Alaska P 4

It has been a busy day. Up early to get last minute things packed and the car ready for the drive to the Burbank Airport. The plane leaves at 10:00 AM, so a departure from Canyon Country in the Santa Clarita Valley at 8:00 AM should get us there by 9:00, plenty early to process through this down-scale airport. However, the Freeway (SR-14) out of the Valley is often congested at that time and once committed to the freeway, it is difficult to gain an alternate route. For this reason, I shun the freeway and decide to take the "short cut" Sand Canyon Road to Little Tujunga and join I-5 just before Burbank.

This route takes us on a typical Model A road over the mountains and while it is more direct, it is a somewhat torturous drive with switchbacks and steep grades. The time is about the same as on the 14 Freeway, but it is much more reliable, since it has very little traffic.

Number-One-Son, Keith III, showed up and we departed a few minutes before 8 o'clock and the drive is as planned with no delays to the I-5 Freeway and the freeway is reasonable clear. We rolled into BUR a few minutes before our targeted time, hopped out and our chauffer is on his way.

Self-check in was quick and we got in line for the TSA search. Soon we had gathered in the waiting area with other members of our group from Southern California. The Alaska Airlines plane departed on time and the flight was smooth and uneventful.

Upon arrival, we met others of our group who arrived from Dallas and soon we were on a chartered bus for Bellingham. But first, we stopped at a nearby MacDonald's for a quick bite and then were away again. We arrived at the Hampton Inn, just off the I-5 at approximately 4:00 PM where we were again joined by almost all the others of our group. While we checked into our rooms, Lee Chase gave us a few instructions; like, "Drivers, be ready to go to the warehouse tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock!" Then we split for our rooms.

My first action was to fire up the computer to see how it would work for me under these new and strange conditions. It had been some time since I had computed "on the road" and always before with a "dial-up" connection. This time it was a high speed. (Up to this point, it seems to be OK; however, I find that my laptop computer is a bit "squirrelly." The cursor jumps around and gets into new or old lines without my knowledge and I am typing away over previous text and messing things up, now an then. Have to watch that!)

I have called up the street map program on my computer and "scouted" out our route to the warehouse where the cars are to be picked up and the location of the Ferry Terminal. They are close together, but we have to pick the cars in the morning and don't load them on the Ferry until later in the afternoon. That means that we will have to come back to the Inn, check out, kill time and then go back to the Ferry. That will give us some time to see something of Bellingham.

I took a few pictures today, but don't have the cable to transfer them to the computer. It is in the car! Have to put them in later.

There is no restaurant in the Hampton Inn, so we are going to a nearby Greek restaurant with the Olsons at 7:00 PM.. Dinner was very good. Jo and I split a salmon dish as we were still full from the MacDonald’s meal. As it was the only restaurant around, the whole gang was there. After dinner, we walked the parking lot and admired the collection of cars already assembled. (Some drove or “trailered” their cars. It is only a few cars from Dallas and Southern California that came by truck.)

Time to “hit the sack” as we have to get up early to get to the warehouse and reclaim our cars. More later and with some pictures.