Alaska, 2006
(or Northern Exposure)
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June 17, 2006 (Saturday)
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It's been a busy day already, as I had to get an oil change while I still could and spent the rest of the morning packing. We sent the dog away last night so we wouldn't be worrying about that at the last moment. With literally nothing else better to do, Helene and I watched a Discovery Channel special titled Killer Ants for the hour before the cab arrived. The cabbie pulled up at 3:10, and we steered him to pick up Helene's parents, Dan and June. Once they were on board, we headed for O'Hare to meet the rest of the family at the United terminal. We were checking in our luggage by 3:45. This was the smoothest O'Hare trip I can remember. We met Judi and Steve at the skycap; Helene's younger sister, Cindi, and her family were already at the gate, having arrived at 3:00.
Before this travelogue gets much further, it's appropriate to give a background side note to put this cruise into its proper context. The last Davitz family vacation was in the mid-1970s, a trip to Mackinac Island that saw enough sibling bickering to make Dan and June vow never again to take the family on vacation. Cut to 2006 and here we all are, never coming remotely close to spending what will be nine days in relatively close proximity. Heck, in the last decade, I've never spent more than 36 hours with any one of the other families, much less all three together. We're all a little curious as to how this will work.
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We checked in the luggage, got our tickets, and headed inside. Security was virtually empty when we got there, and we were at Gate C26 by 4:15, just 65 minutes from leaving our front door. As I'm writing, I've just glanced at the board and realized that something had to give; they've announced the first flight delay, pushing our 5:25 flight to Seattle back to 5:40.
This is easily the largest family group I've ever traveled with (after all, I'm an only child). Not the craziest, by far, having traveled both with my own parents and with the Great American Beerfest crew, but certainly the largest. The concourse is not terribly crowded at the moment, and we've been able to secure a block of seats for the nine of us. And seeing as that's the most interesting thing about which I've found to write in the past ten minutes, I'm going to sign off until we're on the plane.
En Route
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I've been reading the book 3 Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights. It hasn't taken long to find the token babbling toddler on the flight. She's three rows up, and I've mentally nicknamed her "Heidi" because she apparently only knows one word ("Hi!") and only two volumes: loud and off. Mercifully, she has either gone to sleep or immersed herself in the latest Leapfrog offering. Haven't heard a peep from her in the last twenty minutes. Just for fun, I snap a candid shot of the wife half asleep as well as some shots of western Washington from the window. We're due to arrive at 8:05, and I'm now officially tired of the travel portion of traveling. At least the book has been good so far.
Seattle
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We touched down in Seattle at 8:10 p.m. local time to pleasant weather in the 70s, unlike the 90-plus bakefest we left back in Chicago. We took the tram over to baggage claim, retrieved the busload of luggage that the clan was toting about, and chartered one of the big vans at Shuttle Express to take us into town. It took us a half hour to get from Sea-Tac to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Seattle on Dexter Avenue. We checked in and booked a room for the luggage (just kidding, but I had to take a picture of our two carts just for posterity). Helene and I wound up stopping by the Emerald Grill for a nightcap before turning in.
Found out via ESPN at the bar that the Cubs gave up nine runs to Detroit in a 9-3 loss. Somewhat more miraculously, apparently the U.S. managed a 1-1 tie with Italy today in their World Cup matchup. Helene and I finished our drinks, returned to the hotel room, and promptly fell asleep to end the first day.
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