|
Another Road Trip attempt:
Yup, we are talking cross country this time. Since it usually doesn't snow here much in July, I figure I might make it this time. And what the heck, it's time for some 1st Class travel. I got the frequent flyer miles from prior jobs, too many trips to Tampa, and a couple of prior road trips. I really need to do this once in my life. I even used the limo service my neighbor runs. Big Stinkin' Lincoln, with leather. I'm stylin' now!
It was almost a perfectly ordinary Thursday:
Well, I did have to sit, stylishly, in traffic all the way into the airport. But oh my! It is way too kewl to walk into the 1st class line at the terminal and check in. And they call you first for the plane! They also serve me drinks as I settle into my seat and watch the great unwashed slog their way past into 'sardine' class. Oooo! A menu for dinner? No, I can't stand it! Oh the Filet Mignon, I think. Which wine with dinner? Cloth napkins, glass and china! OK. I'll stop. Sorry.
I had to go through Dallas/Fort Worth airport and change planes. It wasn't that long a hike around that circumference, so I figured I'd grab a smoke and see what 105º F feels like. Yikes! It is FLIPPIN' HOT!
I go back inside and try not to drip perspiration all over the conveyor at the X-ray machine. Let's get back on that plane. An uneventful flight.
Seeing Mt Ranier from the air, for this flatlander, was really special, btw.
Yes, 1st class baggage handling is as bad as peon class. I waited for my bag. I waited some more. Finally it shows up. At this point, armed with knowledge gleaned from a discrete phone call made weeks ago, I know I
should go find a phone thingy, where I dial 16. So now I schlep my stuff out to where the signs seem to point me, out by the shuttle area. No, it can't be. No, I really think that's Aurexa... It IS! with her
daughter, waiting for the shuttle after a scouting mission to the city! What were the odds on that happening?
Radisson/Seattle
Thursday PM:
Ah, here we are at the hotel. My brain thinks it is midnight, but the sun is still out. (Uhoh.) Folks are drifting in and out. I cross the street against the traffic like I'm still in Boston, to grab some beer for the room. (Relax, dude! I saw ya. Maybe if you SIGNALED the turn... Same to you...)
Friday:
Aurexa is our Guide for an exciting foray via public transportation to downtown Seattle. (Every road trip should have scouts!) Likeness, please remind me that green trash bags are also a hair-care product and not just a fashion statement. BTW, isn't imx building that thang over there? Didn't someone blow up the one they had, so now they have to build a new one? On foot, we all head toward Pikes Market. How many steps down to the waterfront was that, Pro?
We all decide to get some lunch, since it is 3pm, local time. See Food? Eat Food!
Buckets of Seafood. Literally! Good food. On the water. Too good.
Pikes Market is a great place! Quite a large affair, too! Go on the sail boat! (I should have.) Tons of food, crafts and such. Take a back alley, if you are ever there. There may even be a quiet wall or two to sit
on. There's also a park on the water.
We all had such a good time, we ran back up all the steps, two at a time! (Grin goes here) and caught the next shuttle back. Who can resist people-watching. ;-)
Back at the hotel, more folks show up...
Friday PM: After a late lunch, we all went out to dinner anyway, partly to collect all the folks just getting in. We went to a 'Themed Restaurant'. Non smoking. In a mall.
What OuterWorlds would be if it served food, perhaps. (Or was that just us?)
I gotta admit, being next to the party room is handy. Rotate the stock in the ice bucket. (Waste basket wasn't that much bigger.) Luckily there is no chat log of this evening. A few photos, perhaps. Like "OW on the
Big Mattress From Hell", and things like that.
Some folks depart temporarily, some just have to go. We miss them all.
What is it with this OWUpAllNite© thing, anyway? Likee is 1st shift on this trip.
Pro and I are 3rd shift.
Leavenworth, or 'Over the Hill(s)'
Saturday: We all say bye to those who won't make it to Leavenworth. Much HUGGING. Some gnashing of teeth. A little wailing.
We discover someone disguised as TEXAbeth is up before noon. Someone took a picture, but we doubt there will actually be anyone in the photo.
What a stunningly good driver Likeness is. .
(And what a stupid design Ford had for the 2000 Taurus. Cup holder OR Ashtray?)
For the first and only time on this trip, we actually see a little 'liquid sunshine'.
Just mist, really.
4000 feet high is a just a pass out here. It's a major mountain back home. Obscured by clouds, these mountains are still beautiful. Everyone got out at Steven's pass. And immediately started looking for warm
clothing! We tested Coey's car on this trip. It made it back, too. Just barely, poor thing. Going past all the places where you could see the river as it went by were great even in the light mist. As we wend our way
down the leeward side of the pass, the sunshine returns. I'm still surprised we didn't go into the Reptile 'museum'.
Here we are in Leavenworth. No, not the prison. But almost, kinda! As I register, Pro asks if we could both save some money and share a room. Not thinking, and that accounting training kicking in, I say, "Sure." I
get the room key and go up and notice, OH CRAP! a single king bed? Oh crap! And a NO-SMOKING room, to boot!! Well, too late now. We did end up with about 8 ashtrays, all on the railing outside the room.
