Monday,
August 7, 2000
After
such a busy day Sunday, we felt we needed to wind down some
and get ready for the trip home. We had breakfast with
Jack and Ida and then went back to our rooms and packed the
suitcases. Why is it nothing wants to go back like it
came ????? We got all the luggage in the car, and took
off to do some more sight seeing. One block from the
hotel and we were
LOST AGAIN
!!! We finally got our bearings and found the road Ray
wanted to take. It was a small country mountain road
that looked a lot like the roads in Tennessee where Jack and
Ida reside.
Jack
was in the back seat this time, I did not plan on getting car
sick again! He kept saying, "Give me the flat-lands
~ You can keep these hills" I thought it was lovely
! We drove around and found a beautiful place
called Snoqualmie Falls. These falls are 100 feet higher
than Niagara Falls !
Photo taken, August 7, 2000 by: Judy Taylor
After
taking the usual photos we headed south to do more
sightseeing. We took a ferry to VASHON ISLAND, drove the
length of the island, from South to North, and took a ferry
back to the mainland. We got LOST AGAIN!! So, Ray
doubled back to the place we got off the ferry and
Wow, who
put that sign there? (a sign directing people to Highway
5) Jack was doing some back seat driving, I was doing a
lot of passenger seat driving, but all in all we finally,
after a few near mishaps, got to the airport.
After
driving around the airport to find out where we were to check
in and where we were to return the car, we went across the
street to a restaurant to have supper. We got to the
airport around 10 p.m. - our flight didn't leave until 1:15
a.m. Jack, Ida and Ray got everything out of the car and
I returned it to Hertz. The car was in my name.
(Returning it was the only time Ray let me drive it)
While
they were waiting for me, Jack and Ida checked in with their
airlines, and got a wheelchair for Ray. I found them in
no time. Ida agreed to stand with me while I
waited in line to check in. It seems that is all I did
on this
trip was
stand in lines ! Can you tell I don't fly often????
The guys got tired of waiting so they went to a lounge/ bar.
After getting my luggage checked and our seat assignments, Ida
and I headed out to find the guys. Do you have any idea
how many lounges/bars there are in the airport at Seattle????
I think we found them all, closed....Finally, after
about an
hour of
searching, we found a lounge open and sure enough, there's
Jack and Ray. Ida and I no more got a drink and they
started closing down. We still had some time before our
flight but Jack and Ida's flight was in a few minutes.
We said our good-byes and went to our respective Boarding
Gates.
Ray set
off all the bells again, usual routine of scanning and find
nothing. I pushed the wheel chair and it is a very LONG
way to the boarding gate.....up several inclines, of course,
and needless to say, through some construction areas.
Wow, we made it. I requested a bulkhead seat so
Ray would
have more room for his leg...they wouldn't let us have them as
passengers in that area have to be physically able to assist
passengers in case of an emergency landing. The bionic
man would be doing good to get himself off the plane, let
alone help anyone else !!!!
We took
the next seats back, which meant the folks that were to get
those seats, got ours....CONFUSING ! I was very happy we
got those seats, as I got to have a window seat again !
It was pitch black out by the time we get into the air and I
could actually see the flames of those horrible Forest Fires!
What a sight !
Montana Fire - photo taken August 6, 2000, by:
Fire Behavior Analyst, John McColgan of Fairbanks, Alaska
I was
seated right behind the wing, so as we flew through some
heavy
turbulence, I could see the light on the wing tip bounce !
Eerie sight ! We were flying East and I saw the
beautiful sunrise from 33 thousand feet up !!!!
Beautiful, puffy white clouds below us looked a lot like
Marshmallow Fluff and the beautiful colors of the sunrise
above the clouds was awesome ....of course, the camera was
packed in the luggage!!! Since our flight had a few
empty seats ATA filled them with passengers that were stranded
by a strike of the pilots of United Airlines.
Fortunately, we were able to keep our empty seat between us,
so Ray and I were able to sit more comfortably for two
oversized people ! Believe me, if I did not think I
needed to lose weight before this trip, I sure knew it when I
sat in those
seats on
the plane !!!!
We
arrived at Chicago's Midway Airport 5 minutes early!! I
had no trouble getting our luggage, and we got on the shuttle
bus to the parking lot and headed for home. Exhausted
was not the word for it, but very happy we went!
Now
the decision on where we go next year with our two FREE ROUND
TRIP TICKETS from ATA !!!!
End of Story !
