definately Sleepless in Seattle

Ok--just thought I would share the fact that we got upgraded to Club World and as you can see the team are settling in for their pampering with the upper classes--champagne already starting to go down well. I must say that a 9 or 10 hour flight does go down better when you can stretch right out for sleeping and the food is better than the normal cardboard.

Anyway , we got to Seattle OK but were kept on the plane for extra 20 minutes as they said the customs were overloading and jammed up so we were pleasantly surprised when we got there and it seemed OK. Shouldn't be having those positive thoughts. in our section only one person checking people through but you know what, he was doing OK.

Did it again see, thinking positive thoughts, always gonna catch you out-- his fingerprint checking machine crashed. S he went to the next one ---nah, that don't work either, nor the next, so back to the first. Eventually he got it going again but no-one came to ease the congestion.

Anyway having realised that I had left the hats in the overhead locker and with Lynda not finding anyone back at the plane to see if they are there, I resigned myself to horse riding without the John Wayne look--not good playing the cowboy with no "titfer tat".

So we finally get through and down to the carousel and started to get the cases and bags--except they weren't all there---Ann's case was missing. So we find a nice lady from BA ground staff to kind of complain a bit too, and lo and behold,-- not only was she holding the 2 cowboy hats but she already knew the Ann's case had not travelled with us from London. Guess it was one of those bags that drop off the baggage trolley that some Muppet eventually finds in the road but working to their pace , when they hand it in the plane has already left.

So ok, that means some cosmetic and lingerie shopping this morning but not too much of an issue except that we can only hope that the case will reach Portland later today, or then we are definitely into a drama.

So having gone through all that , we went to the Hertz desk for the collection on the SUV. Never even heard of a Ford Edge but it's an ok looking motor. as for the charges and all the add on's they are trying on there is going to be some serious dialogue between me and a certain Lucas from dial-a -flight when we get back.

Now this is where things get embarrassing because we get to the motor which looks great and they are almost like brand new anyway, but the others call out that there is damage all round the back. I take a look and decide to go back to the desk and demand another undamaged car--got the paperwork done and went back to the gang to get to the changed car and my mate Rod shows me that actually , all those "scratches" were in fact an area where the car cleaning machine had not done it's job.

Well I wasn't going back again was I, and we found the same on the changed motor too-- ok so I am bad , but it was like the last straw you know. Anyway, got into Seattle in good time and  there were Hugh and Lisa standing outside the hotel, really great to see them again--if only they could work some magic and find that ultimate place in Greece to move back there--and they had booked dinner at a very close restaurant called--I think--Trulio's, supposed to be right up the in the ratings, and the food was very good.

Oh yes --I didn't enlarge on the sleepless in Seattle bit did I. well at around 5am this morning , I think I can hear music--I thinks its from a car outside the hotel. Then I think I can hear an alarm going off somewhere.  Eventually I get up to investigate and track down the radio to next door and the alarm to the room on the other side.

So I phone down to reception and eventually someone manages to wake someone up to deal with the problem but by then of course - I am sleepless and I am in Seattle. :-)