Wheels Up!

We survived our flight Germany. Here’s our travel story: 

As we planned,  we left around 1pm, drove up to BWI and checked into a hotel near the airport around 3pm. The kids had a nap boycott in the car, despite my best efforts.  They were obviously worked up about or BIG ADVENTURE.   When we arrived at the hotel, there was lots of tears and grumpiness.  We tried one last time in the hotel bed for a nap since Bunny Girl really needed it but it was not happening so we went out to the pool for about 30 minutes.  It was a fantastic distraction and lots of fun, basically like a big RESET button for the kids.  Then we put our clothes back on and drove over to the airport for check-in.  The line was about a million years long.  I had two carts of luggage plus the kids and Bob.  My mom was met us there to help with luggage while my dad parked the car.

Check-in was fine and we were able to get four seats in a row.  They gave us the bulk-head, which I was pretty pleased about though I’m not sure I would do it again. (More on that later.)

We went back to the hotel (five minute drive!) and got take out for dinner. It was great because the kids weren’t confined and weren’t under “best behavior” rules for dining out.  It was much more relaxed than going out.  After dinner, the babies took a bath and I jumped in the shower.   We all dressed in super comfy clothes and were ready to go. 

We headed to the airport aroud 8:00 and went through security at 8:30. Goodbyes were really hard.  Tears from me and my parents. Confusion from the kids. Bunny girl kept dashing out of the security line and running to Grammie and Grandpa for more hugs and snuggles.  Getting through security was tough…but it’s never really fun with kids and juggling carry-ons, liquid baggies, declaring extra baby food/drinks, pulling out laptops, stroller, car seat, etc. We survived and I think we were only about a 10 minute spectacle for our fellow passengers. 

After we made it through security, I grabbed a couple bottles of water at the gift shop. I usually do this when flying because I hate waiting for the beverage service when I have grumpy thirsty kids.  Then, we camped out by the gate next to another family.  They kindly watched my stuff while I took the kids for potty/diaper changes before we boarded which was a huge help and reduced my potty break time by about 70%. 

As we boarded, I realized I was the only “single” parent family group….made me a little sad.  They seated all the families in one section of the aircraft. (Seating Doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction, perhaps?)  But, at least that alleviated some of the travelling guilt for seat kicking and crying in flight. 

We were seated in the bulkhead, so I had to do a little reassessment of our immediate needs for the flight since all of our carry-ones had to be  in the overhead bins for take-off.  I pulled out our sleepytime stuff (pillows and blankets), the iPods and water bottles and stashed everything else.

I think we lucked out and this flight was on a contracted United aircraft with a United crew.  We had the best comfy blankets ever in our seats. They were fluffy quilted down-alternative personal-size blankets.  Seriously, I WISH I could have snuck them off the plane. They also had rectangular travel pillows. As it turned out, the kids much preferred the airline’s blankets and pillows.  They curled up in a cute little next of fluffy blanket and pillow.

The kids slept about 4.5 hours after take-off.  They started waking and I could tell they were just grumpy and uncomfortable in the seat. It was kind of sad watching their poor confused faces as they shuffled around, half-asleep, trying to get comfortable and go back to sleep.  We had a small bout of tears starting so I opted for distraction: group POTTY BREAK!  Yes, it is possible to fit an adult, two kids and an infant into an aircraft bathroom.  Just make sure it’s the handicapped one!   Our potty break took about 30 minutes with all the shuffling around for the potty/sink use and a diaper change. 

We tried to go back to sleep, but the kids were awake at that point and were thinking it was time to land. (HA.)  The next part of the flight was spent mostly watching movies on their iPods and a little bit of toys/coloring time.

As luck would have it, they both fell asleep as the plane landed.  Monster boy woke up during taxi but Bunny Girl sleeps like the dead.  She is hard to wake on a normal day buy as exhausted as she was on the plane, I was worried she’d need to be carried off the plane.  I managed to wake her, but she was very, very groggy and clumsy as we got off the plane. 

I was very disappointed to find out that we did NOT get our strollers at the jetway.  They took them straight to baggage claim. I really, really could have used the help since I was pack-muling SBG in the Ergo carrier and a backpack, wheeling a suitcase, carrying a carseat and Bunny girl’s backpack in my left arm and pulling the rolling suitcase with my right arm.  Monster boy did OK walking with his backpack but Bunny Girl was pretty much stumbling like a drunk sailor.

