With our daughter off at camp for two weeks and our son on an adventure with my parents, my wife and I found ourselves with a rare 10-day stretch of freedom. We decided to seize the opportunity and visit friends on Orcas Island in the San Juans, a beautiful spot so far north it’s actually above Victoria, Canada. After weighing our travel options, we chose to fly Alaska Airlines to Seattle and then hop on a Kenmore seaplane from Lake Union. We planned to spend a couple of days in Seattle before heading down to Medford, Oregon, just for the fun of it. I had recently hit 10,000 elite qualifying miles with Alaska, which came with a little perk: a temporary MVP elite status. Naturally, I was curious to see if the drinks would taste better and if the cabin air would feel a bit more luxurious with this new status.
Originally, we were booked on a 9:50 am flight to Seattle, but the connection to our seaplane was tight. So, I paid $50 per person to switch to an earlier 8 am flight—a decision that turned out to be a lifesaver since our original flight ended up being delayed by over two hours. Thanks to my MVP status, I snagged an exit row seat, though I was a bit puzzled about the Premium Class seats, which seemed to come with an extra charge. After a long wait on hold with Alaska, I decided to let it go. The next morning, we took a Lyft to LAX and navigated a surprisingly long security line, arriving at the gate with about 45 minutes to spare. Gate 64B was a bit of a mess, with limited seating and a narrow walkway that had everyone bumping into each other. When it came time to board, there was some confusion with our priority status, but we eventually figured it out and got on the plane.
#TravelAdventures #OrcasIsland #AlaskaAirlines #SeaplaneExperience #TravelGoals
Originally reported by Cranky Flier Read More
