1. Leaving San Francisco

The initial plan was to take the BART to the airport, as it is only two stops from South San Francisco. It would have been a chore lugging our baggage down the hills for what promised to be a fifteen minute walk, but Tiana had a rough week and she very much needed the rest.

Got up a little before 6am and started peeling the leftover shrimp from The Boiling Crab so I could either have it for breakfast or take it with. 

Sidebar: I’d have never thought I’d be comfortable pinching off the heads and shelling whole shrimp if you put the idea to me a year ago, although after watching Beasts of the Southern Wild, I have to admit it did look like fun. Maybe it was because I was hard up for some decent eats in San Francisco. The great company was definitely a major influence. I was hungry, the food was delicious, we were being treated, and it was a new experience… so I got to pinching and shelling. Dea called it “an interactive experience.” I loved it… all of it. Two pounds of boiled shrimp, seasoned with “Tha Whole Shabang" and mild seasoning. Good eating!

(Out with family at the Boiling Crab in San Jose, CA. Lachiya and Leland are the BEST!)

Anyway, I’m over the sink shelling shrimp and thinking I could mix it with some rice made the night before, but my stomach is telling me I’m not thinking straight. It is full. But I don’t want to waste it, cuz it was so good! Tiana doesn’t like seafood, so leaving it behind isn’t an option. Dea suggests I ziplock it and bring it with. I feel a little bad because the garbage truck has already come and I’ve got the house smelling like reheated shrimp heads.

Just when we’re about to head out, the thought occurs to me to ask Mia, Tiana’s roommate if she likes seafood. BINGO! So she has some dinner to look forward to. 

We drag the luggage out to the car and pile it in, Tiana throws on some Prince, and like a true Cancer, points the car toward the airport. Dea offers up that ole “TT, you don’t have to…” half hearted protest, but I’m ignoring it cuz I know Tiana’s saving us from the cussing and bad attitudes that come with trying to coordinate such a trek on foot.

After our goodbyes, we tag our bags at the self-check in kiosk, check our luggage, and make our way to the departure gate. We sit down and catch our breath with a little over an hour to spare. An old white haired man sits down in our area and starts coughing. A lanky asian youth, with no sense of personal space, nearly climbs over Dea’s luggage to get to the perfect spot to take a photo of a plane at the terminal window.

United Flight 888 is scheduled to leave at 11:30am but Maatkara says that boarding begins at 10:45am, so we head downstairs and get in our assigned cue for boarding. Once on the plane, I’m glad I upgraded our seats to an exit row. Boarding was smooth and pretty roomy, though I did notice that some asian folk have a tendency to just push past you instead of being patient while you stow away your carry ons.

I suggested that Dea and Maatie put their bags up, too, but they wanted to hold onto them and set them on the floor in front of our seats. After the plane had filled up, a stewardess informed Dea that they needed to put their bags in the overhead. Of course the one most convenient to us was already full. I bit my tongue and looked the other way while they had to figure it out.