Have arrived in Seattle, got upgraded to first class for both legs of the flight, successfully made it to Laura's parents' place, despite road construction which made their driving directions impossible. Her parents rock; we had a great time hanging out this evening. I fixed their wireless router, so now I have access to the various internets while here. Granted, I will be spending approximately zero time here after tonight... but you get this exciting update.

I was on the wrong side of the plane to get a clear shot of Rainier from the air. Looking across all the other people to see out the other side of the plane, I saw a pointy mountain sticking out from the surrounding plain an assumed that to be it. I decided it didn't look too bad, though I didn't have that clear of a view. Then, I noticed that the next few windows forward were all totally eclipsed by a massive tower of rock that extended beyond the altitude of the plane. Rainier is unbelievably massive. It defines bigness.

Once the plane landed, I snapped this shot as we turned around to taxi:

Bear in mind that this is probably at least 50 miles from the mountain; when flying right past it, it was infinitely more loom-y. 13,200' of prominence is a LOT.