Reason #289 you don't want to vacation with us.

Especially WHEN it means you fly with us. There isn't anything, say, WRONG about going somewhere with us on an airplane (after all *knock on wood* none have crashed yet), but I'll let you decided if you want to join us on our next airplane trip.

*original entry for this trip is below if you want to skip this long narrative. this post written for the Sizzlin' Summer Vacation Spectacle and let me tell you it was either this flying thing or me describing just how overboard I go planning our Disney World vacations!

Our adoption journey to China. Yes, the day I had been waiting for during the ENTIRELY TOO LONG wait of 2 years from application to our agency. We had tickets (electronic) in hand, we had schedules, my Mom was here to drive us to the airport, I held on to my boys extra hard and read bedtime story after bedtime story. Then I posted my "Twas the Night Before" story. Our flight was scheduled for 8am, which meant we needed to be up no later than 5am. So, when I say, I was awake at 2am you'll have FULL appreciation for the horror that was to come later.

We get to the airport and we're 2nd in line waiting for the United counter to open. I was surprisingly alert and excited, yet terrified of the very long trip we had ahead of us. I was nervous about going to another country, especially one I did not speak the language. I was nervous to be meeting new people. I was NERVOUS about getting my little girl...FINALLY. So, imagine if you can, hearing "the 8am flight to Washing DC on United has been canceled because it snowed in DC last night and that flight did not get here." Okay, perhaps not those exact words, but the entire thought was finally related to us. They looked to book us the NEXT DAY arriving in Beijing Saturday around 3pm!

Ummm...NO!

Well, we later found out, because we were one of 2 going internationally eventually, that they were a wee bit confused in re-ticketing us. If we had been 30 minutes MORE on the ball (and realized that this flight was canceled earlier) we could have had them switch us to one of the other 2 flights that left around 8am for DC. Lesson #1 always check our flight the morning you leave even if the night before said it was "on-time"...even if it said that a midnight when they already knew that flight was NOT going to be "on-time."

This meant we missed our connection in DC that was going to Beijing. My poor friend Cheri was expecting us to be ON THAT FLIGHT and I had not way to tell her we would miss it.

After a good 2 hours of insisting we get to Beijing as early as possible we had another set of tickets with final arrival in Beijing at 5am. When they were printing out the electronic confirmations, we had to transfer to Air China (or was it China Air) in LA. That confirmation said "Paper ticket required" and the agent on duty in our little airport told us "I'm not sure why this is here, but here is the confirmation number it's ALL you will need and tell them this is your confirmation number...you are confirmed on that flight." We checked 3 times with them.

We left the airport with Mom and boys and went to eat Breakfast, then home again home again jiggity jig. For 3-4 hours. We made it on our little regional jet to Denver, and excitedly we waited for the 2 hour layover we had there. Only, we noticed things were really messed up and lots of flights were late or delayed. It was "late" to us as we had been up since before 5am central time. We fought sleep so we could sleep on that 14 hour flight from LA to Beijing. Good plan, right? Well, we ended up with a 2 hour delay in Denver due to "wind" in LA. They shuttled us off on a flight with other passengers flying internationally. It gave me a tiny little thrill to be included in that group! We were going to make it to our flight in LA!!! well, hopefully, as we had to navigate the security and such.

We landed and raced through the airport, outside the terminal to the international terminal...and stood in shock at the amount of humans standing in the security lines. Wow, the international terminal is BUSY at night in LA. Our flight was scheduled to leave around 1am PST (no sleep yet, and yes, that is 3am CST for those wondering....we'd been up for around 22 hours at this point). I was rather appalled at the treatment the TSA people gave the non-Americans in that line with us, and then I was rather appalled at the conditions in the LA airport terminal. I have been used to more up kept terminals okay. Much smaller too, especially for the number of 747 flights leaving, and the ONE bathroom. I managed to buy 2 20ounce drinks prior to them closing the ONLY place to get drinks while we waited to board our flight. Dh, being the smart man he is, went up to the counter to make sure we had everything we needed to get on this flight. It was 12am, and he stood there for 40 minutes waiting for them to figure out anything. They showed us confirmed on the flight, and they had our seats EMPTY...the only 2 empty seats on the entire flight. They boarded everyone BUT us. Why? We didn't have the paper ticket. They needed the paper ticket to get paid by United for us on this flight. No budging them at all. Dh even talked to United and pleaded with them. Our options? Go back to the ticketing counter at United and GET the paper ticket (they told us this at 12:30), then get back to the gate to board for the 12:50 am departure. 20 minutes...with that LONG line for security. It was not possible. They pulled our luggage and brought it to us. I started sobbing. We had to watch our flight to Beijing leave...without us.

