A Slight Delay

Saturday was absolutely horrible. We left the house late for the plane already, only to get up the hill from our house and have the windshield wipers cut out on our van. Fitting with the typical start of any family vacation, everybody has a different idea of what we should do: fix the wipers, go back and get the car (Petunia), or call a wonderfully considerate friend to drive us all the way to the airport in Seattle. Logically, we decide to do all three of our potential solutions and end up leaving the house for take two of our adventures about an hour late with myself and the giant bike box cramped in the back of Petunia.


An hour trough the border line up and an hour lost in traffic later, we arrive at the airport only to have missed the special baggage check-in by 7 minutes. Ok, it really sucks, but we can book another flight out leaving tomorrow...not so much. There's one leaving in two days for $1000 extra per ticket or the cost of the original return tickets. Let the fighting and consequent tears ensue!

After hours of this and finally grabbing something to eat, we decided to stay in Seattle over night and work on getting a better flight in the morning (apparently all the experienced people work the day shifts, so if you ever miss your flight, call the helpline in the daytime). We end up staying in the oh-so wittily named Sleep Inn with it's chemical infused rooms and exotic view of Seattle's finest trailer park. I don't mean to be unsympathetic towards the plight of it's inhabitants, but there are people all over the world who live in trailer parks and shanty towns who maintain there yards and show pride in their, hopefully temporary, homes.

Anyway, after a fitfilled night of something resembling sleep in every way, except sight, sound, smell, taste and feel, we woke up to the joy of waiting on hold for hours trying to arrange a new flight with Delta. The lovely people on the other end of the line were very helpful and we were able to book a new, albeit convoluted, route to Dublin. We leave Seattle tomorrow for Atlanta and should arrive (fingers crossed and hold thumbs) in Dublin on the 11th.

So, today was spent in Seattle and we'll just have to chock that up to an extended and unexpected addition to my graduation gift; I'll just have to cycle faster in the motherland.

Our Seattle adventures were experienced through the bleary, swollen eyes of last night's sleep. We visited Madison Market for lunch and a little grocery shopping. I still hold that chocolate cake is at it's best when vegan! Then booked into the Mayflower Park Hotel, the staff of which were lovely and helped me carry a giant bike box into their storage area. Then we went on to explore the famous Pike Place Market and see the first ever Starbucks. History in the making ;-) Ending the pleasant, but from hour one exhausting day @ our hotel restaurant.

I now write to you from the hotel lounge sipping a very Irish coffee and hoping the server comes by to dilute it with the caffinated beaverage Seattle has helped make famous. Salut!