Saturday PM:
So what got your knickers in a knot, Mr Security Guard Person?
Apparently, someone complained about the noise. Us? Noise? Well, ok, but they were warned! By us! Yes, Janet knew we would be what we were. She
was very gracious, too! Great folks at the Alpen Inn! Highly recommended. Party (Conference) room was perfect. (See below) Setting new standards for OW Roadtrips, fer sure!
Sunday:
Um. I know I forgot something... Oops. Ok ok ok, somewhere in here we did Sunday right? Well, I didn't get a 'Programme' ya know. Sheesh. I was probably just resting my eyes during the day. Ya, that's it. Resting my eyes. Oh, I know. I watched the Nascar race. Couldn't find the CART race.
Sunday PM:
Did I mention how great the idea of using the conference room as a party room was? Ah, The Party Room. There were some games, and some fun, and some fun and games... Spudds and Jerry did an awesome Karaoke thing! Ya just had to be there. The White Elephant Gift thing happend here, as well as the now de rigueur Twister games.
They went as well as can be expected. What with the Karaoke tunes, the wig and the Viking hat, and alien balloons, it is obvious it doesn't take much to get us going! But you knew that.
(Damn! How do people wear wigs all the time? I was melting!)
Oops, OWUpAllNite© again...
Hysterically funny back at Ley & Hemp's room.
I really can't believe someone kept a chat log of the festivities. Is that legal?
Yikes! The sun comes up in Seattle in the morning, too? Close that blind!
Gotta pass the torch, Pro.
Monday: Slept through the Laugh-In episode and TEXA's "Need for Speed".Would liked to have seen all that. From land, of course. Likeness and Leylach, and imx and TEXA.
On Jet Ski's. Need I say more?
Monday PM: We went all the way to Washington State and found a Mexican restaurant in an 'Alpine Village'? Well of course! This is an OuterWorlds Road Trip!
Coey, what WAS that shot you had for your Birthday? (Order a case!)
We all say bye to those who have to leave early (before noon) tomorrow, and those we won't see back at the SeaTac Radisson. A little light on the wailing this time. We were tired.
Winding down. Heading back
Tuesday: I check out at the desk, hoping both my eyes are open. Eventually everyone finds their ride back to Seattle, and 'Wagons Ho!', we all head off.
Wow!!!! No fog this time! Great scenery! We did stop at some 'Photo Op' places. Don't know if any photos will actually show up. (Not my camera.)
 That age old question arises, "Do we need gas?" Good timing, Likee and imx! Who
needs cell phones! Kewl. The Red Hook Brewery is next to the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery? It don't get any better'n that! (I finally found an ahso wine opener there. I travel
3000 miles, and I end up with a wig and a wine opener. Go figure.)
Did we drive through Redmond? Comforting to know that Massachusetts is not the only place where all the roads are 'Under Construction'. Kewl digs, imx. I love that artwork! (There was a wolf one in one of the
brochures, too. Hmmm.)
Tuesday, PM: We're back at the Radisson for DryOutNite©. I'm in the room above Likee, next to Tex &
imx. Yes, smokers' banished to the hinterlands. Coey collects the BoozeBucket.
Wednesday AM: Damn. I DO have a cold or something! Stupid coffee maker doesn't work. The light goes on, but nothing happens! So I make do with an orange juice from the machine in the hall downstairs,
glad I don't see anyone I know as I go and get it (photo unavailable). Then, knowing I have to head to the airport to catch a plane for a transcontinental flight, I watch all the details on CNN of the crash of the
Concorde near Paris as I shower and shave. Then I head to the restaurant for some caffeine.
I spot General Sedgwick, who tells me where to find Coey. Caffeine. Bye, Coey! Bye, Gen! Head off the airport and home. Bummer. I hate this part.
Salt Lake City. Snazzy terminal! Looks brand new! Oh, aren't the Olympics coming here? That might explain it. How long am I here? 45 minutes? I take a walk, looking for 'outside' and decide I won't ever
get back here in time. I wander back...
OMG, a smoking cell, and not even 20 feet from my gate. Cripes!
Wednesday, PM: OK, SLC to BOS. Delayed in the air by weather. I should never have checked that bag. (RW = moron.) I arrive at home at 2am with a nasty cold. I wonder if my ears will ever finally pop. I did
make it to work in the morning, but didn't last the whole day.
Best trip I've ever been on. And they get better every time I go!
Next time YOU better go, too!
Many Thanks, Coey, imx, S&J!, Likee, Rex; Kewl to meet ya, Tree, Archon, Trish, Golem, and LoveLive; Great to see you again
Aurexa, Spudds, Jerry, red4now, General Sedgwick, Pandoras Box, TEXAbeth, Procras108er (I get to room with Sharsee next time Pro?), Purdy1, OtherPurdy1, Leylach, Legliz Hemp, Hotstuff, Tranthum
|
