Flying Zombies: IOM and Éire, pt 1

Bend and Portland, Oregon, airports
April 14-15, 2014

This trip did not sneak up on us. We've been planning this for almost three years, and we've had a good idea when it was going to happen for more than a year and a half. Our accommodations and flights were booked four or five months ago. We've been collecting supplies for weeks. So how was it that Sunday night, just over 24 hours before our flight from Portland, showed up with us still having so much to do? I think the short answer is that the world just likes to keep us humble. 

The longer answer is that we just have too much we want to do, even if we're about to go do a whole bunch of adventurous things. We wanted to make sure to see some friends, spend time with our families (we had Charlotte over on Saturday and my Dad and Heidi over on Sunday), celebrate my mother's birthday (I had to work so this was just Griff), get

We parked next to this pink 
van when we went to 
Costco to get Griff's new 
glasses. I like it.

more supplies for the trip (actually this part was only picking up Griff's new glasses and grabbing an extra adapter on the way out of town. We did a really good job acquiring stuff in advance), clean the house, update our Adventure Book (volume 4!), and endless other things. Oh, and pack at some point.

Griff's new glasses!

We'd planned to get up early Monday morning so we could spend the day in Portland--go to the Japanese Gardens, go to Powell's and see Jason and Jyl. Then we were supposed to go to bed really early so we could get some sleep before our 6 am flight. By Sunday night it was pretty clear that plan was out the window.  It was a good thing we'd allowed ourselves so much time to get to Portland, because we ended up basically needing the whole day for doing things. *sigh* Maybe we can go to the Japanese Gardens when we come back...

The drive was smooth and uneventful, and we met up with Jason and Jyl at Powell's. They were going to take care of LaFawnda (Griff's car) for us while we were in Europe. We spent a little bit of time hanging out in the bookstore, but Shannon and I were exhausted and we really needed to get to our hotel. We caravanned over (the GPS took us over one of the most confusing routes I've ever seen--to the point that Jason actually called me to make sure he was still following us. We could have just taken the highway. *headdesk*) and said our good-nights. Moose and Mouse collapsed in our bed and slept like the dead. (We stayed in the Airport Red Lion because it was the only hotel that was reasonably priced and advertised a 24 hour shuttle. I wasn't sure what to think when we pulled up and as we were wandering the halls looking for our room--it seemed a little rundown. Our room was a pleasant surprise though. While small, the space was used effectively, it was nice and it was clean. The bathroom was very spacious too.)

Too early--3 am--our alarm went off. Yuck. We zombied our way through our morning preparations and shuffled our way onto the airport shuttle. Only then did I begin to wake up enough to really take in some of my surroundings. The driver was friendly, but most of the people in the bus looked very haughty. Then there were the two passengers in front of us. There was a thin, older-middle-age man who looked more awake than the rest of us combined, and his wife (I assume) who was probably about as large as three of him. The man talked incessantly about nothing in particular. I don't recall a single word he said, but he seemed convinced that everyone in the bus was listening to him. His wife never said a word, and seemed quite put out about it. I was so tired that they were amplified into dream characters. They seemed almost to be avatars of pointless chatter and sullen silence. Very strange. (Heh. I don't remember what he looked like but the snooty guy at the front was talking about some luggage he'd found in the parking lot. Apparently it was sitting out there, alone, for more than half an hour. Why he chose to report this to the bus driver instead of at the front desk, I don't know. He also told the story in the most confusing and roundabout way possible so we all had to listen to him talk for 10 minutes instead of 1.)

I was interrupted in my musings by the driver making a sudden stop in the middle of the road. Some drunk driver had knocked down a road sign, and our driver jumped out and pulled it to the side of the road. The Avatar of Pointless Chatter narrated, and made suggestions, never moving a muscle himself. A snooty lady in the back said how nice it was to have strong men around. An old lady said that he was "Such a nice young man." I'm still not certain how much of this was a dream. (I don't remember the ladies' comments or too much chattering from that one guy, but it was nice of the driver to move the sign that had been knocked over.)

We arrived at the airport with plenty of time. We checked our bags and then we tried to print our boarding passes. The machine printed three. Griff got two. I got one. We got a person's attention and had her check what was up. Apparently I "didn't have an assigned seat" for our flight out of Chicago. Which was weird because my confirmation email listed one. She said to check in at the gate desk in Chicago. I decided to try not to worry about it for the moment. 

We zipped through security and decided to grab some breakfast. We picked Laurelwood Brewery because they were open and actually serving real food instead of just coffee and pastries. It was okay, but overpriced for what we got. Memorable quote of the meal: Shannon said "I like making it look like I murdered the potatoes!" (i.e. I use ketchup on my potatoes.)

