Dear Kids,
Today was an exciting day and a bit stressful. We are off to Portland, OR, to celebrate K____’s bat mitzvah. We got up super early (and of course we all went to bed way too late last night)…at 0400 (that 4 a.m. if you still haven’t mastered 24-hour time). Since we were smart enough to get you all to wear your traveling clothes to bed, it was a pretty quick and smooth morning. The fact that you were all excited to be traveling to Oregon didn’t hurt either. I wish school days were this smooth, but again, you don’t look forward to going to school like you are looking forward to this trip.
Again, we were a bit more organized for this trip, and I ordered a cab yesterday. I actually scheduled it for 5, but it arrived at 5:15. This (of course) stressed me out a bit, but all’s good, we were on our way to DCA. Again, we actually prepared for this trip, and I checked the 5 of us in yesterday, so all we needed to do was pay for the one additional bag we decided to take at the last minute drop the pre-paid bag off with security. At the last minute, we added a bag; but no worries: that took no time at all to get it paid for. So, after dropping both bags off at security, we headed to the gate. Thanks to my job at work, I have TSA PreCheck, so the 3 of you and I sailed through security and hung out while we waited for Ima to join us. Fortunately, she had no issues, except she was randomly selected for a “pat down.” SBR, you were very upset because it seems that you can only come with me through TSA PreCheck until you’re 12, and, you know, you’ll be 12 in 4 days. But never mind that…right now, you’re still 11 and still able to go through with me.
Once we got through security we headed down to our gate. It was actually much further away than I thought. So, we decided to stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts first and grab some breakfast. It took way longer than I would expect given that people are in a hurry at the airport. But I’m used to this. Nothing seems to move any faster at the airport.
Since the gate was so much further away, we got to use the moving walkway, and you kids really seem to enjoy them. Even with the moving walkway, it still seemed to take forever to get to the gate. I believe it was in the old terminal (Terminal A, I think). No matter…we finally arrived at the gate just as they were calling our group to board. No stress, all good. Everyone was happy…me because we didn’t miss the flight and Ima because we didn’t have to wait forever at the airport.
It didn’t take us long to get onto the plane. As is usual, we got held up due to traffic boarding the plane, so while we were standing just inside the door near the cockpit, I said in a stage whisper, “SBK, look in the cockpit. Isn’t that cool with all the buttons?” And I achieved the desired effect: the flight attendant said, “oh, would you like to step in and meet the pilots?” So you and SBE went into the cockpit and talked to the pilots for a moment. The captain gave you both a set of wings. I think you were both pretty excited. SBE put his wings on right away. Once you were done in the cockpit, we headed to our seats in the back of the plane: SBE was by the window, I was in the middle, and SBR was on the aisle. On the other side of the aisle was a stranger, then Ima in the middle and SBK by the other window. It was a pretty uneventful flight to Chicago, so not much to talk about. SBE and I did the sudoku, and then SBR and I did the crossword puzzle.
While the trek from security to the gate at DCA was “much further away than I thought,” the new gate at O’Hare was in a completely different terminal. So, we walked…and walked. We actually had to take even more moving walkway. At least this time there were cool neon lights on the ceiling that kept turning on and off in sequence. It was pretty cool actually, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the hike across the airport to the new gate. Even though it was much further away than in DC, we still got to the gate with no issues.
When they called our group number, we boarded the second plane and settled in for the long flight to Portland, OR. This time, SBK had the window, then me, then SBE on the aisle. A stranger was again across from us and Ima was in the middle with SBR by the other window. I took a nap on the plane, so it didn’t seem that long to me. Before I knew it, we were on the ground and in the Pacific Northwest.
After we got off the plane and collected our luggage, we headed over to the car rental area and to the Dollar Rental desk where we picked up our rental car (some kind of low-end Subaru). From there, we headed to the hotel, but everyone was starving, so we went to the delectable Olive Garden for lunch. Funny enough, the restaurant was literally across the street from the hotel. It was nothing amazing as Olive Garden is pretty disgusting. Adding to the disappointment, SBR lost her friendship bracelet from camp. (I did call the restaurant, but they didn’t find it.)
From the restaurant we drove across the street to the hotel and checked in. We were only in the hotel for a minute to empty the car and put our luggage in the room. Then we were off to B___’s house to see her, S____, and K____ and hang out with them for a bit. We actually got there before S____, but when he arrived, we got to meet his girlfriend, so that was exciting. Then I went with all the kids and walked up to Dutch Bros. to get drinks. They made it sound like it was just around the corner, but it was probably about 10 miles away (OK, so maybe like 1 mile, but still I’d been up since 4 am EDT, and I was tired). But we made it there and had a nice time hanging out and getting some yummy drinks.
We weren’t back at B___’s house very long before Bubbie arrived. She was super excited to see all of you, and I think the feeling was mutual. She settled into the couch and we all just hung out and talked. Ima stole away and got some work done while we were talking. Then we ordered some sushi, and S____ walked down to pick it up.
After we ate, we said good night and headed back to the hotel and went to bed. It had been a long day and we were all ready for some serious sleep.
Love,
Aba
