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bigmacbear) wrote2022-12-24 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2022-12-24 11:59 pm
Christmas Trip 2022
We got a Lyft to Northgate Station about ten after five. Not having slept much, we both nodded off in the car for much of the half-hour trip. We took the elevator from the mezzanine to the platform and were treated to a rousing chorus of 🎶 Ooh, that smell... (P.U.!) 🎶The train was of course empty (but for the occasional homeless dude) but it filled up along the way, to the point where the elevator down to the mezzanine at Sea-Tac Station and the walkway to the terminal were both close to capacity. On arrival at the Alaska check-in area there was a long queue for the bag tag kiosks because more than half of them were closed, I suspect because they were out of tag media. But it moved at reasonable speed under the circumstances. There was some confusion at bag drop because of different queues forming for a second set of kiosks and the bag drop itself. We considered using the First Class queue but we were informed the bag drop was far quicker, and by the time we were able to decipher the tangled queues there we found it was indeed quite short and fast moving.
We looked at the queue at checkpoint 5 briefly before being directed to checkpoint 3 which was running at 20 minutes as opposed to 50. I found the premium lane at checkpoint 3 and we were directed to a merge point ahead of much of the general screening queue. We were inspected by a sniffing dog in pairs, with me being paired with a random dude ahead of me while Gary followed behind. We were able to keep shoes on and bags unpacked, although I did take the precaution to remove my suspenders lest they set off the magnetometer. Gary kept his belt on and had to remove it and make another trip, and his bag got kicked aside for closer inspection. As a result I got to wait for him to get recombobulated for a change.
We stopped by Pallino Pizza in the food court and got bagel egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast; Gary had sausage and I had bacon. While we ate, a very cute young dude seated over Gary's shoulder, with a severely trimmed mustache and beard and bare feet, carried on an animated and cheerful conversation with, presumably, whoever was on the other end of his Bluetooth headset. We also were informed our flight was to be delayed about an hour. On the way to the North Satellite I spotted the Alaska Lounge and we checked in to wait, recharge phones, and watch the planes go by.
About 20 minutes before we were scheduled to board, we left the lounge and caught the train to the North Satellite. The waiting area was fairly full but I managed to find two empty spots either side of a nice-looking dude with a lot of luggage. Gary took the opportunity to use the bathroom and when he returned, the dude with the luggage moved over a seat so we could sit together, which was nice of him. As we settled in to our seats, the plane arrived and deboarded and the departure time was moved out another half hour. Shortly afterwards it was announced that the assigned pilots were on an airplane being de-iced in Portland and our departure would be updated once that plane took off. With that news, the nice dude next to Gary left and a cute young black dude sitting next to me asked which flight we were talking about. I told him the Cincinnati flight and he settled in and resigned himself to wait with the rest of us. A cubbish father wearing a plaid flannel shirt, black jeans, gray and sparkly blue Pumas, and a red Arizona Cardinals ball cap with sunglasses perched on the bill stood opposite us while his son took a seat. Eventually his wife (with light blue hair) and other son arrived; the boys ran off and the parents took seats. A big and tall bear with a white beard, wearing a Santa hat with sunglasses perched on the white fur trim, a grey Carhartt hoodie, jeans and comfortable shoes, occasionally got up and paced around near us. The plane from Portland was tentatively rescheduled for a noon departure due to weather conditions. Fortunately it appeared the pilots were passengers on that flight so they weren't in danger of timing out for our flight. Eventually a new estimate was posted which had us scheduled to leave at 1 PM, about an hour and a half away.
We left the gate area and went to the more spacious Alaska Lounge upstairs, so we could grab some lunch and a couple of the folks sitting on the floor from our flight could have our seats. An update showed on my phone moving our departure to 1:45. Again we sat by the window watching the aircraft come and go. Behind us the Seahawks game at Kansas City played on a big screen; they were already losing 17-0 when we arrived so we decided not to watch. Instead Gary concentrated on his book about the Seattle Pilots and I caught up on Facebook and Telegram. After noon we hit the salad bar for a light lunch. Departure was pushed back again to 2:30 PM. Having first-class seats and therefore Lounge access has been a lifesaver this trip.
About quarter to two we returned to the gate area only to find the pilots had just left Portland. The departure time was pushed twice more, ending at 3:30 PM before the flight was ultimately canceled about 3. We had to exit the security area and stand in a horrendous snaky line to rebook. Me: "This is what they call Irregular Operations." Gary: "Maybe they need some Ex-Lax." I received an email from the airline informing us their automated system was unable to rebook us within the next two days, thus making the entire trip moot, so I suggested we bag the trip and transfer the tickets to my wallet for future use, and Gary agreed.
