The flight from England to America was rather nice. The plane had touch-screen panels on the back of the chairs so we could access a variety of entertainment during the flight. The children enjoyed the flight update channel the most. We could see how fast the plane was going and how much farther we had to go.
Awesome! |
Jacob and Lucy watched Cars a few times. They also enjoyed visiting the potty and getting drinks and food during the flight. We had packed some ham sandwiches but never got around to eating them since the in-flight food was good (who would have guessed?). It was also plentiful since the children barely ate theirs, meaning mom and dad ate a meal and a half each time.
The airport provided plenty of challenges. At the end of the flight we filled out our customs forms. My wife was honest enough to admit we had the sandwiches. When we walked through customs, they seized our sandwiches! It was especially sad since the bread was homemade and delicious.
The second challenge at the Newark Airport was Lucy pretending to be a suitcase. I wound up carrying her quite a long ways. If only she had a handle. I even threatened to put her through an x-ray machine, but that didn't phase her.
After passing security, we found an airline desk to ask about switch Mommy onto our plane. No empty seat was available on our flight, so Angie raced through the airport to make her flight. Her flight was supposed to take off in two minutes. I had little hope that she would make it. Luckily her flight had mechanical problems (if that could be described as lucky). It was delayed long enough for her to make the flight. She left an hour before we did.
Jacob and Lucy were okay with mommy going off on her own. We had an hour to kill. I took them to the bathroom which Jacob appreciated. Walking back toward the gate, they both somehow got their hands all dirty. Normally I would be annoyed by that (and I was a little annoyed), but here was an opportunity to go back to the bathroom and wash hands (and waste more time). The hand driers weren't too noisy so it would be no problem for Jacob.
After our second bathroom trip we went to a coffee shop and bought some cookies and juice for a snack and to kill still more time. It worked quite well. We only had ten minutes till boarding time. At first they boarded first class passengers and gold members of the frequent flier program. I gathered up my children. I think the lady saw us and announced the next set of rows and "families with small children." We headed down the ramp to the plane.
On the plane, I had to decide how to situate the kids. The plane had two seats on each side. We were in the same row which meant either I sit with one child and subject the other person in our row to the other child or the kids could sit together. Rather than force a stranger into babysitting one of my children, I had Jacob and Lucy together while I watched them from across the aisle. This scheme worked fairly well. This plane didn't have entertainment on board. The kids had their little backpacks with toys. Lucy flipped through the airline magazine from the seat back. She tore it up a bit, which wasn't so bad. Then she spilled her orange juice all over it. I would have felt guilty except they always announce on flights how the magazines are yours to keep.
We landed without any problems and found mommy at the baggage claim. Reunited, we headed off to the hotel to rest up for new adventures, including the conquest of jet lag. More later!
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