We found our gate and sat down to wait. This little girl saw the little stuffed panda, Pippin, sticking out of Griff's bag and wandered over to grab it. Her dad tried to call her back, but she ignored him. When he realized what the little girl was looking at, he apologized and said she probably thought the panda was Griff's "baby" because she had a "baby" (teddy bear) too. She noticed Beorn (travel pillow/stuffed bear) sticking out of my bag and she came over to grab at him too. Then she decided it would be a fun game to smack Beorn in the face. She tried to go back and smack Griff's panda, but he wouldn't let her (I was trying to convince her that it would be better to pet the panda instead of hitting it. I love my pandas and she should be nice to them.). It was odd because after her dad had determined that we weren't dangerous (how bad can we be if we have two stuffed animals?), he vanished. We weren't sure that the lady sitting in the same row of chairs was the girl's mom because she was tapping away on her phone the entire time. She never even looked up. Eventually they announced that boarding was going to start so we got up and said 'bye to the little girl. The lady, who was indeed her mom, didn't look up at her for several more minutes. Not very impressive parenting, lady.

We slept most of the way to Chicago, and felt a bit better for it. We landed early so our layover went from 3 and a half hours to almost 4 hours. We weren't in any hurry (though I hadn't forgotten about my lack of a boarding pass), so when we got off the plane and saw a dinosaur skeleton, I knew I could stop to take pictures. 

Dinosaur! : D

Then we found a departures board and started trying to find gate T5 (we came out at B1). The signs around us weren't particularly helpful so we headed towards the C gates--figuring that we were supposed to keep going down the alphabet. To get to the Cs we had to go down some stairs and along this long hallway. On the ceiling of the hallway there were rainbow neon lights that lit up to the tinkly music that was playing. It was really fun to look at. Apparently it was designed by some artist especially for the United section of the Chicago airport. 

Rainbow ceiling! 

At the other end of the hallway, the signs weren't anymore enlightening so we asked for help. The lady at the information desk directed us back the way we had come. We headed back along the hallway until we realized that there was more hallway behind the stairs we had come down. Unsure where we were supposed to go, we investigated this extra hallway bit and found...more stairs! We started up them only to realize they led out of security so we turned around sharpish and took the original stairs (luckily the security desks were unmanned so we just walked back through). 

We found another person to ask for help and they told us we needed to get to Terminal 5. We were in Terminal 1. It turns out that Terminal 5 is the international terminal and that to get to it you have to leave security and take a train. On our way to the train Griff goes, in a musing sort of way, "I wonder if they'll transfer your bag since you're not checked into the next flight." Great way to induce panic, that. Suddenly 3 hours was feeling a lot less generous. We found the train and rode until Terminal 5 (it's way the heck out there). We located the Aer Lingus desk and the lady there got me a boarding pass. My seat was even the one I was supposed to have according to my original reservation. She also said my bag would be transferred. Phew. Crisis averted. We never did find out why I didn't get my pass in the first place though... 

We got back through security and found our gate. Wandering through the international terminal was really interesting. It felt a little more upscale than the terminal we arrived in (though every single time I go through the Chicago airport, it looks different. Now that I have a better idea how big it is this makes more sense) and like it was aimed at non-English speakers. For example, the coffee place was called Kofe (though after looking it up just now, I can see that it's actually based in Chicago), instead of Starbucks or Coffee Bean or whatever. The shops were all internationally known designer brands like Armani and Swatch. I guess whoever designed the place assumes you have a lot of money if you're flying internationally... 

Griff and our mostly empty gate area. (Two
people wandered in just as I was taking this...)

Our gate was curiously empty (there were maybe two people in the entire two gate area when we showed up) so we staked out our space and then I ventured out to get some medicine. (I wasn't feeling very good--my eyes, mouth and nose have been really itchy and we were worried I might have a fever.) Then I sat down to finish my letter to Aly and compose a quick email to Dot (the lady who runs the B&B in Peel) while Griff investigated his street passes (my 3DS game system talks to other 3DSs while it's sleeping. It's called "Street Pass." If another one comes into range they basically say "hello" to each other and it tells me about it next time I turn it on. I also get to find out where the other person is from. It's fun to see the results, especially when traveling). Slowly, the time passed. 

When it came time to board, they announced that they were going to load the plane from back to front. This is so logical! How come American airlines don't do this? Is it really worth it to the Platinum Gold Gajillion Dollar Members to be first on the plane if it means being jostled by literally everyone else on the flight as we all try to squeeze past them? When Griff and I got on we found out that our two seats were along the outside edge of the plane and in a row all by themselves! Yay! No climbing over strangers to get out of my seat! (Climbing over people is one of my absolute least favorite things about flying, along with men who insist upon sitting with their legs wide open--and therefore in my space. [And yes, it is only men who do this.]) I think I should win something for getting us those seats. Plus, they were more comfortable for someone of my height. The ones in American airlines are shaped all wrong because I'm too short for them and so my back and neck are always really sore after flying much. 

Griff and I on the tarmac in Chicago

From Chicago we flew straight to Dublin. They fed us very well (the meals were quite large--I couldn't finish them--and they actually tasted okay), and it was one of the more comfortable flights I've ever been on. I think I like flying internationally better than locally. Much more care taken to make the passengers feel valued. And to top it off, the cabin manager on the flight was named Patrick Duffy. That just made everything better. (^_^)

They gave Griff two tiny ginger ales--that actually tasted like ginger--instead of a wimpy cup full.

I got the beef stew for dinner. It was okay. The salad was a little sad looking. I was surprised and pleased to see the cheese was Tillamook though. : )