Flying Solo

The kids and I left Cincinnati last Thursday (August 20th). While I thought that they would do great and that the trip would go well, I still had a few concerns about flying solo with three kids (to China) for the first time. We had planned it so that we didn't take off too early. I was thinking that I would just do curbside check-in because I had beaucoup bags - we checked 5 bags and a box. But it seems that things were conspiring against me. When we got to the Delta curbside check-in, I was told that due to the merger with Northwest that NW's curbside check-in wasn't working. But when another man came along and asked if I wanted help in with my bags (of course, in return for a gratuity- which I normally avoid at all costs, because I am indeed cheap), I gratefully answered yes. 

We were flying Cincinnati to Detroit and then Detroit to Shanghai. Our first leg of the flight was uneventful and we arrived in Detroit with over 3 hours to kill. We ate lunch and then found all 3 play areas in the Detroit airport. :-) One moment that amused and annoyed me in turns: I had taken all the kids into the family bathroom. And can I state that I think family bathrooms are WONDERFUL. While we were in there, someone began knocking on the door. I politely called out "Just a minute. Lots of people in here." The knocking continued rather insistently until we finished. When I came out, a woman barged in. Yes, just a woman. Her friend wondered why it had taken so long. I, the woman traveling alone with 3 kids, looked at her in disbelief and said that there was a women's bathroom right around the corner. She then informed me that there was a line and she didn't want to wait. I stared at her speechless and walked away from the FAMILY bathroom. I mean really, people. Okay, enough with my bathroom stories! 

We boarded for our 14-hour flight around 3:30 PM. Can I just tell you all that I think my kids are fabulous? They had had grumpy moments off and on all day, but really they did amazingly well on the long flight. Especially considering that the in-flight entertainment was on overhead screens that they couldn't even see. They read, played, ate, and slept some. Becca had some trouble getting comfortable and going to sleep, but at one point all of them were asleep for almost 2 hours. Truly incredible! We landed in Shanghai and staggered tiredly through long lines in quarantine and immigration. Tori kind of grumped all the way through wanting me to hold her. Which was rather impossible as I held all of our carry-on bags. Andy met us after we had picked up our bags and went through customs. A 2 hour drive later and we were home. And after it all was done, I would plan on doing it again in order to have more time in the U.S.