Here is part 1 of our travels....
We started off on a 7:00 am flight going from SeaTac to Atlanta Georgia. We woke up Lauren at 2am and I've never seen her so chipper so early. Brian dropped us off curb side, here we are with our luggage.
From here we check in at AirTran and had to go to Gate A-14, at the very end. One the way there we stopped for Italian soda for her and hot tea for me. At the gate I got a little nap while she colored, waiting for flight#46 to Atlanta, seats 31 A&B.
The last time Lauren flew (me too), she was 18 months and it was miserable. Thank goodness she has forgotten that experience and was totally fascinated by the entire experience. For this first flight, she stayed mesmerized the entire time. Her favorite parts are mine too, when the plane goes just above the clouds and also when drinks were served :)
She was thrilled with the free earphones, though she didn't use them for long, her Leapster 2 and crayons provided enough entertainment.
I must say that Lauren navigated the airports like a champ. She had no problems getting on or off the flat or staired escalators with her luggage, nor keeping up with long legged mom. The only time she ever needed help was to get past that little gap between the walkway and the plane. Because she is left-handed and I right, we quickly discovered after some collisions, that her being on my left side was ideal. She also did great with the security checks, and was pretty dang fast. Here she is in line before the first flight.
By the second flight of the day, #246, from Atlanta to Flint MI, seats 18A&18C, leaving at 3:36pm, she was a seasoned traveler! Both times on this short hour flight we were in a Boeing 717 instead of a 737. This was much better. For one the rows go 2 then three seats, so we got to sit alone both times, but also the carry-on luggage area is much larger in the 717, more accommodated for my carry-on which pushes the limits but width and weight wise.
Here is a picture of her with our rental car from Budget.
It was a nice car to have for the week. The best part was a full tank of gas was $23! I would consider it for Brian until I realized that I, at 5'8", have about two inches of headroom.
I loved driving in Michigan. Besides being able to go wicked fast, 70 on the freeway and 55 in rural residential areas, I never got lost once, having maps and simple directions. Navigating 69 east or west soon became second nature and here the squareness of MI came in handy.
I admit I didn't know didly abut AirTran before this, but now know that flying to Atlanta via AirTran was sweet. They are headquartered there and the access and customer service was unmatched. However, my favorite airport is Flint (Bishop International). It's tiny but so easy to find everything and surprisingly fast.
Here is Lauren just after saying goodbye to Stephanie and Hannah, waiting for the plan to board on #256 from Flint to Atlanta scheduled to leave at Gate 5 at 6:10pm, seats 27A&27C. All the flights were on time, this was the only one that was slightly delayed, which worked as I finally got a picture of her with one of our planes.
At the Atlanta airport we got her the last AirTran airplane from a gift shop. We had a few hours, so decided to eat subs from Charleys.
Changed for the last flight, #33, Gate C22, scheduled to leave Atlanta at 10:00 pm EST and Arrive in Seattle at 12:40am PST.
The last flight from Atlanta to Seattle was very nice. We were again in the back, in row 29 E&F, but shockingly we had an extra seat next to Lauren and the lady sitting opposite the isle had all three seats to herself. This in what we were told was a overly full flight! We looked each other when they closed the door, smiled, and threw our arms up in celebration. Lauren was able to stretch out in the middle and isle seat and sleep the entire way.
We went full circle, departing at gate A-14 where we started. When we departed at SeaTac she burst into tears realizing she left it on the plane. A very nice male attendant went back for her and found it.
At the end of this leg Lauren was just spent. Poor Brian felt bad, she burst into tears upon seeing him. I think it was all the emotions of the past week building up, plus it was 2am. But you ask her and Lauren will tell you she had the time of her life traveling with Mommy to and from Michigan!
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