A big adventure indeed - to the Big Apple! For those of you who don't know, Emma's mommy is a pretty big deal. This past Sunday she took off for a trial in Riverhead, New York. A cute little town on Long Island. For as much as Melissa loves the excitement of trial, she has been dreading this trip because it means an extended time away from Emma. Not only did the trip tug on the heart strings; logistically, it presented some issues with nursing and breast milk supply at home. So, Emma and I packed our bags, boarded a plane and headed east!
Okay, some of you are going to call me a liar and say there is no possible way the following story could be true. But I assure you, it is. Our travel day went PERFECTLY! I honestly couldn't have dreamt of an easier day of travel, with or without an infant. First, my friend Peter Eliason was kind enough to loan me his large luggage bag and take us to the airport before heading to work on Wednesday. When we got to the airport, the place was a ghost town. We parked right next to the outside checking agent who took my bag to be checked and then it was off to TSA security for Emma and I. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that there was nobody in line. We walked right up, put our stuff down on the conveyor and walked right through. Thank you to the random women who walked up behind me in security and helped me get all my stuff through. Then, it was off to get some breakfast and coffee before heading to the gate. We had about an hour to kill so we checked out all the planes, grounds crew, and people (and all the people checked out Emma - she was a big hit).
All of our stuff on the conveyor belt
Scoping out all the action on the tarmac
Before we boarded the plane I thought it would be a good idea to change Emma's diaper. This isn't as easy as it used to be and in fact, when Emma puts up a particularly good fight, I would consider it an Olympic event. She likes to twist, turn, roll, kick, grab, you name it. Imagine trying to ride a bull while holding onto a greased pig. Add the distraction and discomfort of a public bathroom changing station and it becomes an extraordinarily intimidating task. But, on this day, in this bathroom Emma was tamed by a paper towel dispenser of all things. I put her down on the changing table and there was a small paper towel dispenser. I was on her left side so she would grab a towel with her left hand and transfer it to her right hand. Drop the towel in her right hand and move the one that was in her left hand to her right and then grab another with her left. This was repeated over and over again, all the while lying perfectly still while I changed her diaper and then took a video of her doing this. By the time it was all over, there were probably 12-15 paper towels on the floor!
With a fresh diaper, we headed back to our gate. On our way I heard our name paged because the plane was already boarded! Ooops. I wanted to try to spend as much time out of the plane as possible but I didn't want to cut it this close. So we were the last ones to board and it was a small plane, 2 seats on each side of the aisle. When I got on, the flight attendant greeted us and asked if it was just the two of us and where were our seats. I told her and she said she was going to move us to an exit row so we could have an open seat. When has that ever happened!?!? So Emma and I had a spacious exit row all to ourselves. To put a cherry on top, there was nobody in the first class row in front of me so I could prop my feet up on the armrest between the seats. It was comfy.
Looking out the window on the plane before take off.
Her own seat! (not a great picture - she was on the move)
Emma of course was curious when we first got on the plane but it was nearing her nap time. Literally one minute before take off she took one long blink then was out for the count. She slept on me the entire time we were in the air and woke up 5 minutes before we landed. It was a 2 hour 10 minute flight! She woke up very happy and was chatty and smiley. Landing was the part that I was the most concerned about because she had problems with that when we flew out to see my brother's family in October. I was worried that the pressure change would hurt her ears and she would get upset but she was as happy as could be.
This is how she started her nap
This was how she spent the rest of it :)
Next stop was the rental car. I would like to send out another thanks to the nice lady who helped me get all of our stuff onto the rental car shuttle. I was standing there with Emma in the Baby Bjorn, our checked luggage bag, the diaper bag, the stroller with car seat, a sandwich I had just bought for myself, and another bag that was full of Emma's entertainment (I had stolen the paper towel dispenser - okay, not really but I thought about it and I haven't ruled out installing one at home!). This nice woman, who had already commented about a dozen times about how cute Emma is, asked me if she can help me. My first instinct was to say, "No I can get it" because that's my typical response. But, I thought to myself, why not let somebody help you? I have to say it was a pretty liberating experience and it makes things so much easier. So, thank you whoever you are. Emma and I got to Hertz and got our mini-van loaded up and both had lunch before taking off. It was about a 70 mile drive. The first 20 miles were a little nerve racking with lots of merging and interchanges with busy and unfamiliar traffic and roads. After that, the drive was a piece of cake and Emma played happily in the back and fell asleep about 30 miles from the our destination. We were there!
At the hotel, Melissa had warned them we were coming so a key was waiting. Emma was happy to get in the room where she could sprawl out and move around. About an hour later Melissa showed up. I couldn't tell who was more excited - Emma to see Mommy or Mommy to see Emma. I'll call it a draw. Melissa was only away for a few days but it was great to be a family again.
The people of long island are very nice and they LOVE Emma. She is a huge hit wherever we go. We get a lot of "Oh my GAWD she is adawrable". The way people talk here is great, it is almost straight out of a Saturday Night Live skit. For example, the first night we went out was to a little dive restaurant with great seafood next door to the hotel. There was a group of what seemed like regulars sitting at the bar. They were probably in their upper 50's and there was about 6 of them plus the waitress and bar tender. The interaction went something like this:
Person 1 says, "That's a cute baby, isn't she a cute baby?"
Person 2 and 3 at the same time, "She's a cute baby, isn't that a cute baby?"
Person 1 again along with 4, 5, and 6, "That's a cute baby, isn't she a cute baby?"
Person 6 again, "She's a cute baby."
Just person 2, "She's adawrable."
Bartender, "She's a cute baby, isn't she a cute baby?"
Everyone at once, "That's a cute baby, isn't she a cute baby? She's a cute baby. What a cute baby."
So to recap...well, just imagine the best possible travel day with everything going perfectly and that pretty much sums it up. I definitely have my fingers crossed for a return trip just like the one that got us here. Emma has been a wonderful travel companion!
Goodnight from Riverhead, NY
Jason, Melissa, and Emma
