takeoff, taxi, times square and twin beds

i'm baaaaaaack!

as expected, the night before we left for the big apple was quite a blur of activity. i guess squeezing in dinner with the ILs BEFORE we'd done our packing wasn't exactly the greatest idea of all time, but it was nice to hang out with them.

omg, i can't even remember where we went. wow. it was only a week ago! geez. now see, that's why i blog - i forget shit so fast.

and then we got home and the race was on to get us, the bean, and the kid packed and ready for our big trip. luckily, the bean went right to sleep as i threw in another load of laundry that absolutely had to be done. bleh.

i helped the kid get her packing done and got her tucked into bed around midnight. and after i finally got through that laundry, the hub packed his and the bean's stuff, and i threw my meager winter-y wardrobe in, we finally fell into bed and went right to sleep.

holy crap, 5:00 came far too quickly.

and yet it ended up not even being early enough. oh, no. read on:

after running around, getting ready, tossing last-minute necessities in the suitcase, and trying to let the bean sleep as long as possible (she normally wakes up around 7:30, and i was already pretty nervous about her whole schedule being disrupted with the time difference), we finally gave up, got in the car, and took off.

we pulled into one of the remote parking lots, unloaded at the shuttle spot, and waited for the hub as he parked the car and came back to join us. the shuttle got us to the american airlines terminal right at 7:10. we got in line for curbside check-in and as we presented our boarding passes and photo i.d.s, the skycap dude gave us the side eye and said "i think you're too late. the cutoff for checking baggage is 45 minutes before takeoff."

we were on the 8:00 flight.

and, um, it was 7:21.

after checking the computer, he waved us towards the line inside and said "yup. you'll have to go in there and reschedule."

reschedule?!? what the fuck? SIX minutes, and we had to hope there was another flight with room for us. motherfuckers.

and it took us a full HOUR to get through that line. when we finally got up to the desk, our original flight had already taken off. the 9:30 flight was full, so we had the choice of trying for standby or hanging out for the 1:30 flight instead.

well, what choice did we really have? we sucked it up, took the 1:30 flight with seats at the very back of the plane (but still together, bonus! *eyeroll*), dragged ass through security, and found seats at our gate.

i'd seen the signs for american's "admirals club" as we walked through the terminal, and when the hub was settled in a seat, i decided to go and find out how much it would cost for a one-day pass for us to go hang out for four hours. the hub had only gotten maybe 5 hours of sleep in the last two days, and i thought it might be nice for him to be in a nice, quiet v.i.p-ish area.

"okay, it costs $75 to get access for all of us in there. what do you think?"
"well, what does it look like? what do we get?"

but of course, i hadn't stopped to actually check it out or get more details. i just knew it was a cooler option than trying to squeeze into one of the seats at the gate to get some shuteye. i didn't want to go back to ask - how lame would that look? - but the hub was being stubborn. "come on, pleeeeeeaaaase, go see what we get! go check it out, babe, please? i'm tired."

and so i dragged the kid with me and headed back to sheepishly ask for a sneak peek. luckily, it wasn't too busy at the desk and the lady waved us in with a smile. we tromped up the stairs, turned to the right, and found a lounge area with comfy-looking chairs (albeit not much better than the seating at the gate), pay-as-you-go massage chairs, a bar, and a counter with snacks, coffee, and tea.

and then we decided to check out the other side. we walked right up to the double sliding glass doors, and - nothing. the kid waved her arms around over her head at the sensor, which flashed at us but still denied us access. i inched closer towards the doors, looking up at the sensor, and the doors remained closed. i turned my head and saw a sign that said "card required for access" and as the kid and i locked eyes and breathed "ohhhhhhhh," we spun around to find a club employee standing there, watching us with amused eyes.

god, we must've looked so stupid.

we were so embarrassed, we tucked tail and literally RAN out of there, giggling like children as we scampered down the stairs. as we flopped into the gate chairs next to the hub and the bean, we could hardly catch our breath from laughter, and as we told him the story, the family sitting behind us was totally listening and laughing with us. or maybe it was at us. yeah, probably so.

anyway, if that wasn't as funny to you as it was to us, i'm thinking it was one of those "you had to be there" moments. but even now, all i have to do is wave my arms around at the kid and we dissolve into endless giggles again.

and obviously, we chose not to go for the one-day pass. yeah. instead, we stayed put and took turns playing with the bean, checked out all of the shops, got some snacks, and then finally we boarded the plane and took off. it was a major bummer that we were leaving as we should have been landing, but hey - we were finally on our way, sitting literally at the back of the plane, but together, and on a nonstop flight.

it was a pretty uneventful flight, which is always best. the bean went right to sleep, we all managed to catch a few winks, and the kid and the hub both got these giant cookies - a full quarter pound of chocolaty-chip goodness.

heh.

we were stuck behind a couple with a little boy who looked to be about a year-ish old. and he cried and screamed ALL THE WAY until the final hour of the flight. now, being a parent, i try not to get annoyed because i know how hard it can be to travel with a little one whose behavior is totally unpredictable in out-of-the-ordinary situations. but his parents were freaking IDIOTS. from the way they acted, you'd have thought the kid dropped out of the sky that very day - they were that clueless about how to deal with him. poor thing - the kid, not the parents.

we finally landed somewhere around 10-ish EST. luckily, our bags came right out and we hopped into a taxi. it was fun to watch the kid's face as the driver sped down the highway and wound around surface streets at top speed towards our hotel, the millennium broadway in times square (thank you, priceline!).


after checking in, cracking a few jokes about the two twin beds and the tiny size of the room, and freshening up a bit, we went out in search of food. the kid stared up wide-eyed at all the lights and neon signs that are times square's trademark, and we ended up at hard rock cafe for our first dinner in new york city. ha! gotta love chain restaurants. on vacation.


day one, check!