Day 1, 6/21/2002
8 hours in Sea/Tac
After two days of semi relaxed packing and general 'getting ready to be gone' chores I left for George Bush (IAH) airport at 8:30am. After stops at the Post Office (bills must be paid, even while on vacation), an ATM in Lufkin and Wal-Mart in Livingston (umbrella) I got to the airport a little before 11. Curbside check-in and security were a breeze and I was at my gate waiting to board by 11:20. The flight left on-time (Noon), I watched the Kevin Costner semi-thriller "Dragonfly" and we landed on time (2:17pm). After picking up my bags, I secured the rental car, stashed my bags and proceeded to explore the airport to figure out where Mom would be coming in and where we would get her bags. Mom's flight was delayed, landing around 5:40pm instead of the scheduled 5:15 then we had to wait for the next flight from Detroit for her bags. Her luggage had not made it onto her Sea/Tac flight from the weather delayed flight to Detroit. The second flight from Detroit came in around 10 o'clock and before we got her bag and made our way out of the airport, I had spent a full 8 hours there! I had however, gotten a taste of the wonders in store as we were treated to spectacular views of Mts. Adams & Rainer on my flight in. We also got a glimpse of Mt. Rainer in the fading twilight as we drove south from the airport toward the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and the highway north along the western shore of Puget Sound toward Port Orchard and the home of our cousin Helen Luts.
Created on ... July 8, 2002