After waiting in line for about an hour and a half, we reached the Oversized Baggage desk and overheard an agent telling another customer (a nice-looking young dude) that checked bags were sent to a warehouse and the airline would be calling to ask if we could pick them up or have them delivered. I confirmed with the agent that we did not need to wait in line just for bags, then we left the line and headed for the light rail in search of dinner.
I suggested Chinese food since they're often the only place open on the holiday. Gary suggested a restaurant in Capitol Hill, Broadway Wok. After dinner we returned to the light rail and headed home.
We looked at the queue at checkpoint 5 briefly before being directed to checkpoint 3 which was running at 20 minutes as opposed to 50. I found the premium lane at checkpoint 3 and we were directed to a merge point ahead of much of the general screening queue. We were inspected by a sniffing dog in pairs, with me being paired with a random dude ahead of me while Gary followed behind. We were able to keep shoes on and bags unpacked, although I did take the precaution to remove my suspenders lest they set off the magnetometer. Gary kept his belt on and had to remove it and make another trip, and his bag got kicked aside for closer inspection. As a result I got to wait for him to get recombobulated for a change.
We stopped by Pallino Pizza in the food court and got bagel egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast; Gary had sausage and I had bacon. While we ate, a very cute young dude seated over Gary's shoulder, with a severely trimmed mustache and beard and bare feet, carried on an animated and cheerful conversation with, presumably, whoever was on the other end of his Bluetooth headset. We also were informed our flight was to be delayed about an hour. On the way to the North Satellite I spotted the Alaska Lounge and we checked in to wait, recharge phones, and watch the planes go by.
About 20 minutes before we were scheduled to board, we left the lounge and caught the train to the North Satellite. The waiting area was fairly full but I managed to find two empty spots either side of a nice-looking dude with a lot of luggage. Gary took the opportunity to use the bathroom and when he returned, the dude with the luggage moved over a seat so we could sit together, which was nice of him. As we settled in to our seats, the plane arrived and deboarded and the departure time was moved out another half hour. Shortly afterwards it was announced that the assigned pilots were on an airplane being de-iced in Portland and our departure would be updated once that plane took off. With that news, the nice dude next to Gary left and a cute young black dude sitting next to me asked which flight we were talking about. I told him the Cincinnati flight and he settled in and resigned himself to wait with the rest of us. A cubbish father wearing a plaid flannel shirt, black jeans, gray and sparkly blue Pumas, and a red Arizona Cardinals ball cap with sunglasses perched on the bill stood opposite us while his son took a seat. Eventually his wife (with light blue hair) and other son arrived; the boys ran off and the parents took seats. A big and tall bear with a white beard, wearing a Santa hat with sunglasses perched on the white fur trim, a grey Carhartt hoodie, jeans and comfortable shoes, occasionally got up and paced around near us. The plane from Portland was tentatively rescheduled for a noon departure due to weather conditions. Fortunately it appeared the pilots were passengers on that flight so they weren't in danger of timing out for our flight. Eventually a new estimate was posted which had us scheduled to leave at 1 PM, about an hour and a half away.
We left the gate area and went to the more spacious Alaska Lounge upstairs, so we could grab some lunch and a couple of the folks sitting on the floor from our flight could have our seats. An update showed on my phone moving our departure to 1:45. Again we sat by the window watching the aircraft come and go. Behind us the Seahawks game at Kansas City played on a big screen; they were already losing 17-0 when we arrived so we decided not to watch. Instead Gary concentrated on his book about the Seattle Pilots and I caught up on Facebook and Telegram. After noon we hit the salad bar for a light lunch. Departure was pushed back again to 2:30 PM. Having first-class seats and therefore Lounge access has been a lifesaver this trip.
About quarter to two we returned to the gate area only to find the pilots had just left Portland. The departure time was pushed twice more, ending at 3:30 PM before the flight was ultimately canceled about 3. We had to exit the security area and stand in a horrendous snaky line to rebook. Me: "This is what they call Irregular Operations." Gary: "Maybe they need some Ex-Lax." I received an email from the airline informing us their automated system was unable to rebook us within the next two days, thus making the entire trip moot, so I suggested we bag the trip and transfer the tickets to my wallet for future use, and Gary agreed.
After waiting in line for about an hour and a half, we reached the Oversized Baggage desk and overheard an agent telling another customer (a nice-looking young dude) that checked bags were sent to a warehouse and the airline would be calling to ask if we could pick them up or have them delivered. I confirmed with the agent that we did not need to wait in line just for bags, then we left the line and headed for the light rail in search of dinner.
I suggested Chinese food since they're often the only place open on the holiday. Gary suggested a restaurant in Capitol Hill, Broadway Wok. After dinner we returned to the light rail and headed home.