Have you ever seen the movie “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles”?

The beginning of our Alaskan cruise vacation started out an awful lot like that movie.

The flight to Seattle went quite smoothly, actually, as my mother-in-law pointed out.  The rest of the trip has not gone well.

When we got to the hotel, however, they informed us that we should have checked in LAST night. Because, you know, we often sleep in a city the night before we get there. Turns out our travel agent booked us the day before we were actually going to arrive in Seattle.

What’s more, the desk guy called every hotel in the stinkin’ city of Seattle, and EVERYTHING is booked tonight.  That’s right…everything.

So, after he calls everywhere, he comes up with the Idea That Saved The World: They can throw some roller beds into a conference room with two bathrooms (no showers), and we can stay there for the evening.

So, we’re in a conference room, and we’re getting ready to go to sleep.  The hotel guy says there are always people who check out early, and that by the time we’re ready to shower, he’s pretty sure that they’ll have a shower available. (Though it won’t have been cleaned…we honestly don’t care.  We’re glad we’re not on the street.

I’d like to take some time here to say that Nick from the Best Western Airport Executel in Seattle is the best, most helpful, life-saving employee I’ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with.  This guy called every hotel in the area trying to find us a room, and when he could not, rather than turning us away, he put us up in one of his conference rooms.  He’s found us extra pillows (without being asked), and cups for the bathroom.  He also found us one more bed than he thought he’d be able to lay hands on, and has generally been the most helpful person on the planet.  If you’re ever in Seattle, and are looking for somewhere to stay, I can certainly recommend the Olympic Room at the Best Western Executel.  And Nick should be made the President of Best Western, man.  Thank you so much for helping us out, man.  We really appreciate it.  We’ll be writing a nice thank you letter to this place letting them know how valuable of an employee you are.

Tomorrow, mystery showers, and embarking onto the ship.  Should be exciting.

Oh, and Mark was taking a flight from LA to Seattle, and he missed his flight.  He’s staying in the airport tonight, while they get him on the first flight to Seattle tomorrow morning.  This has been an interesting trip for us all.

P.S. The Captain’s plate in the Best Western restaurant?  Phenominal.  Crab Strips, Salmon, Halibut, Shrimp, and french fries?  Freakin’ yum.