Another trip to Folsom for work. Having a window seat, I spent most of my time watching the ground fly by.
Another View From 4E
Another trip, another window seat, again in 4E.
Diamond Peak is covered in snow, as is Summit Lake. Mount Shasta “moved me.” ;-)
The Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area reflects the late morning sun.
Terminal B’s link to the parking lot also caught my attention.
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Headed Home: Planes, Trains, and Buses
My trip home from Folsom was, shall we say, “eventful.” Leaving the Folsom site shortly after 5 pm, traffic through downtown Sacramento was light, dropping off the rental car was easy, and TSA was quick and professional. I boarded the plane and settled in to read my new book, The Cosmic Landscape. Then, somehow, something changed…
The plane’s chimes wouldn’t work. They kept ringing while we pretended to ignore them. Rather than have us wait in the chime-challenged plane, Horizon Air “de-planed” us so we could wait in the terminal. Two hours later,1And with 2,000 bonus miles in our frequent flyer accounts. we were back on the plane and headed for Portland.
Upon landing at PDX, now 11:30, I texted Ashley. Unfortunately, she was unable to pick me up as planned. The driveway was too steep and the snow too slick. “Not a problem,” thought I. I’ll just take light rail from the airport to Hillsboro.
So I bought an “all zones” ticket and boarded MAX. What luck! I was on a train that would take me all the way to Beaverton before having to transfer.
A frozen switch at the Rose Quarter delayed MAX for a few minutes until someone came to free it.
As we approached the Beaverton transit center, now nearly 1 am, the driver said the train was stopping at 170th. Not only that, this was the last train of the night. Anyone who wanted to continue to Hillsboro needed to get off now and transfer to the 57 bus.
Now I’m not an experienced TriMet rider, but I was able to find the 57 bus stop, check the schedule, and see the next bus was scheduled for 1:03 AM — less than five minutes away! Oops! I had forgotten it was snowing and the buses were using chains. The bus was going to be more than five minutes away.2At least it wasn’t the bus I saw pulling away as I crossed MAX’s tracks. That would have me waiting another hour in the falling snow for the next 57 bus.
Finally, the bus arrived, and the driver said my all zones pass was good to go. We all3It’s amazing how many people ride the bus at 1:30 in the morning. boarded and headed west to Hillsboro. I found a TriMet map on the seat across the aisle and discovered the bus was headed right by the hospital where Suzi was working the night. Hallelujah!
After what seemed like hours, cruising along TV Highway at 20-25 mph with the vibrations from the chained tires lulling me to sleep, we arrived in Hillsboro. I asked the driver if the next stop was the closest to the hospital’s ER entrance. Having exposed my public transit cluelessness, two passengers were eager to help. No, it was the stop after the next stop that I wanted. They pointed out the windows into the falling snow, prompted me when to pull the cable, and wished me a pleasant morning. I think they would have held my hand and helped me down the stairs, had I asked. I thanked them all.
Crossing the street at the intersection4Though not waiting for the walk sign. There’s not a lot of traffic at 2 am. and entering under the Emergency sign, I texted Suzi and sat down to wait. I was too tired to read.5Besides, my new book is not the easiest to read when tired. Photons, quarks, and W-bosons … oh my! ;-)
Suzi came around the corner, gave me a hug and the car keys. I again crossed the street to the parking garage and found the car.
Pulling out into the snow, I slickly discovered why the buses wore chains. I slipped and slid the whole way home and pulled into the driveway around 2:30.
I arrived home 9.5 hours after leaving Folsom.6In good weather with clear roads, I can drive from Folsom to Hillsboro in 9.5 hours.
- 1And with 2,000 bonus miles in our frequent flyer accounts.
- 2At least it wasn’t the bus I saw pulling away as I crossed MAX’s tracks. That would have me waiting another hour in the falling snow for the next 57 bus.
- 3It’s amazing how many people ride the bus at 1:30 in the morning.
- 4Though not waiting for the walk sign. There’s not a lot of traffic at 2 am.
- 5Besides, my new book is not the easiest to read when tired. Photons, quarks, and W-bosons … oh my! ;-)
- 6In good weather with clear roads, I can drive from Folsom to Hillsboro in 9.5 hours.
A View From 19A
After checking in for my flight, I was disappointed to discover two things: (1) I’m not an MVP this year so I won’t get to sit in the better seats, and (2) I was assigned an aisle seat. As I was feeling sorry for myself, I remembered I could go to the counter and see if a window seat was still available. Why, yes there was. In fact, there were three. Score!
3E and Me
The trip to Sacramento was uneventful. Well, maybe not quite. I did sit by Tim, who works sqrt(2) cubes from me, and learn what he does. And I was able to identify Mt. Thielsen, the unknown peak from last week’s post.
Success!
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Sunset on the Tarmac
My flight home tonight left as the sun was setting. Unfortunately, I sat on the wrong side to photograph the colors. I snapped this shot before planing.1Planing would be the opposite of deplaning, right? ;-)
- 1Planing would be the opposite of deplaning, right? ;-)
- 1
Fourth View From 3E
Another day, another trip to Sacramento, and a fourth time sitting in 3E with my camera.
Diamond Peak has much less snow than on July 20.
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A View From 18F
I accompanied Melissa on a flight to California. She’s returning to school; I’m coming to work.
This was the view out the window.
My apologies to those who sat near for all the shutter sounds.
It’s not the only time I’ve sat in 18F; I’ve been there before.
A View From 6A
I printed my boarding pass this evening and confirmed my seat: 6B. Drat! An aisle seat. I boarded, sat down, and waited for Mr. 6A to appear. He came down the aisle and stopped. “I’m sorry,” gesturing across my knees. I asked if he cared about which seat was his. “No.” I scooted left and gazed out my window. Win!
Mr. 6A (now Mr. 6B) was an affable man. We chatted from boarding to deplaning,1Boss. Deplane. Deplane. being “those guys.” You know who I mean. You’re tired, at the end of a long day, getting on a plane hoping to rest. Then a couple of guys near you babble the whole flight. Tonight, that was me. Sorry…
We rode on the left side going north in the evening. Thus the sun beamed in our windows. Although the plane looked new and the windows quite scratch-free and clean, the air was hazy and my light shirt reflected in the windows.2One of these days I’ll remember to wear a dark shirt when traveling. It should cut down the reflections in the window. Either that or make a black velvet shroud that drapes over the camera and below to block the reflections. Not a recipe for good pictures. At least, until we got to Oregon and some clouds.
We landed on PDX’s North-South runway, a first for me. Our approach took us directly over downtown Portland and then diving down to the right to land. Interesting, to say the least.
Of course, I took too many pictures of clouds. Here are just a few of them. :-)
- 1
- 2One of these days I’ll remember to wear a dark shirt when traveling. It should cut down the reflections in the window. Either that or make a black velvet shroud that drapes over the camera and below to block the reflections.
