Travel to China

On the way to DCA

Our day of departure was a beautifully sunny, promising day.  Our cousin Kelli Williams took us to the airport, and we listened to classic rock on the way.  When REO Speedwagon's "Time for me to fly" came on, Kelli, Chaz and I all sang along.  We got hugs and big smiles from Kelli when she left, it was a wonderful send-off.

 

We checked our luggage at the curb and breezed through security--there was absolutely no line. 

Plane rides

 

We had 3 or 4 hours before our flight was supposed to take off, and the nice people at American Airlines got us onto an earlier flight, which made me happier, knowing that we'd have a bigger time cushion when we got to O'Hare.  I'd packed two "backpacks o' fun" for the kids, full of surpises for the kids.  Each kid got their first surprise at the airport, which helped keep them from bouncing off the walls and allowed them to sit still for the hours while we sat in airports waiting for our flights.  The leg from Reagan National to O'Hare was coach, we were all seated in the middle seat, in four consecutive rows.  The man who was sitting on the aisle seat next to Maddy realized that we were all together, and he insisted on trading seats with me so that I could sit with her.  He was so sweet--he said that he has three boys, and he feels for us, travelling with two kids.  The flight attendants wouldn't let us buy him a drink--they insisted on giving him his choice of drink on the house--he chose a Corona.  The people all around us were so friendly and kind--Chaz was seated across the aisle from a man who hailed from the same province that our song, Kangnan (Danny) comes from--he was particularly sweet.

 

For the leg from O'Hare to Beijing, three of us got into first class, one of us wound up in business class.  Chaz won the coin toss, and "got" to sit in business by himself, which gave him some peace and quiet.  First class was truly amazing--each seat was in a little cubicle unto itself, with a pop-up video screen, a large fold-out table, a footrest and a seat that laid out completely flat.   They included a pillow, and pad to spread out on the "bed", and two thicknesses of blankets.  Also included was a toiletries kit, socks, slippers, and for use on the plane (you had to return these items) were *pajamas* AND (this was the best bit of first class) Bose noise-cancelling headphones.  They worked pretty well cancelling out noise, but what they really excelled at was the bass--I plugged them into my iPhone and heard the music in ways I'd never heard it out of my iPhone before--truly bitchin!  I saw the business class section as well--it was quite nice, just a bit smaller than first, but truly nothing to complain about!

 

Even with a lay-flat seat, sleeping was impossible--the blanket was pretty small, and would fall off as soon as you rolled over.  Two men on the flight were snoring, loudly.  Most importantly, I was really, really, REALLY anxious about the whole trip, and so the jet lag started.  I spent what little sleep I got having anxiety dreams about trying to accomplish things that I couldn't get done, for silly reasons.  There were lots of mazes and endless corridors involved--I should have just stayed awake--it would have been less stressful!

 

The food was amazing, but most of the people in the cabin spent their time sleeping, or trying to sleep, so not many people took advantage of all of the meals and snacks that were available. 

 

We passed over the Bering Sea, but the cloud cover was really thick and the light was blinding, so there was nothing to be seen and so everybody kept their shades closed.