This morning Wendy came to pick me up at Mom’s house and take me to the airport. She walked me in and we said our goodbyes. Then I walked into the area where you have to put everything in buckets and go through a scanner. They said to take everything out of our pockets. I didn’t think I had much in my pockets, so I went through the scanner. The woman on the other side asked if I had anything in my pockets and when I reached into them, I came up with a Kleenex. Because of that small piece of tissue, I had to be frisked!
When I walked to the gate where my flight was supposed to leave, they told me it had already left and that they had given my seat to someone on standby 10 minutes earlier. The woman found another flight for me tomorrow at 5:30 AM so I took it knowing that the only way I could make it that early was by staying put in the airport. I called Mark and he suggested that I buy a crossword puzzle book and get food throughout the day. I have discovered all kinds of things about the Portland airport, and I’ve got pictures to prove it!
Wendy took a selfie of us outside the airport.I saw the nun on the right with a guitar and I said, “Hey, the singing nun!” Wendy got a picture. I love it!Wendy got one last shot of me heading to the area where I ended up getting frisked for a piece of Kleenex.
When I found out that I had missed my flight, I had all kinds of time to do stuff.
Wendy had told me that it’s a thing to take a picture of one’s feet on the airport carpeting, so I did. Must keep up with tradition!I went into the travel mart and bought a crossword puzzle book, some trail mix, and a big bottle of water. I told the cashier that I would be here all day and she said she’d be there until 5:30 if I needed anything. She was nice!I watched a Southwest Airlines plane being pushed out to start taxiing down the runway. My flight was supposed to be a Southwest Airlines flight. My flight tomorrow will also be on Southwest Airlines.The place where I got lunch had this really interesting art piece hanging from the ceiling in front of it.Lunch: a quinoa bowl with roasted sweet potatoes, tofu, zucchini, carrots, and cranberries. I didn’t think to take a picture until I was half done with it, but it was beautiful. At that point, I was up to crossword puzzle number 14. I just finished puzzle number 23!I sat next to the Tillamook play area. It was cute, but……why do kids have to scream so much?I heard music down the walkway, so I went and listened to the accordion for a while.As the sun was slowly sinking in the west, I took another picture of a plane being pushed out onto the runway.The last rays of the sun over the parking deck. You can also see the control tower on the left.Dinner was a super berry smoothie. The young woman who helped me decide which smoothie to get was very friendly!The crowds started thinning out after dinner. Gate E11 is the one I’ll be leaving from in the morning.I had to wait all day to get this picture of a Coos tribe art installation. During the day, sunlight was so bright that it reflected too much on the glass to see the display.I stopped and took a picture right after writing that last sentence so that I could show that they have a table that has outlets and USB ports for plugging in computers and charging phones. This will be my bed tonight. It’s very soft!
It’s 10:15 and there are still children playing in the play area, but these are older children who don’t scream, so all is well! I was told that the last flight out will be at 11:30. Right now, the custodians are vacuuming and there are still planes rumbling in, so I’m just waiting for things to quiet down a little before I lay down for the night.
If anyone in Pacific or Arizona time is an early riser, give me a call around 5:00 AM so I can be sure to be awake for my flight!
Glad your home…..