Trip to the East Coast - Part Three
The flight from Atlanta to Seattle was long, but at least we were comfortable. I requested a digi-player, so I could watch a movie to pass the time. I was finally able to view “The Blind Side“, which was quite good. I also watched the movie “Arranged” - which I also enjoyed. (On the trip out to Atlanta from Seattle, I watched the movie “Water“, a poignant film with the most amazing scenes. Throughout the movie, I was taking photographs in my head. It was truly a treat for the eyes - at least this photographer’s eyes.)
We landed in Seattle at 9:45pm. By the time we collected our luggage it was close to 10. We had a reservation at the Best Western Airport Executel Hotel - a no frills hotel that suited our needs (and wallet) for the short time we’d be staying there.
We had a 22-hour layover in Seattle, which we planned so that we could spend several hours exploring the city. The Best Western had a free shuttle that carried us from the airport to the hotel, and then back to the airport the next morning. It also offered a breakfast buffet, but we didn’t have time to eat at the hotel, as we wanted to take the Link Light Rail train to downtown Seattle as soon as we got ourselves up and dressed.
Steve was quite disappointed, however, that the breakfast buffet - which was supposed to last until 9am - was out of coffee (and creamer, and sugar, etc) at 8:15am, when he went down to get us some coffee. He had to ask the waitress to brew another pot, and then to find some sugar and creamer, and each time he made a request she rolled her eyes and huffed and puffed. Not exactly professional.
Before getting on the shuttle back to the airport, Steve called the USO at SEATAC airport, to inquire as to whether we could stow our luggage there while sight-seeing in town. We were thrilled to find out that we could (free of charge to military personnel), because there are few alternatives at SEATAC for storing luggage. One option (Ken’s Baggage) is a pricey alternative if you’ve got quite a few bags (we had five, to include carry-on bags and Steve’s computer bag). The USO was a life-saver, and our bags were stowed in a secure closet and could not be removed without a claim ticket.
We then walked about 10 minutes (level 4 of the parking garage) to catch the Link Light Rail to downtown Seattle. The opening of this station is a real plus, and makes exploring Seattle without having a rental car (or using a taxi) easy.