So, we slowly walked out of the international terminal, past the long lines of people (which was considerably shorter). We walked somewhere...I was still crying...to United ticketing. I was crying, and a United agent was on her way out. She asked if I was okay. I told her what happened, that we had missed our 2nd scheduled flight to Beijing and that it was because the United person at home had not given us the paper ticket. She knew instantly what had happened, and went back to the desk. She had been on her way home, they closed at 1am. It was around 1:10am. She got us re-booked, handed us everything we would need. Unfortunately security was closed for the night, they would re-open at 4am.

I guess NOW is the time to tell you we were sitting right beside the street with the automatic doors opening and closing at 1:30am in LAX airport. NOT THE SAFEST PLACE. We'd been up for 22 hours. We were both emotionally spent. We had over $5000 in cash on us, had camera and computer equipment, and all our luggage for a 2 week stay in China. We did not sleep. We sat there until 4am when they reopened. (BTW, that's 6am to our bodies, we've officially been up for more than 24 hours). Our new schedule has us flying from LAX to San Francisco, that flight leaves around 8am. Mom thinks we're on the China flight. Our poor travel coordinator had been called in the middle of the night when they wouldn't let us board, and then we called again to tell them the new flight info. I felt SO BAD for her. I remember begging Dh to buy some of the neck pillows so we could sleep. I was nauseated I was so tired. I could barely walk anymore, and oh I was so tired...but I knew, if I fell asleep I would not wake up easily...and we really needed to be on that flight to San Francisco.

We made it (and boy was the gate in an out of the way location). Both dh and I were asleep before the plane pulled away from the gate. We slept for the short 1.5 hour flight (if that long) and arrived in San Francisco. We immediately went to the international terminal and begged them to verify that we had what we needed to in order to board...and then we upgraded to Economy Plus for that flight. The crew was nice, but bewildered as to why we were so worried about it.

We got on that flight and made our way very smoothly on a wonderful flight to Beijing. We landed around 3:15pm Saturday...just about the EXACT same time we would have if we had just taken the first set of "rebookings" with United! We had a total travel time of roughly 45 hours (from first arriving at our first airport to landing in Beijing). With a total of around 9 hours of sleep the entire trip.


the original entry and lookie there...I messed a few times up! Imagine that. LOL

and I so wish I could say that was "it" for airline travel for our family...but then there is this gem.

Then if you go back to our honeymoon, we had a 6 hour delay in the Orlando airport because of "fog" in the Northeast when our flight was to Nashville, TN.

Or there was that time we flew with JM when he was 7 months old and his diaper exploded from a particularly nasty bm. ;) Leaving us with NO diapers for the rest of our trip home, and me in a not so nice smelling outfit.

Of course you can't forget the flight scheduled for 9/22/2001...11 days after 9/11. You can imagine the FUN that one was - rebooked flights, major schedule changes, arrive 3 hours prior to take off....

OH...and if the flight to China was "interesting" our flight from Beijing to Kunming? Well, we took off in a snow storm that closed the airport right after our flight. I choose not to think about it...found it's best that way. ;) I just don't think about the snow/ice covered runway, the ice stuck to the wings....you know...those things. Nothing but my baby girl could have gotten me on that flight.

Luckily most of the rest of the flights back to the US were less eventful, just major turbulence on every single flight!