Quintessentially Quilly

Our vacation didn’t start with a mysterious visit from a Wizard or a bunch of dwarfs popping in for lunch and breaking the crockery, but even so it was quite an adventure. How could it not be with Ella along?  We checked in at the Kenmore Air reservation desk in the Friday Harbor Airport.  Ella, of course, had to climb right up on the counter and get her picture taken.  She is one elephant that is mostly ham.

After taking her photo I hustled Ella to the restroom.  The flight between Friday Harbor and Seattle is quick, but I knew Ella would be excited.  I didn’t want any elephant accidents on the airplane!  Then we hustled right out and climbed aboard.  Keeping up with an excited Ella can be a task, so I didn’t have chance to get a picture of our plane or catch the pilot’s name.  Happily, Ella got her own seat so I was free to snap a couple of in-flight pics.

As you can see it was a beautiful day and Mt. Baker was out in all her glory. Ella appropriately ohhh-ed and awww-ed over the scenery (and so did we). This photo was taken when we were above the town of Friday Harbor right after take-off and before the pilot banked the plane and headed for Seattle.

Ella got really excited when she saw the Space Needle.  She knew that Thom, Susan, & the kids visited there when they were here in July, so naturally she wanted to visit it, too.  She was very disappointed to find out that there just wasn’t time.  We had a plane to catch to Hawaii.  Reminding her we were going to Kona did help take her mind off of Seattle.

Once in the airport hotel Ella found something else to keep her occupied.  The Radisson Hotel has Sleep Number beds.

Amoeba and I prefer firm beds and are content with 100, but Ella likes sleeping on fluff and wanted a one.  After some arguing, Amoeba and I got both sides of the bed — set on 100 — and Ella slept on a pillow in the armchair.  Ella said she is going to report us to the ASPCSA (American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Stuffed Animals).

Seattle’s SeaTac Airport is huge and Ella complained about all the walking we had to do.  I don’t know why since I was carrying her.  I was the one wearing new slippers (flip-flops to those unfamiliar with Hawaiian lingo).  I developed a blister under the second toe of my right foot.  Then we got to baggage check-in.  Ella just about flipped when she realized that she was flying with the luggage and we were going first class.  She bellowed that it was totally unfair of us not to buy her a first class ticket, too and again threatened to call the ASPCSA.  I suggested that she get a job and pay her own way to Hawaii, and she quietly climbed into the suitcase without further complaint.

Our time in Hawaii was quite fun and we have many more adventures to share over the coming week, however as the title of this post suggests, I am also using this space to tell you about the flight home.  We left Hawaii at 1 p.m. Hawaiian time and arrived in Seattle at 10 p.m. Pacific Time.  The plane was crowded and there were no incredibly inexpensive upgrades offered, so we flew steerage coach.  The dry cookies and warm water offered us in coach was a far cry from the Macadamia Nut pancakes and Mai Tais we’d been served in first class on the way to Hawaii.  Ella was probably more comfortable in the suitcase.

Once back in Seattle we spent another night at the Radisson.  Before retiring Ella and I enjoyed a wonderful artichoke, pine nut and feta cheese salad while Amoeba munched on halibut fish & chips.  Then we went to bed because we had to be up and on the shuttle to the airport at 6:00 a.m. flight to catch the Kenmore Shuttle to Boeing Field and then our 7:30 a.m. flight home.  And, since we were acclimated to Hawaii time, all this was beginning at what our bodies thought was 3 a.m.  This time we got no complaints from Ella who wanted to stay nice and snugly asleep in the suitcase.

Seattle was gray and murky, so we weren’t terribly surprised to hear our flight would be delayed a bit due to fog.  Friday Harbor was socked in and the pilot wouldn’t be able to see to land the plane.  Simply because we were tired and wanted to return home, the fog didn’t lift until noon.  We finally got home about 1 p.m.

I wanted to go to the grocery store and pick up something for lunch, but Amoeba took me to our favorite fish & chips restaurant here in town — except we both ordered soup.  I was hungry, but I was also overly tired and cold and I didn’t want to have to contend with rich foods. When we finally arrived home we were greeted by the chirping of the smoke detector — if you recall our last post about the darn thing, it is on the 20 foot ceiling.  Amoeba got a ladder from the basement and climbed up only to discover that neither of us had any idea how the #@$%^! thing worked.  We called the landlords.  Happily, they came right over — new battery in hand — and showed us how to change the batteries.  It is stupid-complicated and needs to be taken totally apart (4 pieces) then reassembled.

Once the smoke detector was silenced, Amoeba — who slept at the Kenmore Airport — went off to work.  I went to bed and slept for 3.5 hours.  Ella is currently busily planning all of our posts this week before she heads off on her next adventure.  Her next victim hostess will be Amoeba’s sister-in-law, Nancy, who you know as Tilden of  Tilden Talks.