Our family vacation has gotten off to a good start. Namely, we arrived safely in British Columbia and survived a 22-hour day with our two boys, who are under 7.
We woke up at 3:30 a.m. Eastern time and left our house by 4:30 to head for the airport for a 7:15 flight. It's not exactly how we originally planned it, but we were casualties of the airlines' cutbacks in service.
When I originally bought our tickets, Northwest offered a nonstop flight between Indianapolis and Seattle that didn't leave Indy until 9:30 a.m. and arrived around noon. That would have been perfect. Unfortunately, a few weeks after getting our tickets, Northwest dropped the nonstop flight and changed us to a connecting flight in Minneapolis - leaving Indy at 7:15.
I used the new Park Ride & Fly for the first time since the new terminal opened. I'll have to think long and hard about using it in the future. Coming from the east side of the town, it adds another 15-20 minutes of time to arriving at the airport. The daily rate is slightly less than the airport's economy lot, but there were $6 in access fees, etc., so it would only prove to be less expensive over a long stay.
Our flights were both uneventful. Northwest offers peanuts again, not just pretzels, so that was nice for me. Near the end of our second flight, we started seeing mountains out the window. It's always exciting to see something different from the flat Indiana landscape.
Upon our arrival in Seattle, our bags were available very quickly at baggage claim. We got on a shuttle bus to Enterprise. Although there was a pretty good line when we got there, it moved pretty quickly. We were leaving the Enterprise lot in our Kia Sedona just an hour after getting off the plane. I was pretty pleased with that.
First, we drove about an hour north on I-5 to Everett and made a stop for lunch with some friends in the area. They took us for a quick trip over to Boeing's Future of Flight building. We didn't have the time for the hour-plus guided tour, but we did go up to their lookout platform which offered a view of some their planes and hangars in the distance, as well as their runway. A couple of small planes came in for landings. Word is that two small regional carriers are going to begin offering service to that airport.
Before heading up to Canada, we made a quick stop at Mukilteo, a small town on Puget Sound with ferry service to Clinton. A nice beach gave us the chance to breathe in some fresh air, dip our hands and feet into the cool water and enjoy the unseasonably warm temperatures - almost 90 degrees.
From there, it was back in the car for another two hours to Abbotsford, British Columbia, a city in the Fraser Valley about an hour east of Vancouver. We had a nice dinner with relatives we hadn't seen in 10 years.
Of course, the kids caught a second wind, and we were all up until about 10:00 Pacific (1 a.m. Eastern) when we got to the Hampton Inn Langley-Surrey. I'm not sure a bed has ever felt more comfortable.
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2 comments:
I wouldn't have thought it was possible to survive a 22 hour travel day with kids. What was the hang up with the parking at the new airport? I have not been there yet. I have heard good things from others but don't know if they are talking about the same parking.
Hi Scott,
We parked at Indy Park Ride & Fly. I like using that facility for several reasons. One nice benefit is that the shuttle bus meets you at your car as soon as you park, so you don't have to wait at all. That's one of the biggest drawbacks I have with the airport's economy lots - you never know how long you'll have to wait for a shuttle, especially if you are early in the morning or late at night.
Park Ride & Fly also allows you to make advance reservations, which is helpful during heavy travel times such as Spring Break, Thanksgiving, etc.
At the old airport, PRF was just down the street from the terminal - very convenient. At the new terminal, the new PRF location is a good 5-minute drive from the terminal. Coming from the east side of town, it's already an extra 10-15 minutes to get to the new terminal, then you have to add another 10+ minutes to park at PRF and for them to drive you to the terminal. That's the downside from my perspective.
If you want to try out Park Ride Fly, let me know. I usually have coupons for a free day.
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