Christmas Travel

My trips to and from Iowa were pretty uneventful. On the way there I had to go from SeaTac to Portlad to O'Hare and then to the Quad Cities. Twelve hours, three flights and two airports. On the way back it was more direct: Quad Cities, O'Hare, SeaTac and then the shuttle north. Also about twelve hours. 

Trip there: December 23-24

I went to Seattle the day before since I had a 6am flight. I spent the day eating (Wayward Cafe, Cupcake Royale, Cinnamon Works). I hit Westlake Mall to see if there were some small things I could get my nieces and nephews but there were so many people there I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. Instead I hit up Uwajimaya and picked up some Pocky. 

Spending the night in Seattle made sense except for the fact that I only slept two hours because I was suffering from What-if-I-oversleep anxiety. 

Vegan breakfast: An egg and potato burritos from Qudoba hold the egg and add black beans. Tasty. 

The Portland Airport. I've been to the Portland airport before but it's been about seven years. It's a smallish airport with good shopping. I bought myself a pair of Haflinger slippers (red cat slippers) and some Pacfica lip tint for my nieces. And a spectacular veggie wrap from Elephants Deli.

The flight from Portland to O'Hare was pretty much the Wisconsin Express, including the guy two rows in front of me who was from the small central Wisconsin town I used to live in (population 1000). As people were boarding I heard him tell the people next to him he had a six-hour drive ahead of him after the flight and where he was going. I stood up, interrupted and was all, "What the fuck?" without actually saying What the Fuck. 

About half way through the flight I began to lose my mind from exhaustion.

In Chicago I was yelled by a woman in a sari. I don't know why. I sat down at a table to eat, charge my phone, and wait for my flight. I heard this woman yelling but I ignored her. Then I realized she was yelling at me. I have no clue what about since she was yelling in a language I didn't understand. Thing is, after yelling at me once, she came back to yell again. 

As is the O'Hare Christmas Tradition, the gate for my flight changed three times. But unlike several others waiting for flights, mine wasn't cancelled. While waiting to board I met three other people who were heading to the Quad Cities and were coming from the Seattle Area. Except for the two brothers, none of us took the same route. 

Trip Home: December 30

The descent into Chicago was one of the coolest I've ever had. We flew over the Loop--directly over the Hancock Tower--did a sharp turn over Lake Michigan and flew over Wrigley Field as we landed. So cool. 

The flight to SeaTac on Alaska? Newer plane, an outlet at every seat, and free movies. SCORE. 

From SeaTac I took the shuttle north. It was uneventful except for one thing: The overly-enthusiastic guy. Everything was a marvel. My rolling suitcase was the best invention every. The shuttle was full of wonderful people. Seriously. Remember the enthusiastic guy Alex Baldwin played on Friends? Yeah that was him. I totally expected to hear this guy call the traffic on I-5 as being aglow "with the light of a million fairies."