Monday, May 23, 2011

First flight with two kids

We managed to get everything in reasonable order and to leave the house on time (thanks in large part to a friend who invited River over to play for three hours on Sunday). The only minor mishap took place enroute to the airport shuttle. Traveling for a month with two kids requires a ginormous amount of stuff. More stuff than can fit into a compact car. So Mark first brought the double stroller over to the pickup site, dropped it off, then returned for us and the luggage.


When we returned, the stroller was gone. I was the one who suggested leaving it, thinking it unlikely that patrons of the business-oriented hotel would be interested in stealing a stroller at 7 a.m. So I had a minor internal panic, imagining how I was going to manage the entire trip with Willow in an Ergo, until we found out that the hotel staff had moved the stroller and we were able to get it back.


The five-month old, on her premier flight, spit up at least four times, showering herself, myself and my husband, but thankfully, not any other passengers.


The three-year-old was an excited bundle of energy and was bouncing off his seat. At least in between his bouts of eating – a pint of blueberries, cookies, pretzels, a bowl of mixed fruit, a bagel.


No prolonged screaming though and our neighbors were still willing to speak to us at the end of the flight. So I suppose that overall, it wasn’t bad.


We arrived exhausted, but thankful for a comfortable place to stay and a nice meal. We rented a full-size car, which feels like a luxury, but still presents a struggle to fit everything. The research I did said that our 21-pound Joovy Caboose ultralight was one of the lightest, most portable double strollers. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t used any other double strollers, but man, is that thing a pain to carry around.


We’ll squeeze whatever we can in tomorrow, and leave the rest with family. River was excited about the flight, and now he’s excited about the waterpark. One of the best parts of this trip for me will be sharing in his excitement.

No comments: