Goodbye Seattle & Lynnwood

Today we were scheduled to fly out of Seattle to Los Angeles. Our flight was 11:20am.

We expected bad traffic so were up early. A final bag pack, and clearing of the room, didn't take too long. By the time we had breakfast at the hotel, it was 8am when we were ready to depart.

The drive to SeaTac Airport went south on the freeway, past Seattle downtown and out the other side, during peak hour traffic. We crawled the whole way, the diamond lane being no faster than the others. Only at one point did we get over about 20MPH. 5 lanes of trafffic going nowhere!

Not far before we hit downtown, the freeway has a express lane. This is a great setup. The main freeway is 4-5 lanes each direction. The expressway is an additional 3-4 lanes wide and sits between them. It has a couple of entry and exit points only, and lots of signs and moving barriers. The traffic direction changes at certain times. We took the expressway, where we eventually picked up more speed. It ducks and dives under and over the main freeway, most impressive.

An hour later, once near the airport, we had to fill the car with petrol. The station we went to was run by Indians (as in the Republic of India) and had many Indians in suits hanging around. There were several limos parked outside. The place felt like it was run by the Indian Mafia. Everywhere in the USA we've visited, we need to prepay before filling. I went inside, and before I opened my wallet he waved me outside to fill up anyway. We're guessing nobody would dare do a runner from them without paying.

Once at the airport, we returned the rental car then went to the terminal for 1 1/2 hours of hell. The ticketing counter was a joke, so disorganised, and the guy who served us was like watching a slow motion video. This guys must never get stressed, I certainly was just waiting for him. We then had a long queue for airport security, where we had to remove shoes and jackets along with unpack gadgets. I pity Americans who fly often. The process is horrible but the TSA staff were friendly and helpful.

Our flight was on a CLJ-700 which we'd never heard of, or been on. We were all booked to sit in the back row. The plane is small (2 seats each side in economy) and the overhead bins are small. Many people (including us) struggled to fit out carry on in but we only just managed. The flight is 2 1/2 hours so nothing to do but sit tight.

Next stop, Los Angeles.