River Cruise Day 1: Jacksonville to Spokane

 River Cruise – Day 1 Jacksonville to Spokane

 

Rhoda and I left her home at 4:05 AM (GROAN!), drove to Jax Airport (Not one bit of traffic, except for a morning cyclist), I checked in at curb while she left to go back to bed.

 

Went to spend my pre-boarding time in Delta Sky Lounge only to discover that my gold card is no longer acceptable. Seems several years ago that card was deemed too common and now the minimum to get you access is a platinum one. Sigh. If I flew more often, maybe but not for the price.

 

Got a Diet Coke and a breakfast sandwich, settled myself into a chair at the gate and read. Time actually passed pretty quickly.

 

Boarded on time, got to Atlanta okay. Took the train to B terminal, found my gate and only had about a half-hour wait until boarding. Nice flight direct to Spokane (about 4 hours). Great seat mates…we each stuck our noses in books and read. I did learn that I hope never to get a bulkhead set again. Comfort class is nice but with a bulkhead in front of you, there is no space to stretch your legs out. Lesson learned.

 

Spokane surprised me. I did not expect to see such a dry and barren landscape as the plane came in for its landing. The airport is well-organized and clean. I took a seat behind baggage carousel 1 and waited for Barbara’s plane to land.  She arrived, got her luggage, and we got a cab to the hotel. Our cab driver, Casey (retired bus driver) was delightful and clued us in to some of the history of Spokane and of our hotel. Charming and delightful cab ride.

 

The Historic Davenport Hotel is wonderful. (I‘ve never stayed in a hotel that offered a walking tour of itself) Redolent with history (first US hotel to have an A/C system and the place where Crab Louis was created.), it offers excellent bar and dining options, VERY comfortable beds and superb service.  

We arrived to discover we couldn’t check in so we headed to the Palm Court Bar for a “pub lunch” and a drink. Casey, the bartender, suggested an alternative to my Tanqueray 10 and Tonic, thus I sampled an Empress Gin cocktail, Marvelous. Not only is it sort of purple but very, very tasty. Barbara had her usual 7&7. Our pub lunch mutated into a Trio sampler of prawns, teriyaki beef bites and Cougar Gold Cheese dip.  

Cruise check-in was very easy and organized. Then we went to our room. Luxurious.

We never made it to dinner. Both of us kind of collapsed, asleep by 9:30 Pacific Time. LOOOOng day. But a good one.