from the adjacent gate. There was also a darker-haired dude with broad shoulders and massive, heavily tattooed arms seated facing us in the next row.
We took our First Class seats and watched the parade of passengers. The flight attendant offered champagne, water, and orange juice; we chose water as we needed to take our morning pills. (🎶 Morning pills, morning pills, they're the cure for all your ills... 🎶) We took off to the north and made the right turn as we passed Vashon Island. I spent the early part of the flight journaling and caught up as we passed south of Spokane, about 45 minutes in. Shortly after that, our meals were served. Gary had a mushroom omelet with Beecher's famous cheese, and I had a "Ranchero Bowl" with chorizo, beans, and some sort of grain (I think it was quinoa). Both meals were served with a small bowl of fruit and a croissant. I paused the video I was watching for the meal: it was the third of five episodes of "Home Town" with woofy Ben, his wife Erin, and their two kids. I'd seen the first two on the Dallas trip two weeks ago, and I went on to watch the remaining two before the flight was done. We landed on the central runway (18C-36C), which put us west of Mt. St. Joseph campus.
After deplaning and a short pit stop, we took the moving sidewalk back to the terminal; along the way, I spotted a dude wearing a T-shirt with a mockery of the Starbucks logo emblazoned with "Liberal Tears". Grrr... We collected our bags alongside a family of four whose youngest member was playing at the edge of the conveyor. I warned him once when a bag was about to smash his fingers. Once we had our bags, we went to the Hertz counter and were directed to the second floor, where a video monitor directed me to the Presidents Circle to select a car. I picked the SUV closest to the one I'd reserved (although I think I ended up taking a larger model, a GMC Terrain). I drove to the exit, and waited behind another car which had to return to the lot because of a paperwork issue, so I had to back up as well. The booth attendant was surprised I didn't have paperwork but was able to pull up my reservation and make adjustments.
After we arrived at Erin's house I belatedly received the email instructions to select any car and go. 😊 Erin was hosting a birthday party for several of the kids, but mostly her son Cameron who had just turned six. We had 3-way chili and I also had a cheese coney. Steve brought a gallon of nonalcoholic apple cider and a flask of Fireball. We opted for just the cider. Tristan asked us about our recent travels which I'd posted to Facebook. We watched a few minutes of a Mickey Mouse Halloween special, then went outside for birthday dessert (cheesecake or cherry pie and ice cream).
I digitally checked in to the hotel in Columbus, then we left about 7:30 and stopped by Walgreens for supplies before getting on the road to Columbus. Traffic was moderately heavy in spots, but mostly smooth sailing except for one 18-wheeler that encroached on my lane when I was trying to pass; fortunately the third lane was open. We arrived at the hotel about 9:45, only 15 minutes later than expected. Once we had our keys and parked the car, we loaded everything into the room and settled in for the night.