Boeing 787 Rollout

Saturday, July 7, 2007 6:04:22 PM

Dinner at the Baehrs home last night gave me the chance to sleep right through the 4:30AM wake up call.  The Hoyt car is picking me up at 5:30AM only 30 minutes to shower, finish packing and run for it.  Net effect, ran out of the house and hope I leave with everything.  To many gadgets to keep track of for every trip.

Getting to and through the airport was no problem at that hour of the day.  I had about 30 minutes in the Presidents Club before boarding.  The good news was the gate was right next to the club.  The total flight time was right at 5.5 hours which I contend, even if you are flying Business First as I was, that is the outer limit in a single aisle aircraft.  I offer as proof positive that I am not alone in this thought the fact that the flight attendant came on the PA to announce that we only had 56 minutes left in our flight.  Apparently other people were interested in how much longer the pain would last.

Getting off the airplane in Seattle the nice man from Boeing Transportation met me at the bottom of the escalator in baggage claim.  Once I had the suitcase in hand we headed for the car and the trip to the Hyatt Bellevue.  By noon I was in the room having been greeted by Boeing people in the hotel lobby and escorted to the hospitality suite to check in for the agenda and needed event credentials.  Having finished my book on the plane I need the location of the nearest bookstore, low and behold the Barnes & Noble store was just two blocks away.  I picked up a new book, one of my favorite fiction writers W.E.B. Griffith, and bunch of magazines.  A short walk back to the hotel and off to lunch at Joey's across the driveway from the hotel.  I thought it was strange the hotel did not have anywhere to eat.  Only the lobby Starbucks had a few small things.

5:30PM we have to set out for the two block walk to the Bellevue Arts Museum for the first event of the "Rollout Party".  This turns out to be typical Boeing, high end, nicely done a who's who is aviation finance.  There are apparently other parties going on throughout Seattle for the airlines and the suppliers.  Boeing has taken virtually all of the hotels and literally all of the limo's for this event.  Someone tonight said that they observed a C-17 landing which would indicate government limo's arriving but no one thought that President Bush would be attending tomorrow

Following the reception the Avitas people (our aviation advisors) took me out to dinner at Daniel's, a very nice resturant on the top of the Hyatt.  Midnight local time when we finished which just about made it 24 hours up.  Long day, glad it's over and that I don't have to get up in the morning.