Kent was able to extend our checkout time until 13:00.
The Home2 Suites must have added a swimming pool since we booked, since my information was that there was not one! But lucky for Dylan and Pete, there was a pool and this morning they took advantage of it.
Dylan and Pete in the Home2 Suites pool (KSS) |
Are we having fun? (KSS) |
We drove towards the airport, then veered over to the Alaska Aviation Museum.
Insignia of the US 93rd Aero Squadron on fabric from the fuselage of a French-made Nieuport biplane used in WWI |
Waco YKC N14066 (1934) with EDO floats to make it a seaplane |
This basket was part of the first hot-air balloon, The Denali, to cross the Alaska Mountain Range in 1982 |
Interior of the hot-air balloon basket; there was a notation that the top speed was "as fast as the wind will blow you" |
Skis for landing on snow or ice |
The Battle of Attu exhibit had these exquisite baskets of rye or beach grass |
Erich taps out a message on a Morse code key |
Alaska Airlines N740AS Boeing 737-200QC #22578 aka "Mud Hen" (1981) was a combination passenger and cargo aircraft |
Alaska Airlines N740AS Cockpit |
Alaska Airlines N740AS with removable seating pods so that the interior could be reconfigured depending on how much cargo was carried |
Alaska Airlines tail logo (1972) of a face of an Eskimo in a hood of a traditional qulittaq/parka with ruff |
Eroded wooden propeller of a Douglas World Cruiser, The Seattle (1923) |
PBY-5A Catalina Canso (1943) was used during World War II in anti-submarine patrol, observation, and search and rescue; many were used in the Aleutian Islands campaign |
Merrill Field Control Tower Cab was used at Merrill Field 1962-2002; now it has live real-time feed of Lake Hood air traffic control communications |
You could observe seaplanes landing on Lake Hood, the world's largest seaplane base |
However, you could not see them take off from the east end of the lake ... |
... until they were already airborne |
After returning the rental car, we dragged the luggage to the terminal and checked in for our boarding passes. After a time we had dinner at Humpy's Great Alaska Alehouse. Again we had to wait for an agent to arrive at the gate to get our varied middle seats changed to being seated together. Which meant we were in the very back of the plane!
We stepped onto the plane when we should have been taking off at 19:46. It was the slowest boarding process ever, claimed the gate agent, and we suspect that our seatmate was the cause. Kent volunteered to take the middle seat, and I am sure he regretted that decision! During the red-eye flight when most passengers just want to sleep, this guy kept his light on and fidgeted the whole time. We won't go into details, but as we disembarked the next morning in Atlanta, the flight crew told Kent he deserved a medal!
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Arrived in Atlanta at 6:40, exhausted and needing to use the restroom. We could not get past our seatmate in the aisle seat because his tray was so full of stuff, it would have taken hours to figure out what to do with it all. As it was, the plane had almost landed before it was cleared!
We had breakfast at the Sweet Georgia Juke Joint. Our first bill had charged us for three instead of two coffees. Our next bill charged us for one coffee! Our third bill was correct!
Finally on the last leg at 10:37 from Atlanta to Washington Dulles International Airport, arriving at 12:20. No passport control or customs. Just straight to baggage claim to find ALL the suitcases. Out to catch the shuttle bus to the Green parking lot and ours was the first stop. Piled into the car and drove Dylan and Pete to their mother's house. Next we drove Erich to his condo, but he was going into work for a couple hours. We picked up our things, and decided to go ahead and drive home to PA. The trip should have been only two-and-a-half hours, but took four because of traffic back-ups due to accidents. Nevertheless we were home by dinnertime.
We actually received the Thank-you card before the trip! |
2 comments:
Thanks for the spectacular commentary. Very much enjoyed your pix and seeing the family. Saw your prior German pix as well. Where to next? - Peter
Thank you very much! Next big trip is Moscow to St Petersburg.
Re your blog: on a much simpler level, we have cut the cord, thanks to your advice!
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