Seattle

Scotland 7: Day 40 (conclusion)

/ Dav / Leave a comment

04.11.19 | Home | 07:15

By the time my head hit my pillow last night, I was out. My body had been up, at that point, for 22+ hours. This is what happens when you ride the cheap seats: LGW > SEA > OAK > SLC. Shoutout to the most amazing Norwegian crew who brought me from Gatwick to Seattle. They made that 11-hour chunk of my journey, so nice! Again, I bribed my way into their hearts by bringing chocolates that I grabbed from the duty-free shop at the airport. It never hurts, people! I’m telling you it doesn’t!

I realized when I landed at SeaTac, that I had forgotten to factor in the time it would take me to get through international customs and then all the way to the ‘B’ gates to catch my second flight. Thank goodness for the Mobile Passport app that I have on my phone! This made it to where I could cut most of the people in the line. I almost don’t want to share this information, because the more that people know about this, the longer the line is going to be. At least this blog doesn’t have a whole lot of readers- let’s keep this information on the D.L.

After missing my train exit, and going to the wrong security line, I got to my gate with only moments to spare. Then I found out that not only was there room on the flight, but the plane was a few minutes delayed. For once, I was very thankful for a delayed flight! I was soon in Oakland, waiting for my last flight to Salt Lake City. Once again, there was plenty of space, so getting back to Utah wasn’t a problem.

Here are some lessons I have learned over the last 40 days:

  1. Don’t bring a printed itinerary. It was a waste and I didn’t need it. From here on out, I will only use the TripIt App on my phone (check this out before you travel next time) and will keep a back up of all my confirmation information in an email folder.
  2. Just about every business in Scotland will take a contactless payment, therefore I can use my Apple Pay everywhere! This gave me so much peace of mind since I didn’t have to give out my card number a million times. I learned to go to a reputable A.T.M. (like a major bank) and take out about £100 at a time, but only using that for places that wouldn’t take Apple Pay, or I would use that cash to tip servers, etc.
  3. When booking trains/buses/transportation, factor in when I am allowed to check into my next lodging, that way I don’t have to lug around a heavy backpack while I’m waiting to check in. Some places will store a bag for me so that I can go out and explore, and some places will charge a fee for this.

Ok, I need to go get some things done before I return to work- no pressure, but there is only approximately 324 days until ‘Scotland 8’.

At about 10:30 yesterday morning, my easy one-leg day ended in SeaTac, Washington.

/ Dav / Leave a comment

As I was walking to the hotel, I thought that I needed some kind of adventure. It may be a good day to check off bucket list item number 90, which is to go up into the Seattle Space Needle. I checked online and found out it would cost me $22 to do this. Well worth the money to fulfill a dream.

I grabbed a small pizza for lunch at the hotel and brought it back to my room. After eating, I started to get really tired since I’d had to be up so early that morning. I thought that maybe I just wanted to stay in and take a nap. This Space Needle will have to wait.

While I was lying there, munching on an overpriced chocolate bar from Starbucks, my second wind kicked in, and I felt like I needed to get up and do something. I sent a message to my friend Jordan, a SeaTac-based flight attendant for Delta, to see if he was in town and wanted to grab dinner. Luckily, he was and invited me to dinner with him and another friend, Eric.

Interestingly enough, I had never actually met these two in person. I came across Jordan’s Instagram account a couple years ago when I searched for posts that used the hashtag ‘CrewLife.’ This search pulled up what seemed to be a million different flight attendant and pilot feeds. I followed some that looked like they may be sharing some of their travels and adventures. Side note: I’m not a fan of and don’t like to follow those who constantly post selfies. Sure, an occasional selfie is alright, in my opinion, but why do some feel as if they need to continually show off their face. Get over yourself! Turn the camera around so I can see what you see!

We decided to meet and eat at Coastal Kitchen, a seafood-inspired restaurant in Capital Hill. The Uber driver who gave me a ride into Seattle was incredibly chatty! I love to chat with strangers, but sometimes I get the vibe they may want me to hush. He is originally from Afghanistan and has lived in the states for years now. He told me about his family and about his growing up years. Afghanistan in the 1970s was similar to the U.S. The wrong person/people rising to power has brought on the drastic changes these people have to live with today. I’m so blessed to live in a country that allows me to follow my dreams!

My food was delicious! I recommend a visit! I ordered a lamb dish that had some white beans, perfectly seasoned. Eric had a burger, and Jordan had a pasta dish. The conversation was fun, and it’s always interesting to chat with flight attendants from other airlines to get their perspectives on things.

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Later, my Lyft back to the hotel was with a man who is originally from Mexico City. We talked about the death of his parents a few years back and how he never goes back for visits anymore. He moved to the states alone and had to save up to send for his wife and kids. He is yet another person who had/has an American Dream. I’m inspired by this.