Our Virgin Adventure is over.
Slept until
4:45 AM...6.5 hours - real sleep and best night on this cruise. Maybe got a
little more rest until I went to The Galley at 6:30 AM. As I made
my way there, I passed a hundred or more guests doing early walk off.
The Galley, to my surprise, was not crowded. I got my usual table
location near the door. I got cereal and fruit and a blueberry pancake and
French Toast and two eggs OE were ordered at the food location. They all came
hot and delicious. The sunrise view of Seattle was spectacular.
While I was eating, Ellen came up. We got a bigger table and she ordered her
French Toast and eggs OM. Pretty smooth for disembarkation day - no rush
and no chaos.
We went back to the cabin to pack toiletries and anything we might have missed.
We went down to the Turnabout at our assigned time to exit and were met
basically by the rest of the passengers trying to get off. It took about 20
minutes until there was a break in the flow and we cut the line. Going through
scan out was fast and even immigration was fast (the agent took my passport and
just handed it right back to me).
And then we got in the dreaded taxi queue.
We passed on the ship shuttle ($2
more) and Uber (picked up at a remote lot). We spent 45 minutes in line - like
in Boston a few cruises ago, people who hired porters had priority. Eventually
we got a cab but he had to wait for
people so we got out and found a "small car" (two passengers).
The ride took about 45 minutes and cost the fixed rate of $68. His meter was at
$72. But $68 was the fare and the total was $80 with tip. Tons of traffic at
SEA departures. He dropped us at American Airlines. We used the kiosks to tag
our bags and get paper boarding passes. TSA wasn't far, the lines were
short, and we were on our way to D11.
As we were walking there, I noticed an automated wheelchair for folks with
mobility issues – that was a first. We found the gate but every seat was taken.
We found seats at D7. Yesterday after breakfast, I grabbed three lox sandwiches
and put them in one of the take out plastic containers. We had those for
lunch along with Chex mix $7.99 and a Diet Coke and Coke Zero $2.99 but $2.49
if you buy two. The sandwiches travelled well.
Our flight, AA2966, was scheduled to depart at $1:35 PM.
Our gate was changed twice but we boarded the flight at 12:55 PM at D10. We are aisle across in 12C and 12D. There at least five deadhead pilots on board (one next to me).
Flight Aware shows a smooth flight if the pilot goes around that little bit of noise a third of the way there.
Takeoff was right on time. The flight is smooth so far. I had a blueberry
muffin (thanks to the Lady) and slept while we crossed the state of
Washington. That doesn’t happen very often if at all.
The rest of the flight was pretty smooth with only a brief period of light chop that flipped on the seat belt sign.
The chop
was so light that I was able to take a bathroom break during.
According to
the flight plan on Flight Aware, we were supposed to be flying at 520 mph –
instead the actual speed was 582 mph due to a solid tailwind. Also, as we were within 30 minutes of landing
our course was changed (on Flight Aware) from heading over the Lake and
circling back over the city for landing, our A321 was given a straight vector
to ORD. Saved quite a few minutes. Because
of these factors, the flight arrived in Chicago at 7:35 PM, 35 minutes early. We waited about 10 minutes for a gate. Our bags came out at Carousel 32 just a few
minutes after they came from the plane.
As soon we had the bags, I texted American Taxi for a cab number. It came back as Taxi 2158 – a Black Camry
driven by Dottie.
FUBAR Alert.
I tracked #2158 on the American Taxi App and the information indicated
that the cab would be here in 10 minutes.
The tracking map showed the cab in a holding position. It started to move and soon it was 6 minutes
away. Then for some reason it was 11
minutes away. It was now about 30
minutes since I called for the cab. I
tried to call the cab but the message was that the number was not in
service. I tried to call American Taxi
and no live person was manning the phone.
I got a text saying that our cab was at the pickup location but there
were plenty of super SUVs but no Camry.
As I always do, I watch every approaching car to check out their
number. For some reason, American Taxi
called and told us that the cab was at the location. There was no car and the app showed a car
with just a red outline instead of a cab icon.
I don’t know what that means.
Then, all of a sudden, the black Camry appeared just 10 feet away – I
still don’t know from where as I was watching the approach on the one way
street. Dottie said she was here for 35
minutes – not possible since we were standing right there and monitoring all of
the cabs going by. During that 35
minutes a dozen large SUVs parked where she said she was. We have done this pickup scores of times so
we know how this works.
We
hesitatingly got into the cab – she did argue a bit with me. Well, we got home (the long route on Willow)
and I was debating the tip – I went from 10 to 15% because I felt bad that she
might need the money. We got a blessed
evening from her as she pulled away.
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