Journey to China: part 1.

We woke up around 8 AM EST and scrambled to make last minute preparations for the flight that afternoon. We managed to pack all the final items, run to the bank and get on the road only half an our later than planned. Since we had a 60-90 minute drive into the city, we wanted to leave with plenty of time for traffic delays so we were still on time for our 3PM departure.

We arrive at the airport and say some teary goodbyes to Father in law and make our way to the ticket counter where we encountered our first bump in the road.

A little backstory first. We knew we had to pay for Quinlon even as a lapchild and called Air China when we booked our tickets to inquire as to what to do about this since we couldn't book his ticket online (required a paper ticket to be issued). They assured us that we could pay at the gate with no trouble.

Fast forward back to current problem at the airport. We were (very politely) informed that they had no record of an infant included on our reservation and now we have to speak to the Air China representative to book a ticket.

Fortunately, the flight was not sold out and 45 minutes and $300 later we were on our way through security.

I wish there was a way to convey the sight of us and our very much overpacked carryons making our way through security. Thank goodness most major airports now have a family line that makes it much easier and faster, but still, taking off 3 pairs of shoes, coats and shoving 4 carry on items and pocket contents into little grey plastic bins can be quite the ordeal.

We make it through security fairly smoothly (no secondary security check woo!) and make our way as quickly to the gate as possible. We don't even get to the actual gate area before we see a long line of Chinese people who look suspiciously like they are waiting for something important. We hop in line and only 5 minutes later the lines starts moving because our flight is boarding.

We board the plane, got settled, buckled the carseat in and only had to wait for 15 minutes before we were ready for take off.

The flight itself was rather uneventful. It still feels weird to say that about a 13 hour plane ride, but honestly, Quinlon was an angel. He played happily across our laps and standing in the carseat and making friends left and right. Around normal bedtime (on eastern time, mind you) he went to sleep and did his normal night thing. I even got 5 hours of sleep which did wonders for making the flight seem shorter.

The last hour of the flight seemed the longest. Quinlon was awake and starting to get a bit of cabin fever but still in great spirits and we just kept forking over the rice puffs and dried fruit to keep his little mouth occupied.

We landed and gathered our 'campsite' and prepared to step out into a whole new world.

... to be continued.