Arrival--Part 1

Since it's been almost a month since I last posted, I decided to break the journey into pieces. Don't want to lose my faithful audience over an epic blog. :-)
Now I know why they tell you to arrive at the airport at least four hours before your flight when you're flying internationally. And honestly, there should be a caveat that if you're moving internationally, you should arrive at least six hours in advance.
While I thought we had whittled our possessions down to the bare necessities, we still had about 23 suitcases (I'm still not sure of the total) to check, and somewhere around 15 carry-ons, camera bags, diaper bags, backpacks, stroller, and purse. Yup, that's it. We were the freakin' Clampetts. All we needed was to lash a rocking chair onto the plane and we'd have been set.
Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers and sympathetic TSA officials, or we'd have been screwed. Or someone would've lost a shoe. Or, even worse, a lovey.
But, finally we were through check-in and security. I was truly impressed by how well the kids did, considering lunch was about two hours later than normal AND no one had a nap. We definitely dodged a bullet with that one. But, a good lunch and a DVD in the DVD player (that an incredibly intelligent person purchased for each child for Christmas), and we were good to go.
Some amusing things from the trip—the kids love soldiers. And there were lots coming through Atlanta-Hartsfield. Thomas asked one guy, “Are you going to Afghanistan to fly fighter jets?! Because that’s where my cousin is, his name is Curt. You should tell him 'hi' for me.”
When we took off from Atlanta to Chicago, Helen started squealing with laughter. Anyone that knows Helen knows how funny this can be. And also knows that it’s a sign of nervousness, as oppose to actually finding something funny.
We made it to Chicago. And even though our flight was early, we almost had the gates closed on us. We had to check in again to the Etihad counter, reweigh our carry-ons, and go through security yet again. Had it not been for the amazing ticket agent who let us slide on some overweight bags, then met us in security and escorted us through, we surely would have missed the flight.
And then we waited. . .
For four hours while some technical/mechanical issue was fixed. But, better to discover it on the runway, as oppose to midair.
Long story short, the flight was long, but the kids were AMAZING. We couldn’t have asked for a better flight experience.
Thanks for hanging in and the next chapter of “The Arrival” will follow our journey through the airport and to our hotel at 4 AM, Abu Dhabi time.