A Little Background and First Day

Well, I guess I should start this thing, huh? I always want to do a trip report but just fall behind and never seem to finish. So this may be lots more photos than info but here goes. . .

We had a 7am flight from Philadelphia to JFK in NY where we would catch our connecting flight to Seattle. It was a LOT cheaper to fly into Seattle and stay there before the cruise. We went back and forth between staying two nights in Seattle and taking Amtrak up or driving up the morning of the cruise. The train ride is about four hours (very scenic along the coast) and car is less than that typically. I actually had us booked in Seattle for the two nights and a car rental (worried about freight issues with the train as Amtrak uses the freight line and if a problem the passenger train is delayed so the freight can get through). Another fear we had was last year the MAIN bridge along the main road from Seattle to Vancouver collapsed last year. So with all that, we opted to stay one night in Seattle and take the Sunday train up (a day early) giving us the day in Vancouver with no issues getting to the port on Monday.

With this set in motion, the first order of business was setting up the meeting with my friend Lynn. Lynn and I have been online friends for so very long. We both belonged to an online support group for women who had miscarriages. So finally getting the chance to meet Lynn was a special highlight of our trip. She was going to pick us up from the airport and we would spend the afternoon/evening with her. 

Of course I do not sleep well the night before vacation for fear of not getting up and missing our flight, ugh and with 3:30 am alarm (we were being picked up at 5am) I was definitely dragging when it went off. Once up and moving though, the excitement was building. My good friend Cam and her hubby were giving us a ride to the airport. Before leaving though I had to take my furbaby, Bella, for a walk. We stress when we go away that our fur-children won't get the much needed attention they are used to, but they always do! After walking Bella, Cam & Howard were here and we loaded up and ready to go. Quick stop for coffee and in no time we were at the airport. Dropped our bags at the Delta stop outside and off we went to security. We do not typically travel on a Saturday so I really was not sure what to expect in the airport. There was a very short line and we were 'randomly selected' for the TSA Pre-check (or our first 'FastPass' as we like to refer to it)!!! Not sure how or why we were selected we truly do not travel often but hey, laptop stays in the bag and shoes stay on (of course I have slip on flats so this wasn't a big deal); Dale though, had on his riding boots and of course they had to be removed!!! Either way, we were through security and on our way to our gate in no time. 

Those that know Dale, know he likes to EAT! He didn't have his typical 'big breakfast' so I made a bee line to the D&D and got him another small breakfast and some coffee. We knew that our puddle jumper we were taking to JFK would not have any amenities so thought best to be ready. We found out that you cannot 'carry on' anything larger than a brief case on these tiny planes so you carry your 'carry on luggage' outside to the side of the plane where they load it in the baggage area. We then walked up the stairs to our TINY plane. As soon as Dale walked in, I think he was going to have a panic attack. There are three seats across, one on one side and two on the other. The single side seats looked so very small and each person in those seats appeared to be crammed into their little space. Thankfully our two seats were fine for us but the head room is very LOW and quite a few heads bumped. 

Our flight from Philly to NY was very short and in no time we were on the ground at JFK. Now I've never been to this airport so I had no clue what to expect. As we got off the plane we were guided to an semi-enclosed walk way and then through what appeared to be a 'back door' to the airport. We then walked through the small terminal where we were lead to a waiting bus to take us to the main terminal to catch our next flight. This other terminal was HUGE and of course it seemed our gate was forever away from where we entered (as always happens). While waiting for our plane to call for boarding they were asking for people to check their carry on bags for free. I had packed and locked my carry on just in case as this happened to us (without our having any say on a flight) so I was eager to get rid of my 'carry on' suitcase for FREE!!! This flight was a MUCH larger plane and we were comfortable for the most part.

I was a little disappointed that my entertainment system was not working so I borrowed Dale's on our flight and watched a movie and tv during the flight. I did contact Delta and they added skymiles to my account but I don't travel enough to ever have that amount to anything. Our flight was uneventful and we were in Seattle by noon (Pacific time).

I texted Lynn as soon as we landed and she informed me she was eagerly waiting by the baggage claim. I couldn't believe how comfortable it was to just sit down and talk to this person who I never truly ‘met’ before! But we've been FRIENDS forever so it was a breeze. (kind of like my Disney Brides group of friends). Dale grabbed our bags and Lynn and I started right in gabbing. A quick stop at Subway for lunch and we dropped our bags at Lynn's before heading to a local park for a walk in the beautiful sunshine. We got to see Mount Rainier (hard to see in this photo but we DID see it!!) If you look really close you can see the 'cloud' but it's the mountain!

We spent a while enjoying the sunshine and pretty views before heading back to get our luggage and go check in to our hotel. I booked the Super 8 by the SeaTac airport since it was affordable and convenient. After we checked in and dropped off our luggage we stopped by the TEARS Angel of Hope Monument. Both Lynn and I and Lynn's daughter have lost precious babies. It was so beautiful I truly had tears taking it in. Following that it was pizza party with the entire family at Lynn's house! It was great to meet the rest of her family and her grandchildren. We had a wonderful time but it was soon time to get to our hotel as we'd been up since very early East Coast time. 

We got to our hotel and settled in. Dale falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, me not so much. My cell phone rang at 9:30 pm (12:30 am east coast time) with our car service cancelling my pick up that was scheduled for 6am that next morning. I was floored. Guess I'm glad they called and just didn't show. I had to pull out the laptop and get online and see what I could find at this late minute. Thankfully, I was able to book a last minute car with Airport Taxi Seattle (Best Limo LLC). The price was only $5 more than I was going to pay and they were picking us up a few minute earlier than I had original think I needed to leave for the Amtrak station. Once this was booked I quickly fell asleep and it was morning before I new it!