The Way to LA
We made it. After many trials, a very long last night and a very long day today, we made it.
Last night we stayed with our friends Tari and Rob seeing as the apartment is but a distant memory now. Plus, it made getting to the airport alot easier this morning and it meant that we could enjoy one last night with them and our friends Tom, Kathy and their kids Tyler and Katie. Whilst it was a whole lot of fun, it signalled the end in a way which was sad.
As for today, it started out well. We’d been slowly packing over the last week so this morning wasn’t a total mess and the planning certainly paid off. The bags were ready to go, labelled and pre weighed so we were set. But for showering we were out the door without a drama.
It was snowing on our way out to the airport which I thought was very fitting. It was our last real taste of Wisconsin winter and one, despite the warmth we are heading into, we will most certainly miss in the weeks to come.
We set off early and made it to the airport with more than enough time to spare which was good. When the attendant checking us in saw our 7 overweight suitcases I knew that we were in for one heck of a day. We were lucky she didn’t pass out on us right there and then.
The funny part was that we were only booked to LA for this flight as we’re taking a different airline home. After checking out our bags she asked how long we were staying in LA? I told her 3 nights without divulging the trip to Sydney afterwards. I think she thought we were nuts. Her initial reaction was that of complete shock and I didn’t want to ruin it by telling her the full story.
After checking in we made our way up to the gate and started to say our final goodbyes. Our good friends Rob and Tari, Tom, Kathy and Tyler and Amy and Jamie with their boys were all there for us. It got a little emotional I must say.
For the most part it’s been difficult for Kelly and I to think too much about what we have actually done here in Green Bay. On that note it was tough to consider the fact that we were actually leaving today aswell. With the packing, double checking and kids to worry about the enormity of this trip and reflecting upon it will come later I’m sure.
In a nutshell, after saying our goodbyes, the day went a little something like this:
• 1st flight left green Bay almost an hour late. Luc had already slept and woken up before we were in the air.
• We arrived into Minneapolis just in time to hear our names over the loudspeaker as being the only ones not to have boarded our connecting flight to LA. We were the last ones to board after finding our way from Concourse A to Concourse G in the nick of time.
• Our 3 seats to LA were allocated separately throughout the plane. I, with Luc on my lap, was in the middle of row 6 between two single guys. One who stretched out to read his book like he was the tallest man on the planet and the other, who was watching a movie on his laptop with more full frontal nudity than you’d see at the Playboy mansion during an “everybody must be nude” party.
Kelly was in row 6 on the other side of the aisle and Ben, yes all on his his lonesome at the ripe old age of 3, was placed in aisle 7 to fend for himself! I promptly told the stewardess that this wasn’t going to work and she asked those sitting next to Kelly if they could accommodate us. Talk about creating a scene.
They also asked the gentleman next to me if he could move to allow me a little more room with Luc as there were vacant seats elsewhere. He didn’t want to lose his position at the front of the plane though so he declined. Now I’m not a violent person by any stretch but I wanted to punch him out. Instead, I just smiled inside every time Luc threw his toys at him, kicked him in the leg and spilt milk on his pants as a result. We also got up and down 7 times in 3 hours just because we could. I hope he enjoyed his dirty movie with all of that going on around him. (Ooooo, spiteful huh?)
We arrived in LA just before 5pm, very happy to be out of the plane and looking forward to getting home for some well earned rest. Some new friends that we have made, Nicole and Scott were on hand to pick us up and that was very much appreciated. Getting help with the number of suitcases we had was just what the doctor had ordered.
That was of course assuming that our suitcases made it to the airport with us. Yes, that’s right, they didn’t. After watching all of the other tourists heave their suitcases off the carousel Kelly and I were left wondering. Turns out all 7 missed the connection in Minneapolis leaving us clothe-less, toy-less and pyjama-less for the entire night.
What a way to spend the evening!
We made it to our hotel nonetheless. We checked in, bathed and fed the boys, put them to bed and spent the night chatting with our friends over Aussie wine and Norwegian (Jarlsberg) cheese.
