We'd lodged in the Seattle Hilton (on points) and had a great time. Not an inspiring vista for a hotel - more 1970's car park architecture than anything else - but it did have an exec lounge with a great view with free wi fi and....I know this sounds incredible, but it is true....$3 for a glass of wine during happy hour. In a Hilton ? Am I dreaming? Add to that the free wi fi in the lounge and a staff seemingly determined to thrust bottles of water (for nowt!) at you at every opportunity. I did wonder whether we'd strayed into some alternative version of a city Hilton.
On arrival at SEA, the VX check in experience was very smooth (is it always the case in the US that agents stand at check in and the luggage weighing devices are at ground level?) and we were straight through - with advice on where to find coffee - with a minimum of security fuss.
When we arrived there was a flight to LAX at "our" gate (as we were early), so we wandered off in search of the aforementioned coffee and found SEA to be well equipped with book, coffee stores and flying bedpans.
After consuming some disappointingly bitter coffee (Seattle..home of coffee?) and failing to find any dark chocolate coated graham crackers (mmmm...) we wandered gatewards to find the LAX flight gone and our aircraft in place.
Before boarding started, a call was made for volunteers to have their hand luggage placed in the hold for free as the flight was sold out and they were finding themselves in the position of a carrier that charges for hold luggage but allows larger carry ons - i.e. not enough overhead space, with consequent delays to the boarding process. They seemed to find enough volunteers, and boarding started on time, by seat zone.
First impressions of the A319 - lord, it's dark. All the blinds are down. That's unusual opines MrsPJH; I reply that "it will be to keep the temperature down". I am, of course, incorrect as the majority of the blinds remain down for the entire flight, including take off and landing. It
still seems strange to me that people wish to cocoon themselves from the reality of what they are actually doing, or perhaps it's just because they want to watch daytime TV. Ah yes, the entertainment system. What a joy. OK, I didn't purchase any of the movies, but to be able to rack up a major music playlist that includes the works of Frank Zappa? That's worth half a crown of anyone's pocket money. In truth I actually find little merit in Frank's output, but the fact it is there is a major plus point in my view. In the end I spent more time building my playlist than actually listening to it.
Rebel that I am, I kept my window blind up. Here's the view. What this doesn't show is the mist that envelopes the entire coast from Seattle down to San Francisco.
Even at the back the seats feel good and have no leg space issues. At one point I was a little worried that I was about to be crushed by the recline of the chap in front (no neck, walked like he'd lost two rolls of carpet, greeted his similarly built friend by thumping him hard and shouting "HUT!") but he was in the wrong seat and was replaced by a fellow who seemed to have been put together from pipe cleaners and twiglets who didn't invade my space. Cursed myself for not realising that I could have charged my iPod Touch from the seat (had I had the correct cable); while I'm at it, a big shout out for this wonderful wi-fi enabled device and every accommodation, bar and coffee shop (save for the Hilton in San Francisco) that offered free wi-fi.
Arrived on time at San Francisco to the announcement that we could use our phones during the taxi. MrsPJH swears that we could have used them during the flight too, but I'm less convinced by that (or was too busy wondering which Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead tracks to put on my playlist to notice). We also landed with blinds down, which had the effect that when we stopped on the taxiway many people got up, grabbed their bags from the overhead locker and were headed for the door before the crew reminded them that they weren't actually at the gate and, by the way, the seat belt signs were still on.
So had I not screwed up and had to change the time of my flight, I would have paid just just over $125 each (including baggage) for a 2 hour flight in comfort with an excellent entertainment system and an allocated seat in an A319. Compare this to just over £80 (including baggage) for a 1 hour flight in rather less comfort (albeit not actual discomfort) with no entertainment system with "free seating" in an A319 on Monday up to Edinburgh.
Next up is the final leg of the journey, from SFO to LHR, clad in back polyester and wondering where the chocolates were...
For those who wish to delve further, here are some pictures of the trip up to Seattle.
For those of a certain age, the Charles M Schultz museum in Santa Rosa is worth a stop. It'sactually quite difficult to forget that he lived around here, as there are many character statues (though not enough of Linus, IMHO) dotted all over town. It would have been difficult to better our first accommodation in the USA, a lovely b&b with amusing, informative and helpful hosts with love of what they were doing. This is from within the museum, and is a wall of around 3,000 strips on ceramic tiles arranged to show Charlie Brown and Lucy.
Then we moved on to Medocino. I arrived in t-shirt and jeans; everyone else was encased in full wet weather hiking gear. Still, charming and atmospheric, particularly when we decided to have a drink in the main hotel and managed to get a table by the window watching the mist roll in.
This was one of our two "time machine" lodgings. This hotel's lobby incoporates a jewellers with two of the largest safes that I think you'd ever see outside a bank. When we went into the bar you did expect to hear the rattle of a tack piano.
There was also a charming "Kinetic Museum" devoted to machines built to take part in an annual three day event
Klamath was our one true motel experience. Clean as a whistle, with inspiring messages painted on the rooms walls, but still a motel. Not much to do at night - and being unable to claim discount for my Reeses as I did not have my Reservation ID with me - we hunkered down and watched "Billy The Exterminator" on television. Quite extraordinary; The Osbornes run Rentokill. We woke to find the proprietors had stuck to their principle of flying the flags of the nations of all their guests of the previous evening. Oh, and look, there's mist on the trees.
Trip back in time number 2. Wolf Creek Inn. Now this did have a tack piano, and we had the room that Clark Gable used to escape to. There was a wonderful shop next door - T Shirts and trinkets in the front, beer in the back. This was the first time I filled the car; and the first time in several decades when I have not pumped my own gas (as I understand the saying goes). From here we also visited the Applegate Trail Interpretive Centre (or Center) an excellent small museum
devoted to some of the trailblazing pioneers to Oregon. One of the interesting aspects is the amount of written material available about those journeys, usually penned by women.
Eugene was significantly lacking in tributes to "Animal House", but the b&b did give us a wonderful room and there was a railway in the garden. They were also campaigning to turn all the grass in the sidewalk into vegetable beds.
Newport. Mmmm. Apart from Nye Beach and this fellow, Newport itself wasn't too much to write home about.
On the way from Newport to Portland we diverted to the Evergreen Air and Space Museum at McMinnville, significant for being the home of the Spruce Goose. Pictures here.
Portland was our first city experience and it was good. Bustling without being too busy, and a free tram service within the city limits. Not your usual keycards for the room...
And thence to Seattle...
where we did the monorail, the Duck tour, the Space Needle, the Experience Museum and wished we'd had more time...
We can get better, because we're not dead yet
