Pre-San Diego
Beep, Beep, Beep, my head felt like it had hit the pillow minutes ago. It was three thirty am.
In the darkness I silence my phone alarm by tapping blindly at my Apple Watch. I thought about going back to sleep, but the excitement of catching the plane dragged me out of bed.
Elexa and I both did a quick check through our carry-on suitcases and backpacks. We brushed our teeth, of course, and we were out the door.
With elegance we wove through the people waiting to check their bags, got through TSA, and began searching for coffee, immediately. Arriving with an hour and a half to spare left us with the confidence to explore.
I feel that the beginning trip excitement starts with the airport. Maybe it comes from a childhood of piling all of my things into my yellow and red suitcase. It was half the height of me, so that was exciting in itself. It always seemed that if I could not get everything into my suitcase I was able to stick it into one of my parents’ or siblings’. Though now I find the less that I can bring is usually for the better. Packing in this way helps to detach from my possessions in a way. Thus showing me which possessions are truly essential.
Maybe my love of airports is due to an airport being the ultimate people watching location. Whichever it is, airports have always been the ignition spark for my excitement to starting a trip.
SeaTac airport recently went through a remodel. Honestly I had totally forgotten about this until we came across a new section that boasted Chili’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and an Olympia Coffee shop. All of these shops and others were tucked away amongst a warm wooden paneled ceiling that looked as if it was dripping onto the ground. Situated to the side was a large seating staircase structure with painted lanterns.
As you know by now, coffee is important. Elexa and I had visited Olympia Coffee shops prior. With a precedent set I hoped that the hustle and bustle of an airport didn’t ruin their coffee’s quality. It didn’t if you were wondering. The quality from the out-of-airport locations carried over to the airport location. Thank goodness, disaster averted.
We both ordered coffees and veggie sandwiches. Elexa’s go-to drink is an iced oat milk vanilla latte and mine as you already know is an eight-ounce cappuccino.
Scoping out seating can be difficult in any airport. Fortunately one of the perks to waking up at three thirty am is that some restaurants were not open yet. We wandered over to one such restaurant. We casually plopped ourselves down at their table and chairs so that we may enjoy our goodies.
An hour passed rather quickly and then we were off to our terminal. We found a pair of seats and began the wait. Boarding began, then stopped, a forty-five minute delay at San Diego airport pushed back on us departing. That was okay, we were on vacation time.
The flight took off and landed without a hitch, which is the best type of flight. Landing in San Diego, we scouted out a bus with the help of Apple Maps.
Two dollars and fifty cents later we were flying down the freeway with about ten other people. A couple of stops later we exited. Twenty minutes of pulling our suitcases over San Diego sidewalks along the harbor, over trolley tracks, and up a hill definitely gave us some exercise. We cursed ourselves for not getting a closer stop as we arrived at the hotel hot with sweat running down our backs.
Stay tuned for next week’s post to hear all about our activities and experiences in this coastal desert city. I’ll see you next week dear reader.
-Abe
