SF Part 7... the conclusion

Seriously, I bet you are saying 'thank God... now she can get back to the boring MD posts'... come on, I know you are.

So yesterday was a full day of travel. We left the apartment at 7:30am and didn't pull into our driveway until 10:00pm. Tired doesn't even begin to describe how we felt!

Chase was in a good mood as we were getting ready to leave...

I just love that laughing smile he gets ;~) Oh and Mandy... check out the shorts!!! They went on sale at Target and I just had to buy them!


Chase had a great time with 'Mah-ric' (Maverick for those who don't speak fluent Chase)... and I think Maverick actually enjoyed having Chase around... you know, when Chase wasn't trying to walk him while he ate.

We got to the airport at a pretty reasonable hour... plenty of time to get some breakfast, drink some coffee and putz around... so we thought. We get back to our gate to see that group C is boarding... and no one is in line. Why? Because everyone is already on the plane.

I have to mention here that we were group A 34 and 35... which are pretty prime spots to be boarding with... but dumb us putzed too long and let it slip through our fingers.

So we board the plane and as you might imagine... there isn't a seat together left... nor are there any aisle or window seats. It's middle and it's separated.

Don't let the smile fool you... I was devastated to be separated from Adam. Not to mention the fact that the dude next to me was less than thrilled when I sat down. I showed him though... Chase was an angel through the whole flight!

All the sudden it dawned on me that we were only going to San Diego... then people would get off... we could move around... and more people would get on. So I set my attitude right and just prayed for the strength to get through an hour on my own.

Well once I was able to change Chase (Lord have mercy I didn't want what happened on the flight out there to happen now!) and put him in the sling... things just fell into place. I recited a few books to Chase... we sang a few songs and before long he was fast asleep.

Where he stayed for the rest of the flight and landing... 3 for 3 sleeping through the landings at this point!

The woman next to me was pretty enamored with Chase and she kept asking questions and chatting with me (which was welcome... I didn't have much of anything else to do ;~)

Like I thought, the plane landed soon after it took off and about 85% of the passengers got off. Don't think I wasn't tempted to get off and start a life out in San Diego! Talk about perfect weather (sans the fire season ;~)

As people were deplaning Adam asked if we should move to the front of the plane... I said sure, why not. I was thinking that we wouldn't have to wait as long to get off the plane once we landed and that was the reason for him wanting to move. However, once I got to the front of the plane I realized why he jumped at the move... there was so much room! I mean we could let Chase sit on the floor and play with plenty of room for our legs... not to mention the fact that we could stretch out!

Score one for the plane ride home.

Then a Southwest crew worker asked if I wanted to use our car seat... the flight wasn't full and we could put Chase in a seat of his own. I was happy at the thought of him having his own seat but sad that we had checked the car seat instead of gate checking it. No problem she says... what does it look like and what is your last name. 5 minutes later she brings it into the cabin!

Score two for the plane ride home.

As we are setting up camp in the front row with our car seat, I notice the cockpit door is open. All the cool buttons and the pilot and co-pilots chair... what a fun photo op! I ask the flight attendant and she said sure, bring him up! So Chase and I spent about 5-10 minutes playing around in the cockpit with the captain (who was as nice as could be!).

Score three for the plane ride home.

Once everyone was in and seated, the flight attendant started her safety speech. However, she started it by saying "We have a lost wallet up here"... *enter collective shuffling from the cabin*... "Now that I have your attention, we are going to start our safety demonstration". From there it just got better... I wasn't sure if we were on a flight or in a comedy club.

"Smoking is permitted... we just ask that if you do, please step out on the wing and enjoy our in service movie Gone With the Wind"

"If you don't find our flight satisfactory, there are 6 ways off the airplane"

"My ex-husband and boyfriend are coming through the cabin to take drink orders"

"If you disable the smoke detectors in the bathroom, there is a $2,000 fine. We know that if you wanted to pay $2,000 for a airplane ticket, you would have booked with Delta"

"If there is anything we can do to make your flight better, please let us know on your way out"

The best part was she was so completely straight faced through the whole thing. It really just made the flight that much better.

Score four (and final) for the plane ride home.

Now, a few pictures (did you expect anything less ;~)...

Checking out the cockpit with the captain


Love love love this picture!


Flying the plane! (the captain was actually moving the wheel but Chase thought he was doing it ;~)


Chase helping the captain turn on the air for the plane.


Chase actually letting the captain hold him! This guy must have a lot of experience with kids... he was pushing all sorts of buttons which made the plane make noise (did you know that a plane has the ability to make a machine gun noise? I had no idea but it does!) It really was a blast seeing how much fun Chase had up there.

Throughout the 'gate to gate' 5 hour flight, we had to pull out a few tricks with Chase.

Drinking juice straight from Mommy's cup!


Sticker time with Daddy!


Nap with Daddy... seriously, they are both completely zonked out!


Playdoh time! Thanks Kristin!


We read the in flight magazines.


We worked on buckling our seat belt.

Notice the burp cloth on the car seat... yep, it happened again... another diaper leak! Although not quite as bad or tragic as last time. I think all the sitting and bad positioning just creates the perfect storm for leaking. When I changed this diaper it wasn't even that full... I have seen much worse!

Whatever, we came better prepared this time!


Daddy and Chase tried to figure out what state we were flying over.

Chase and I even went for a walk up and down the aisle... just to kill a few minutes.

I have to say, people will give you cross looks just for bringing a baby on a plane... it doesn't even matter if they are complete angels. Being a parent on a plane... you need a thick skin! I just concentrated on the ones that smiled at Chase and ignored the others ;~)

After being on a plane all day and subsisting on crackers and juice, Wendy's was our first stop out of the airport! Chase took down half a chicken sandwich and a few handfuls of fries before passing out.


He woke up just before we got home and after some getting situated, went right back to sleep in his own crib. And there he slept until 9:30 this morning!

Now we are back to the familiarity of our regular lives. Adam is diving back into work at the new practice, Riley is back home, Chase and I have already visited Grandma and I am back on the clock at Roof Shampoo! All is right with the world ;~)

We had a really great time out in San Francisco and have some great memories but it's good to be back too. I missed our little place in the world ;~)