Planes, Trains and Automobiles

My facebook status on Wednesday afternoon read, "Katie apologizes in advance to whoever is sitting in row 19C on the direct flight from Baltimore to Denver tonight." In my head I was apologizing to whoever that person might be but also to the whole section of the plane where we would be sitting that evening on our way out West.

It's been a whirlwind last few days. It was a busy week for both Brian and I trying to get our work done before leaving and I feel like we barely got everything done, got ourselves packed and on the plane in time to get here and crash. As of Tuesday evening, we had yet to really pack and both had a full day of work ahead of us on Wednesday before the 6:30 p.m. flight. Our neighbor friends had awesome tickets to an Orioles game on Tuesday and we thoroughly enjoyed sitting 4 rows up behind 1st base in Camden Yards but got home close to 11:00 p.m, showered off the nasty hot humid grossness of sitting in a park with thousands of other people for hours in 90+ degree temps, then did our preliminary packing. We worked, got the rest of the way packed, thanks to a friend got a ride to the airport and started our adventure.

I love travel. Planes have never bothered me- probably because I took my first international flight across the pond when I was 4 months old. Customs and immigration forms don't phase me. I love going places I've never been and attempting to navigate the new terrain. Travel is a delight....travel is fun.....except when you have children.

We're cheap and didn't feel like paying United Airlines an extra half of our paycheck to check several suitcases (ok it's not that much....but it's still a rip off). So we only checked one bag, both had a full sized carry on, the stroller, a backpack, a purse and a 22 pound baby. There was a guy in front of us in the security line who said "You guys should go in front of me...I have a lot of stuff and it's going to take me a while..." I think we probably both looked at him like "HELLLLOOOOOO!!! Our entourage here is going to take a heck of a lot longer than you." We got all our bags, strollers, etc on the belt, got our shoes off, passed security, got repacked then headed to the gate.

We were THOSE people. The people I used to look at and think "Wow....why even bother traveling when you have kids...too stressful." Also those people who I hoed would keep moving to the back of the plane and not end up sitting anywhere near me. Luckily, Ben is so stinking cute that everyone looking at him smiled and laughed at his gigantic grin caused by his new surroundings. The man sitting next to us was great. Thank you 19C- whoever you were. He was great. Played with Ben. Made Ben laugh. Politely turned and looked out the window when it came time to nurse.

We left Baltimore around 7:00 p.m. in hopes that Ben would realize that was bedtime and fall asleep and sleep for the entire flight. Ha. Hilarious. Little creature was way too enthralled by the people, noises, lighted signs and posted placards to sleep. Luckily, he didn't fuss and barely even cried until he was just so tired that there was no other option. It's a 3.5 hour flight...Ben fell asleep finally with about half an hour left before landing. So he not only missed east-coast bedtime by 3 hours, he missed mountain time bedtime by an hour. He finally fell asleep after quite a bit of standing and rocking in the back of the plane. Woke up right when we landed and was awake in the airport and the entire car ride back to my parents house. He finally went down for the night around 10:30 p.m......mountain time.

All in all he was a trooper. His parents were exhausted and spent most of the day yesterday relaxing and watching World Cup. We are in Denver, headed up to the mountains this weekend for my cousin's wedding and having a great time with the family. Pictures to come!