Thursday - Travel Day
Since our plane was scheduled to board at 12:15 we did not have to rush to get away this morning. We did leave home earlier than necessary so we would not be hurried. When we arrived at the South Remote parking lot where we usually park the sign said, "Lot Full - Find other parking!"
Now I am glad we had extra time. I missed the entrance to the main airport road and got stuck on the service road. We went almost to the north side of the airport looking for a way to get off the service road and finally took an underpass to the southbound service road which took us out of the airport on the south side where we made a U-turn and came back in through the toll booth.
After finding the Express parking lot we parked in the only empty slot that we saw and the shuttle picked us up at our car for the ride to the terminal. We still arrived in plenty of time for the long wait in the security line and another wait for Jerry to be pulled aside for a full body scan to check out those artificial hip joints!
Since it was nearly noon. I got a snack wrap at McDonalds while we waited for the plane to begin boarding. Boarding started a little late so by the time everyone got on board they closed the door and we were on our way.
When I awoke I looked out the window and decided we were over New Mexico rangeland. Soon there were some mountains with trees. This was likely the Sangre DeCristo range north of Santa Fe. The next time I looked out the land was red in color and totally barren. Soon I could see small cracks that had eroded into the sandstone. As we went farther the cracks turned into huge canyons where we could see many layers in the walls of the canyons. There was often a tiny band of green vegetation along the bottom of the canyons.
The canyons became more numerous and deeper before the pilot announced that we were flying over Lake Powell. I could see a few motor boats leaving a white trail on the blue water six miles below. The land beyond lake Powell was even more forbidding as we passed Monument Valley and the Canyon lands of Southern Utah. As the canyons gave way to flat baked desert terrain we could see miles and miles of flat land without even a dirt road or trail visible in the sand.
Before long we we changed to occasional mountains with a few trees. We had flown around one thunderstorm just before Four Corners but now the sky was bright and clear with a few puffy white clouds below as we began our approach to the High Sierras. People were moving about the cabin and the flight attendants were picking up empty beverage containers when suddenly our plane dropped violently and rocked from side to side. The "fasten seal belt" sign came on and Jerry tried to calm the lady beside her who had grabbed onto her arm as we bounced about.
After a minute or so the captain said, "Sorry, folks for the turbulence. This was not on any of the weather reports and we did not see it coming! It is very unusual at this altitude. We will come down a couple of thousand feet and should have smooth flying for the rest of the trip." And we did.
As we were over the Sierras I noticed large areas of white ground but it did not look like areas of snow that I have seen in the mountains before. It was not drifted like one would expect to see later in the year but was a light covering of the first snowfall of the season - about a month early this year.
When we landed in Oakland the temperature was 59 degrees with only very light wind. It felt good! The approach to the Oakland airport is over water and it looks like the plane is getting very close to the water before reaching the end of the runway. We both pray and rely on an experienced pilot.
The Oakland airport has really expanded since our first trip here ten years ago. Then the rental cars were right outside the front door of the terminal. Now a shuttle takes us a couple of miles away to the rental car lot. Soon we had our baby blue Ford Crown Victoria and were negotiating rush hour traffic through Oakland toward Walnut Creek.
Glenn called and we met him at Panda Express for supper. Ann Carol and the girls met us there also. Glenn had to leave soon for choir practice and Ann Carol and the girls had school activities for the evening. We found our motel and were thankful for time to relax before hitting the hay.
Since our plane was scheduled to board at 12:15 we did not have to rush to get away this morning. We did leave home earlier than necessary so we would not be hurried. When we arrived at the South Remote parking lot where we usually park the sign said, "Lot Full - Find other parking!"
Now I am glad we had extra time. I missed the entrance to the main airport road and got stuck on the service road. We went almost to the north side of the airport looking for a way to get off the service road and finally took an underpass to the southbound service road which took us out of the airport on the south side where we made a U-turn and came back in through the toll booth.
After finding the Express parking lot we parked in the only empty slot that we saw and the shuttle picked us up at our car for the ride to the terminal. We still arrived in plenty of time for the long wait in the security line and another wait for Jerry to be pulled aside for a full body scan to check out those artificial hip joints!
Since it was nearly noon. I got a snack wrap at McDonalds while we waited for the plane to begin boarding. Boarding started a little late so by the time everyone got on board they closed the door and we were on our way.
When I awoke I looked out the window and decided we were over New Mexico rangeland. Soon there were some mountains with trees. This was likely the Sangre DeCristo range north of Santa Fe. The next time I looked out the land was red in color and totally barren. Soon I could see small cracks that had eroded into the sandstone. As we went farther the cracks turned into huge canyons where we could see many layers in the walls of the canyons. There was often a tiny band of green vegetation along the bottom of the canyons.
The canyons became more numerous and deeper before the pilot announced that we were flying over Lake Powell. I could see a few motor boats leaving a white trail on the blue water six miles below. The land beyond lake Powell was even more forbidding as we passed Monument Valley and the Canyon lands of Southern Utah. As the canyons gave way to flat baked desert terrain we could see miles and miles of flat land without even a dirt road or trail visible in the sand.
Before long we we changed to occasional mountains with a few trees. We had flown around one thunderstorm just before Four Corners but now the sky was bright and clear with a few puffy white clouds below as we began our approach to the High Sierras. People were moving about the cabin and the flight attendants were picking up empty beverage containers when suddenly our plane dropped violently and rocked from side to side. The "fasten seal belt" sign came on and Jerry tried to calm the lady beside her who had grabbed onto her arm as we bounced about.
After a minute or so the captain said, "Sorry, folks for the turbulence. This was not on any of the weather reports and we did not see it coming! It is very unusual at this altitude. We will come down a couple of thousand feet and should have smooth flying for the rest of the trip." And we did.
As we were over the Sierras I noticed large areas of white ground but it did not look like areas of snow that I have seen in the mountains before. It was not drifted like one would expect to see later in the year but was a light covering of the first snowfall of the season - about a month early this year.
When we landed in Oakland the temperature was 59 degrees with only very light wind. It felt good! The approach to the Oakland airport is over water and it looks like the plane is getting very close to the water before reaching the end of the runway. We both pray and rely on an experienced pilot.
The Oakland airport has really expanded since our first trip here ten years ago. Then the rental cars were right outside the front door of the terminal. Now a shuttle takes us a couple of miles away to the rental car lot. Soon we had our baby blue Ford Crown Victoria and were negotiating rush hour traffic through Oakland toward Walnut Creek.
Glenn called and we met him at Panda Express for supper. Ann Carol and the girls met us there also. Glenn had to leave soon for choir practice and Ann Carol and the girls had school activities for the evening. We found our motel and were thankful for time to relax before hitting the hay.
posted by Grandpa at 11:47 PM
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