the meat & potatoes of the trip. the most nerve-racking part of the trip. solo parent with a 9-month old on not only one, but two plane rides. deep breath... well, for one, my personal plane rides are always few & far between, so i always get nerved up dealing with it myself. but honestly, depsite me getting all anxious about it, nothing about flying really makes me all that nervous. so i don't know why i panic anyway.
the bags were packed, my "itinerary" was planned, i was well rested from the night before, the airline just left a message on my phone to confirm the flight plan & the day was here. oliver's first plane ride! mike made arrangements to go into work late so he could see us off wednesday morning, so it was nice to spend the morning with him.
we arrived at the airport in aspen, only a short drive from basalt, i checked my bag...46 lbs...i knew it was going to be close to 50 =) and then came the security checkpoint. ha! of course it was chaotic & mike had to stand back & just watch me look like a frazzled mom for a bit, but we blew our kisses & waved goodbye & all was well. but, really, the airport security checkpoint experience is quite the experience now...especially now...take off your shoes, hold your baby, juggle your carry-ons, take our your computer, take out the baby bottles & jars of food, everything out of your pockets & push the stroller. really?! haha. i decided last minute to check the stroller at the gate, which was the best idea of the trip ever! in no time, we were being called up to board the plane. at the aspen airport, you actually walk out onto the tarmac & board your plane like you're vip on your own private jet. oh wait...except it was packed & it's a tiny prop plane. the experience of taking off & landing at the aspen airport is a trip! it's basically an airport surrounded by mountains on all sides...the reason why it's been quoted as "one of the most challenging airports to land at in the country". =) is your heart-pumping yet?!
so we boarded & were seated next to "mr. chatty man". pointing out landmarks & talking about his recent divorce with his wife...ugh! at one point, oliver was in his lap bouncing around. haha, it wasn't weird...just one of those experiences that are completely cliche ya know. it was a quick flight, only about 40 minutes to denver. we were basically up & then down. and oliver wasn't affected by any of it! he had a great time on the plane! woohoo! our flight to omaha from denver was slightly longer, but all went well. oliver was so relaxed by our landing decent that he fell asleep on my shoulder. so when we met my mom at the airport...she was so excited to see him...but he was still sleeping that she had to hold back her excitement! we stopped at an airport pub to have a drink & relax after the trip, while he slept. i forgot to pick up my bag from baggage claim & oliver woke up so confused looking around at his surroundings & at grandma that he was a little upset at first. he soon settled down & we made our way back to holstein! oh, & i did end up finding my bag ;) duh!
can you spot the tiny runway...center of the photo.
schmoozing the ladies on the plane.
loved looking out the window!
heeeeeeey! sssssshhhhhhhhh =)
now. the trip back. a whole. different. story. maybe he just didn't want to leave everyone. maybe it was just 'one of those days'. but it happened to put a real crick in the trip. long day of travelling narrarated short. he was cranky. he did not nap. and he wouldn't sit still. blah. i think i fed him the entire hour and half flight to denver! i handed out tylenol. teething tabs. gel. a bottle. puffs. you name it! i know that probably sounds bad, but i was desparate. i was "that lady with the squealing baby". oh well. then we had a two hour layover in denver. i let him run, thinking he would wear out. nope. i fed him again. nope. nothing. we boarded our flight on time & sat on the plane 15 unbearable squealing, fussing, squirming minutes before we started taxi'ing. and then, the airgods gave me the gift of sweet silence. on our take off, he fell asleep & remained passed out until i stood up to exit the plane. but i'm not gonna lie, our homecoming to daddy wasn't exactly what neither mike nor i had pictured. i was tired. i was cranky. my head was ringing from the two obnoxious children sitting next to us squealing the entire flight...(hey they weren't mine, so i can complain). and did i mention tired. we were definitely happy to see mikey, but just needed some rest after our long & exciting trip. we came back in one piece and that's all that matters.
trying to expend energy at the denver airport, so he would sleep...i was discouraged from letting him crawl the floors by some lady handing out unsolicitated advice =) so i kept him in his stroller just to make her happy...as i counted to ten ;)
mr. grumpers.
tiny prop plane to aspen. as we came down for the landing, i literally felt as if we were at a 45 degree angle...tires touched the ground & the pilot hit the brakes so hard & fast you would think a mountain was 2 feet in front of you. very exciting!
...we were about 50% happy/travelling ok what do you do, could've been worse.
...no poops on any of the flights. woohoo!
...i did have some caffeine in flight, but almost was knocked all over by flailing baby arms.
...and we didn't enrage any of our stewards! yes! success!
Yahoo! You made it! Not bad for the first time out the chute! Good work, mom.
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