Thanks as ALWAYS to Eric and Pat, my enduring inspirations for these reports!
On to Day 2 of travel!
The alarm went off at 5 am, and I groggily got out of the comfortable bed to look out the window. It was still dark and rather drizzly. Brewed a cup of coffee to sip on while getting everything together, and made my way down to the the lobby for the 6 am airport shuttle departure. I had reserved a seat for that time with the front desk on their recommendation, and good thing - every seat was taken. The sun was coming up but the skies were still gray and the slow drizzle trickled down the van windows as we approached O'Hare. Once inside, I got through security with no issue, and although the line was long, things moved along at a good pace. I had plenty of time before boarding, but didn't feel like eating or drinking anything, which is sort of an ingrained defense mechanism I have when flying. So I just found a place to sit with a charger for my phone, and passed the time texting and reading news before boarding. The Sacramento flight still had plenty of open seats, and I had committed earlier to going there instead of San Francisco, just for the opportunity to ride Amtrak to Emeryville. Another time will plan to see SFO airport, perhaps on a paid ticket so there is no gambling involved. This time, though, I was SMF bound. When the agents announced boarding, I was excited and looked forward to this cross country experience. The slow rain continued as I stowed my bag and buckled in at my window seat, we pushed back from the gate and taxiied through the wondrous collection of aircraft from all over the US and world that is Chicago O'Hare.
We took off and soon were flying above the clouds, in a world that was sunny and ethereal. I didn't get that much sleep the night before and the one cup of coffee wasn't keeping me awake, so I napped for a while, and woke up when the flight attendants began the drinks service. The landscape was beginning to change from the familiar Midwest. I saw mountain ranges in all their breathtaking beauty! I was in awe at that point and more sleep would have been out of the question. I had a cup of water to stave off dehydration, and the FAs actually had 2 cabin service trips, so I got another. They also offered Biscoff cookies which I put in my purse. There was a free trial of internet access, I think 20 minutes, which was nice for some family texting, and some packages for purchase, but the view was so entrancing there was no need for other distraction.
When the pilot announced we had begun our descent, the gentleman in the aisle seat (our middle was empty) became conversational and asked what I would be doing in the area. I told him I was going to the Amtrak station to ride the Cal train, which he seemed to find odd. I will admit many of my ideas strike people as odd. He was returning home after a 2 month stay in the Chicago area helping his brother out with his business, and was delighted to be leaving there after the cooler weather set in. He did caution me that the valley was much hotter than the Bay area, in case I wasn't used to the heat (his words came back to me full force later in the day). Once the airplane touched down, he called his son to pick him up and I called my son to let him I had arrived in SMF. It was, what, a 4 hour flight? But really didn't seem like it.
Our aircraft parked at the gate and I deplaned to an airport I had never seen before. I liked it, the layout was thoughtful and the views were decidedly unlike the Midwest. "I'm in California!" I said, out loud, to no one in particular. I said it out loud because it didn't seem real. Certainly DTW doesn't have mountains you can see from the windows! I didn't want people to think I was crazy so I kept walking to an empty gate area to FaceTime the kids and show them the views. There was no need to hurry, the train didn't leave for 2 hours, so I explored for a while before exiting the secured area. In the bathrooms, it was interesting that only a trickle of water came out of the faucets for hand washing, so a little patience was required. The concessions were spaced around a food court area and there were some good options but I wasn't hungry yet. I did buy a bottle of water and stowed in my bag just in case. Walking out of the airport, the weather was picture perfect, sun and blue skies!
