Wake up just before 8:00. Plan on having breakfast in the
lobby and taking the 9:00 free ride to the airport. A bit concerned that I
wasn’t able to check in online and want to allow extra time. Just in case.
Breakfast was complete chaos. I swear everyone in the entire place must have
thought that 8:28 am sounded like the ideal time to eat. There were no tables
available, so we had to sit on the couch and balance a bowl of cereal and plate
of raisin toast.
We were apparently the only ones needing to go to the
airport at that time, and it was only about a ten minute drive. We check in
with minor complications, and I’ll never understand why any airline thinks it’s
easier to check in at the kiosk if you have to have help multiple times from an
agent. All it does is stress me out. Check our bags, and then head to the gate.
Only we are really having trouble understanding what people are saying… English
doesn’t seem to be the first language for the people working here. Finally find the right place to go and we got
the third degree about me having 2 bags and a purse (duh, I plan on condensing
before I get on the plane). They even had us prove our suitcase was the correct
size by shoving it in that little metal bin. Really?? I’ve never had to do that
in all the times I’ve traveled. WHAT.EVER.
By now it’s been almost an hour, so probably a good thing
that we were allowing so much time. Of course now we have literally hours to
wait, and this is just for the first leg of our journey, heading to Chicago. We
stop at Starbucks and I have the pleasure of sampling the “trenta” gigantic
drink. Let’s just say that 31 oz of coffee is a lot to drink before a 3 hour
flight.
We were supposed to depart at 12:35, with boarding around
noon, so about 20 minutes before that we walked to Wendy’s to get lunch (baked
potato and a grilled chicken sandwich). We aren’t back at the gate for more
than a few minutes before we find out that the crew hasn’t arrived. You know
what THAT means… delay. Grrr…. Not that I am in any hurry, but I just don’t
like it when things don’t run smoothly.
Our flight ends up being delayed 30 minutes, and we are
seated in the back of the plane, three rows from the end. The flight? Sucked.
It was SUPER bouncy. We kept ourselves amused watching a DVD of “Two and a Half
Men” and somehow we managed to land on time.
It takes about 20 minutes to get off the plane, and we have
to walk quite a ways before we even see a board to check on our next flight.
It’s not even listed so I ask a gate agent and we realize we are literally
right there. Nothing to do but wait for 6 hours until our flight FINALLY leaves
for Beijing. And an FYI, airports suck big time. We had to walk around for
about 20 minutes just to find an outlet to charge our phones. Why???? Everyone
travels with electronics, one wouldn’t think it would be that hard to find an
outlet.
We kept our spot at the outlets until everything we needed
was fully charged, just in case we couldn’t find an outlet later. We decided to
wait as long as possible to have dinner, and wanted to go to a “sit down” place
hoping it would take more time. We still had hours… and hours… until we would be
leaving.
Finally just after 6 we decided to get food. I had walked
the terminal earlier and seen a Chili’s, which seemed like it was going to be
our best option. I ordered a salad and the “big mouth bites” as a celebratory
“last” supper. Soooo tasty!!! Dinner took about an hour, and then we headed
back over to our gate area, stopping to get some last minute stuff at one of
the little shops. The last hour before we boarded the plane was spent checking
Facebook and emails, and FINALLY getting J on the phone. Boarding started on
time, and we were seated in the next to the last row on the plane. Luckily,
there was no one else in our row, so if we chose, we could spread out.
 |
| So long burgers... |
The plane took off a few minutes late and we were told that
it was going to be a 12:45 flight. That’s a LONG time. We each had our own tv
monitor, so the better part of the flight was spent watching tv. I watched the
Glee Madonna episode, Blue Bloods, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Country Strong… We
were served dinner early on, chicken and rice, bread, cheese & crackers,
salad, a super tasty brownie.
Oh my gosh. I can't even imagine being on a plane that long. I have only gone to the bathroom ONCE on a plane in my entire life. No way could I get away with it on a flight to Beijing apparently!
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