August 7, Day 8, finds Sharon and me finally making it back to the USA…we docked in Seattle about 6am. The alarm went off at 6:30…actually a wake-up call from the ship’s operator…and we quickly got dressed, packed up what was left in the room and headed up to Deck 14 for a little breakfast.
After breakfast, we hurried down to the Passenger Service desk on Deck 7 to turn in some comment cards…kudos for those staff members who we thought went above and beyond the call of duty. Then we hustled down to our disembarkation station in one of the aft lounges…where we waited 20-30 minutes before our group was called and we were allowed to leave the ship. As we exited the door to the deck, it was raining, but no one cared. In fact, it had stopped raining by the time we were through customs and headed for the shuttle bus.
Our driver, normally a tour guide, had to do shuttle duty today because her tour cancelled, so she gave us an abbreviated tour as we headed to the airport. It was not half bad. We arrived at the airport around 10am…only 7 ½ hours before our departure time. Sharon tried to see if we could change our flights but all four flights today headed to DFW were totally booked…you knew that being on the infamous MD-80 was going to be fun.
We made ourselves at home on the lower floor of the terminal until 1:30pm at which time we went to check in. For the first time in my life, my bag was over the 50 pound limit so we had to sit there and dig out about 20 pounds of stuff to carry on. Of course, that caused all kinds of hassle at the security check because two of the items we took out of the suitcase were my shaving kit and Sharon’s makeup…both of which contained numerous gels and aerosols. After questioning and a rescanning of the “suspicious” items, they confiscated my shaving cream, hair gel, small knife out of my clipper set and a couple of Sharon’s items as well…fortunately, nothing that couldn't be replaced fairly easily.
Following security, we found a place to sit down…recharge a phone or two and eat a sandwich. We still have about 4 hours to entertain ourselves. I opted for updating this blog…3 days worth…and Sharon went shopping. Actually, Sharon was looking at books and I was trying to update this blog for the past couple of days. After a while, we traded places. About 1 1/2 before our scheduled takeoff, we ambled down to the gate and once again found a comfortable place to sit.
Finally, the boarding call was made and we found our seats. Luckily for us, the MD-80 had only two seats on the left side and three on the right...we had the two seats on row 19. The MD-80 is not known for it's creature comforts, but rather as a "cattle car" where in the past American has managed to put as many people aboard as possible. I don't think this plane was any different. However, since Sharon and I had the two seats together and didn't have to deal with a stranger, it was tolerable....although row 19 is the right in front of the exit row so our seats did not recline...made sleeping more difficult.
As we climbed out of Seattle, we got a beautiful view of Mount Rainer...once again. It was a unusually beautiful sunny day in the area, as the picture suggests.
Sharon ended up working and I read using her IPad...neither of us slept more than a few minutes. We landed early...about 11pm...and headed to the baggage claim. We were really looking forward to a nice shower and a comfortable bed to get a good night's sleep. While I waited for the bags to appear, Sharon called our park-n-ride provider...I can't even remember the name but then again, I never want to use them again.
We retrieved the bags without a problem and headed for the curb where Sharon told the shuttle bus driver where we would be waiting...the only problem was that she didn't tell them we'd be on the upper level, but then that would seem obvious since that's where the baggage claim was...right? We waited for a long time, suffering the heat and humidity and still no bus. We saw several shuttle buses belonging to the airport and even a SuperShuttle but not ours...she called again and they said they were on the way.
After another long wait, she called once again and this time she was told that shuttle buses couldn't come up to the upper level...we'd have to go downstairs. By now, it's after 1130pm and we're tired and short-tempered. We haul our bags down the escalator...three trips for me...and found a place to sit outside...this time on the lower level. Low and behold, along came our bus and we loaded up...with a few other seemingly disgruntled riders. I think it was the heat at that hour that made everyone grouching. After all, we had just come from Seattle where the high on Sunday was going to hit 70...maybe!
We found our car without further mishap, loaded up, paid the attendant and headed to the hotel...down near Six Flags. We grabbed some food on the way and found the hotel without a problem. Upon checking in, the girl behind the desk was very congenial, telling us about the free breakfast the next morning, the WIFI, and oh by the way, no water. WHAT!?! Well, she said, the water would be back on by 6am the next morning and she was going to give us some bottle water for our troubles.
She gave us 4 bottles of water...not near enough for 2 showers...and we headed for the room. At least the A/C worked well. We used the bottled water to brush our teeth and went to bed, praying that the water would be working in the am...which it was.
We called Courtney to see if she and Ellasyn were up for a visit and then took off towards Arlington. We had a nice visit at the McDaniels's house for a few minutes and then headed home. We arrived home about 3pm. I took Sharon to work and I went home to take a nap with the dogs.
It's always nice to get home after a long trip...although there was no longer a cabin steward to make the bed and leave little candies on the pillow. So for now, that's Traveling with Papajax.
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