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In Flight - Seattle
Sunday June 5th Fly into Seattle Our girls take us to the airport , we are there before 6 am to make sure we do not run into problems with our bike boxes, we want to make sure they arrive in Seattle. We leave at about at about 7.30, because Southwest Airlines does not have reserve seating we are one of the last to board and do not get a chance to sit side by side, but we are across from each other and are able to hold hands as the flight takes off. Carmen settles down quickly, the crazy ladies behind us talking so loud takes the attention from her anxieties, the noise upsets all the people around us , but we put up with it. The ladies kept ordering drinks and talked for about 90% of the flight very loudly, to make a long story short the flight attendant offers us free liquor for putting up with the ladies, I ended up having a Baileys.
We land in Seattle at about 10:30 am and right away walk over to the Sound Transit Light Rail Station where we board with our bikes to Husky Stadium almost to downtown Seattle. Right away Carmen orders an Uber to Stephen and Kristi's house, our first host family for the next two night in Queen Anne. We could not have picked a better first host to start our adventure of the Pacific Northwest and Southwest Canada. Kristi greeted us and soon Stephen showed up after his run. We stood around the kitchen and had light talk about schools and schedules, We had been out of school since May 26th and they were not to get out until the middle of June. |
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We drank one glass of water after another, we were so dehydrated from the flight and the long day of travel and just about 2-3 hours of sleep the night before due to the time it took us to take the bikes apart and pack them up. Soon after settling in Carmen and I put together our bikes very carefully as not to make a mistake that would slow us down in the weeks to come. Carmen and I showered and we walked up to Queen Anne to get an early dinner, but it turned out to be just a late lunch, we had a pizza in town and a couple of samples of beers then continued to walk on a tour of the town with Stephen and Kristi. We bought lunch and thanked them for putting us up for the 2 nights.
On our walk they took us to the other side of the hill to an overlook park were you could see downtown Seattle and Mount Rainier,the perfect spot for a picture. After walking around a very nice neighborhood for what seemed a couple of hours, we headed back and about two hours later we had an early dinner made by Kristi of BBQ chicken, corn on the cob and some appetizers in their backyard. At about 11.30 pm our time we headed to bed and I can remember falling asleep right away. Our first day of the journey was a warm welcome to Seattle with a walk around Queen Anne with our host, we got to know the area and its beautiful gardens all throughout.
Carmen -I am NOT an athlete.... I am the furthest from being a physical person. My journey is not about pushing for the next mile nor about the thrill of the ride.....when I agreed on the trip ,I didn't know what the thrill of the ride felt like. My journey began with a need to push myself, to take myself... on my own, from one place to another and not feel emotional or physical pain or if I feel it....to not give up because of it - to keep pushing forward. This is my attempt to be rid of the pain that has been lingering for years and holding me down from doing things with my family. I've blamed arthritis, menopause, stress, grief.... and find that it is time to just live life! The minute I decided to not let the pain stop me was when I read an article where the person stated...."Let me not die while I am living." That struck a nerve for me. I am fortunate to have a partner in life whom I like as a person, so this journey includes the opportunity for me to affirm that no matter what - my husband is my friend. We were us before our girls..and have spent 25 years parenting. With our youngest, Jessy, leaving off for University - we will need to strengthen our friendship and know that the pain that comes with empty nest also brings the opportunity for strengthening us!
When we loaded the bikes on to the Sequoia - I realized how big and heavy they were in the big plastic box. My natural mode is to worry....I worried that I could not push or pull it to move it thru the airport. When I arrived at the Airport - I had help from Jessica to take it out of the car. Then began my journey....with pushing and pulling the bike boxes to the check in counter. I found the case was easier to push than I thought....the wheels were great. My anxiety of flying flared up as the plane began to move and I was not sitting next to Robert. I reached across the aisle and held his hand and listened to the loud ladies talk about their adventures and I soon calmed down. One big hurdle out of the way....and I am OK.....no turning back now!
When we loaded the bikes on to the Sequoia - I realized how big and heavy they were in the big plastic box. My natural mode is to worry....I worried that I could not push or pull it to move it thru the airport. When I arrived at the Airport - I had help from Jessica to take it out of the car. Then began my journey....with pushing and pulling the bike boxes to the check in counter. I found the case was easier to push than I thought....the wheels were great. My anxiety of flying flared up as the plane began to move and I was not sitting next to Robert. I reached across the aisle and held his hand and listened to the loud ladies talk about their adventures and I soon calmed down. One big hurdle out of the way....and I am OK.....no turning back now!