How Not To
Yesterday, despite a Terrorism Threat Level of orange
, we
managed to catch our plane out of Lincoln having arrived at the airport
with only 20 minutes to spare. We were way lucky; I had mistakenly
decided the departure time of the flight was 7:40. When Shannon dropped
us at the airport at 6:40, a TSA agent was standing in front of the
terminal having a smoke.
What flight are you on?
he asked, watching us unload our bags
from the trunk.
I'm not sure of the number,
I told him. It's the United
flight to Denver at 7:40.
There's no flight at 7:40,
he said ominously. There's one
at 7:00, though...
We quickly thanked Shannon for the ride and rushed inside.
This is the point at which you might expect this to turn into a travel horror story, but with the help of capable United ground staff and helpful, encouraging TSA agents, we sailed through the baggage check and security checkpoint, and walked directly onto the plane.
Once we were buckled in, I joked with Barbara that it was all part of my plan to eliminate tedious waiting in airport terminals. She laughed about it...eventually.
We are staying in Wheeler, Oregon on the northern coast. The drive from Portand took our breath away with gorgeous scenery and exciting driving through the mountains. Our first day here, Thanksgiving Day, we drove down to Rockaway Beach, where we watched the sun set over the Pacific. Finding a place to eat was a chore, but we finally ended up at Bozzio's Restaurant and Lounge, where breakfast could be had all day.
The sun sets between four and five. The dark in conjunction with the mild jetlag caused by our two-timezone displacement and the fatigue of travel brought on early drowsiness we struggled to stay up until at least 9:00 pm before succumbing.
Today, we went to Astoria to catch a lecture by the author of a book about the construction of the St. George Lighthouse. We took a walk along the beach near Haystack Rock. It's been chilly, but not cold, and clear.
Tomorrow Tillamook for a cheesemaking facility tour, and more beach-walking.