The worst part was the giant staircase right off of the jetway.  There was a huge crush of people going down to Immigrations and I was effectively stuck at the top of the staircase. I asked the staff about an elevator and was told there was none.  This was my one of two near-breaking moments.  I tried going down the stairs, but I had so much in my arms and there were so many people pushing that I was close to losing my balance.  Bunny girl was so groggy and unsteady that she just couldn’t manage the stairs and I couldn’t help her since my hands were full. I was sure she was going to fall.  We were stuck about two stairs down when some fellow passengers realized our trouble and started unloading me.  When I had my hands free, I was able to sling Bunny Girl on my hip and carry her down. Monster Boy did great on his own…such a little trooper.  I really regret how this was handled.  I did see an elevator after we were on the floor below.  I suspect, but can’t prove, that it wasn’t used as a matter of convenience for those herding passengers. I would have had to leave the “passenger pathways” they had roped off to herd is in the right direction and then be funneled back in on the bottom floor.  Since this is a US facility, I feel certain there had to have been an alternate to the stairs to allow for disabled/wounded passengers.  We just weren’t allowed to use it. 

We made it through Immigrations and passports without incident. Very easy.  As we walked to Baggage, I saw Soldier waiting for us on the other side of the window.  I nearly cried out of relief and frustration that he was so close but still a BIG hurdle away. 

Baggage Claim was a nightmare.  It’s a tiny area with a TON of people shoving suitcases and luggage carts around.  There’s really no extra space to maneuver in there.  I had a very hard time getting luggage carts and coaxing the kids into one area. We were separated by a crowd of people for a few minutes while I was trying to get luggage carts.  The stream of people just sort of flowed around us and I couldn’t get through to the kids.  They got a little upset….lots of big people, noise and stuff going on and Mommy was far away.  It seemed like it took four years for luggage to be brought up.  Really, I think it was probably about an hour to hour and a half after we arrived at the gate and maybe 30 minutes after I arrived in Baggage area. It doesn’t seem like that long as I write the words but at the time, it was an eternity.  Sweet Baby Girl was sobbing in her car seat, Bunny  Girl was randomly bursting into tears out of exhaustion and Monster Boy was fully engaged in the Crazy-Exhausted behavior he does.  He just couldn’t  stay still….was jumping, climbing, crawling, rolling all over and harassing both sisters in various ways. I was torn between watching the conveyor belt from about 15 feet and 10 people away and keeping tabs on the kids.  I tried asking the Customs Agents if Soldier could come through to help, which they refused.  The door to where he was standing was about 15 feet from the Baggage area. I asked if I could send the kids through the door to Soldier, I figured Monster Boy and Bunny Girl could walk through to him…it was all glass windows so he’d see them coming.  The guards told me no one in my group could exit until we had all of our luggage.  At that point, I just gave up.  I shoved the carts and my carry-ons against the back wall and sat down on the floor with all three of my crying children.   I felt like crying but decided the luggage problem would work itself out. If I sat on the floor long enough, everyone else would get their bags and leave. Then, it would be easy to find my bags since they’d be the only ones left and I’d have lots of room to maneuver.

After a few minutes, a lady came over and asked if I was alone and if I was being met by anyone. She told me one of the guards had let a pregnant lady out of the baggage area to drop off her daughter with her husband while she got the luggage.  The passenger pointed me to the guard that had done it.  I went over in all my bedraggled, crying kid glory and asked to do the same.  He waved me through and I walked the kids out the magic door of freedom to where Soldier and two dear friends were waiting.  I handed them off and then went back into wrangle bags alone.  My guardian angel passenger stayed to help me push one of the carts outside.

We loaded up the car, with the help of our friends. We were quite the spectacle: four adults, six kids, two giant carts of luggage and two strollers!  We all went over to the PX for lunch and playtime at their indoor play area and then loaded in the car for the four hour drive to our home. Thankfully, the kids were tired and well-exercised so they all slept nearly the whole way to Parsberg.  

Tomorrow I'll Post my AAR -- What worked, what didn't and what I wish I knew ahead of time.