Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Waves, Wine & Warmth (2018)
SEA change to scene change
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Today would bring both the end of Phase 1 of the trip and the start of Phase 2, with a repositioning move back to the USA. In particular, I was bound for Phoenix, Arizona. I got up as Star Princess was making her final docking manoeuvres at Vancouver; it was a miserable-looking day, with rain falling steadily. After we had both taken a shower, we gathered our belongings together and went ashore. We stopped at a nearby branch of Starbucks for breakfast, then took a Skytrain from Waterfront station to Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
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I handed over my bag, then Bruce and I made our way through US Pre-clearance at the airport. We would both be taking the same initial sector to Seattle before going our separate ways. Being in the relatively unusual position of having no lounge entitlement, we simply found a reasonably quiet place to sit until time to board. Soon enough, we took our seats (2C/D) at the front of the plane, for each of us the first of two successive flights on Embraer 175 equipment. A lot of effort was put into trying to get away on time. The captain explained that due to bad weather in the Seattle area, restrictions were being placed on the flow of incoming aircraft; however the understanding was that we would avoid such restrictions provided we left YVR on time.
It was a fairly unremarkable,
but quite pleasant short flight. The crew managed to do a
drinks-plus-snack service in spite of the very short flying time. We
got into Seattle 25 minutes ahead of schedule. Just like at London
Heathrow, however, this simply caused problems due to the lack of an
unoccupied gate. We had a long wait on the tarmac, causing stress
for a number of connecting passengers. (Bruce had a tight connection
to his next destination, Redmond, OR. In the event, his onward
flight was also subject to delay and he made it OK.) We said our
farewells until mid-May, when we would be meeting up again for a
trip to Japan.
I was entitled to
use the Delta Skyclub at
SeaTac following my arrival on an international flight. OK, that
flight was
a short hop from the nearest city just north of the border, but that was good
enough! This turned out to be a fabulous facility, judged against the
usual unimaginative offerings of the US
'big three'. I had a good follow-up flight from Seattle to Phoenix, occupying
solo seat 1A on another Embraer. I was well looked after, which
included having a reasonably nice meal featuring some surprisingly spicy
ravioli.
Soon after arrival, I was picking up my
KIA 'Soul' from Avis. It certainly wasn't the prettiest car in the world, but
was pleasant enough to drive. Despite falling darkness and dire
congestion on Interstate 10, I managed to drive the 18 miles to my
hotel without making a single false move, and was soon checking in for a
2-night stay. I couldn't even think about eating again
today, so
I simply relaxed, caught up with my emails and such, made sure I
knew what I would be doing the next day, and eventually
went to bed.