Seattle, Whistler, and Everywhere Inbetween

I have returned!!

Being on vacation is apparently not all that conducive to posting, therefore my blog has been neglected for many days. Now I have lots of stories and pictures to share, but I'm feeling slightly intimidated by the daunting task of sorting it all out! Maybe I'll break it into sections and write blogs about those sections. Let's simply start with the journey TO Seattle.

I woke up early on September 1st to finish getting everything together for the trip. Dad and I left for the airport at about 10:20, enough time to get me there for my 12:20 flight. As we rode in the car I was slightly nervous about the thought of meeting so many people I only knew so much about, but mostly it was just exciting to finally get to the day of the trip.

I remarked to Dad during the drive about 'how ironic' it would be if something went wrong with my flight since, whenever I travel by myself, there is almost ALWAYS some sort of hold up. (i.e. Being stranded in D.I.A. for 8 hours waiting for my diverted plane to come back to pick me up due to a blizzard, waiting for a plane to be repaired after the emergency slide deployed itself for no good reason, runways shut down for high wind speeds, ice storms in KC, etc. You name it, I've probably experienced it.) It seemed like there could be no chance of a hold up that day. The weather was clear, we were leaving with plenty of time, and I was in good spirits. Dad dropped me off at the curb and I was on my way.

Well, the first discovery I made upon checking in was that my flight was delayed indeed. Only by 40 minutes, but this was a problem seeing as I was supposed to have a layover in Salt Lake that only was scheduled to last for one hour. With a knot in my stomach, I finished getting my bag taken care of and called my Mom. At that point in time, I just needed someone to tell me that there WAS a chance I would make my second flight. She thought I probably would be fine, but we both agreed that my bag might not be so lucky switching planes that fast. She asked what I had with me to carry on. 'All of my shoes, my computer, and the chargers for my camera, computer, and phone.' Awesome. 'Maybe your gate will be really close to the one you land at' she remarked. And she reminded me that there was nothing I could really do but wait and see. So I tried to relax and wait for 1 pm to roll around. This is what it looked like.



Upon boarding my plane, it did not come as any surprise that 1. the flight was completely full and 2. I was in the VERY back, meaning I would be the LAST one off of that plane. It was as if someone was trying to intentionally make me miss the next leg of the journey!

I was pleased that we managed to land 10 minutes earlier than the delayed arrival time in Salt Lake. It's a good thing that happened, too, because I was about to discover that, true to the fashion of my day leading up to that point, my departure gate was not REMOTELY close to the gate I landed at. 'It's ok,' I thought to myself. 'I will make up for the lost time. I am a fast walker!'

And walk fast I did. No bathroom stops either. I dodged elderly people and young families with strollers. Rolling suitcases were avoided and I used every moving walkway I could to shave precious seconds off of my haul. I could feel people staring at me through the back of my head. I am confident they were wondering why I felt entitled to bust my way ahead to the front of the 'line'. I ALSO felt their eyes watching me from behind when I FELL DOWN MID-JOURNEY. Yes, that's right. Fell. To my knees. Skinny jeans, moccasins, and waxed floors just do not mix I guess. But you know what? I didn't even have time to CARE about it. So I picked myself up and continued the rush to my gate. I walked straight onto the plane and glanced down at my phone to check the time. It took me ten minutes of POWER WALKING to get across that airport. Just in case you wanted to know.

But I made it! To the back of the plane again, but I didn't even care at that point. I was on my way to Seattle!!

Once I landed at SEATAC, I meandered along to baggage claim. It seemed like it would be a waste of time. I was pretty sure there was no way my suitcase could have made it to the plane if I almost lost my life getting myself to the plane. I called Tory to let her know I had arrived. She told me they (she, Phil, and Josh) were almost there to get me.

And then. My bag DID arrive!! Which I was extremely happy about so I didn't have to feel even more awkward asking brand new friends for pajamas to borrow and all. But, I did shake my fist a little at the Salt Lake airport since I practically had a heart attack making my flight and ironically, my suitcase most likely beat me there.

Stepping out to the curb, I was on the lookout for my ride. I knew Tory and Phil both drove VW something's so I was especially watching for those. Suddenly, Josh and Tory were both running towards me. 'BECCA!!!' Tory yelled. I gave them both a hug and then thought 'Weird, where did they come from?' The only vehicle I could see nearby appeared to be an airport shuttle. I was following them towards that shuttle but started saying 'Wait...what?' Then I saw Phil in the doorway of that shuttle. With a video camera. And then I read the side of the shuttle - 'Party Bus'. 'What?!' I squealed. They laughed and hopped on. I followed, and inside were lots more people!!! Needless to say, I was pretty embarassed at all of the commotion but it was so fun!



Tory said the bus itself was not nearly as nice as it looked in pictures. Additionally, the driver had a black eye. But it was the most memorable arrival I will probably ever have to a place. And it started the trip off extremely well!

to be continued...