Keyless in Seattle

O.k., so now I'm getting ready to go back to Alaska. Not, now now, but now then. This is like one of those movie sequels that is made years after the original but takes place "later that night". Simple plan really, less steps than the trip to Chicago. But as we have all learned there is no "simple" in Alaska.

Leaving on a Monday, the best option was to take the train to the airport. Less than an hour, less than $10, nobody has to take off work. The train is scheduled to leave Crystal Lake at 12:14. I'm going to drive there, leave my car and Jason will pick it up when he gets done with work tonight or possibly tomorrow.  After running some last minute errands I have about 20 minutes to go 2 miles. As I get to the train station I find out my mom was right, there is no overnight parking. If the car is there after midnight I get a ticket or towed. Jason gets off of work at 11:30 and might not even be there tonight,  so I decide to park at the other station. As I pull up to the parking lot, I see the train closing its doors so now I have to rush back to the original station and hope Jason gets there early enough on Monday night. I get to the other station, park the car and start to run to the pick-up point. As it turns out, I'm carrying close to 100 pounds of suitcases and stuff. I run and run and huff and puff until eventually the huffing and puffing wins out over the running and I miss the train. I drive to the airport, park in the long-term lot and hope Jason can get there soon ($19 a day). He did get there that night.

At the airport, I have a few hours to relax until the plane takes off. I relax a little too much and almost miss the plane. The previous sentence will be in effect for the next two flights; I almost missed the plane in Seattle and in Anchorage as well. All three times I was sitting in a nice quiet part of the airport reading, not paying attention to the time and eventually running to catch my plane.

I left Chicago on time and landed in Seattle at 6:00. I was not scheduled to leave Seattle until 8:00 the next morning (Tuesday), so I got a hotel room right across from the airport and decided to go sightseeing. After talking to the desk people we decide the best place to go is the Space Needle. There are all kinds of attractions there so off I go. (Yes, I know that I switch from past tense to present) The desk people tell me its a 10 minute walk to the (subway-type) train, 15 minute ride downtown, then get off the train and take the monorail to the Seattle Center. The 15 minute ride is actually 50 minutes;  I admit, I probably misheard.  I get off the train in downtown Seattle and I'm a little surprised. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but this wasn't it. Anyway, I walk around the block a couple of times, can't find the monorail, remember my incredibly poor sense of direction and decide to go back to the hotel. After another 50 minute ride back, it's now after 9:00 and I'm wet, tired, cold, and hungry. I go into the hotel restaurant, the bartender/waitress that I am wet, tired, cold, and hungry. She asks if I want a beer. After I get done eating I go up to my room and realize I don't have my phone. I retrace my steps and decide I must have dropped it in the garbage can with my newspaper. I talk to the manager, she calls the housekeeping person. The housekeeper puts on her gloves, starts digging through the trash and there it it, in my pocket. I apologize and go upstairs to bed.

Tuesday morning I get up and go to the airport. After going through security, I realize I don't have my keys (Keyless in Seattle, get it?) I check my pockets over and over but they're not there. I go back to the security people and tell them I must have left them in one of those little bins. The guy, who surprisingly was not happy about it starts digging through the pile of bins and there they are. On top of my carry on bag, about 2 inches away from my hand the whole time.

Seattle to Anchorage goes off without a hitch, other than almost missing the plane again. Spend a couple of hours in Anchorage and this was the closest to actually missing the plane, the doors were already closed as I got there. But I was able to get on and get going. After landing in Bethel the plan was to leave for Chefornak in about 2 hours. However, planes are on weather hold and we're not going anywhere. In Bethel I met up with most of the other teachers. Spend the night in Bethel, scheduled to leave the next morning at 9:00. At 9:00 we're told there is a weather hold but we do get out at 10:00 so it's not that bad.

At about 11:30 Wednesday morning we land in Chefornak...

Coming soon, part III: Somebody's Knocking at the Door