DAY-29 Journey's End, Back to the OBX

Day-29: Thursday, October 1, 2015

Starting Location: Best Western, Mount Vernon, WA
Interim Location: En-route at Dulles International Airport, VA (IAD)
Interim Location: Norfolk International Airport, VA (ORF)

Ending Location: Home at Kitty Hawk, NC

With our departure from Seattle scheduled for 1:15 PM we had plenty of time but were ready to depart the hotel around 8:45. The GPS forecasted trip to the airport would be about 1 hour and 30 minutes allowing for late morning traffic.

True to plan we arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) around 10:15. We parked in the short term lot and carried our bags in for check-in. We're flying United Airlines today so there would be no issue in terms of number of bags and weight, so with five bags checked, the heaviest at just over 55 pounds we were checked in and ready to go. After check-in I returned the rental car; by 11:30 AM I was back in the terminal, through security and lined up for a bagel and soda. We had a very relaxed trip in to the airport and that would continue through the day.

We boarded United FL #1855, a new B737-900, bound for Washington Dulles (IAD) to make our connection to Norfolk. The flight was uneventful but I must say one of the best United flights I've experienced for some time. After take-off we were served lunch, a salmon dish with rice and a salad. Somewhere along the way I know I dozed off but was awake for some of the best airplane chocolate chip cookies I've had.


We arrived at Dulles but a gate delay made the actual arrival slightly late and the panic for connections began. We had about 40 minutes but as would be our departure gate was nowhere near our arrival gate. In any case Sheila and I arrived with plenty of time at our gate for the Norfolk flight.

The Norfolk flight Untied FL #4041, aboard a Canadair CRJ-700, was ready to depart on time but I would say it was one of the most confusing boardings I've experienced. The "A" terminal at Dulles for United and its partners was overly crowded with two flights departing from the same Gate A3 at the same time. To further complicate the issue, the illuminated sign for the Norfolk flight was actually over the doorway for the Portland, Maine flight and so it went, people getting on board and asking, "where is this plane going?".

The flight from Washington to Norfolk was short with an altitude not exceeding 10,000 feet. The pilot announced that the flight time is often shorter than the expected taxi and hold time at Dulles. The weather in the Norfolk area was a little windy providing some rocks and rolls on the approach but nevertheless, another good flight with an on time arrival. As often happens on late night arrivals the airport coordination and support can cause delays and that was the case, seems that even with the on time arrival the jetway when moved was still about two feet from the aircraft. As expected, passengers wanting to get home get a touch antsy when one has to wait for a walkway bridge to span the gap. By 11:20 we were waiting for our bags and a few minutes later Carrie arrived to pick us up. Soon we had our bags and were on the road headed for Kitty Hawk where we arrived around 1:30 AM Friday morning.

Thus ended the Pacific Northwest trip that had included the Canadian Rockies and a variety of national parks, cities and lastly the San Juan Islands.

We had traveled on foot, by car, by bus, by plane, by boat and by train covering thousands of miles in 29 days. Another great trip ends, we're happy to have traveled with long time friends and look forward for the next adventure wherever that might take us.

THE END

Post Script for a Photo Review