Flight 229 - Atlanta to Shanghai

August 21, 2011 | 5:30 am – we were headed down stairs to load up all of our baggage onto the Westin shuttle service. Aside from a few last goodbyes things went really smooth until we arrived at the airport. Now mind you, I have taken pretty detailed notes on which bags we have, and their purpose – how much weight we are allotted between what number of bags so, I was a bit surprised when we were told we must begin paying for bags – after only 7 had went down the belt. As I was trying to explain why I knew that she was mistaken… “See ma’am I have 4 sets of 3 bags …[she talks over me]… I have 4- 29” bags, 4- 25” bags and 4- 21” bags for carry-on and there is still one 25” bag sitting here [she talks over me again] - by this time Andrew is freaking out. Finally a manager comes and she didn’t really give a hoot either. These 3 women stood there and talked to us like we were completely incompetent and of course if you begin to show any irritation they act like you are going to go psycho in flight and begin saying stuff like “sir, I’m here to help you, no need to get mad” with a condescending tone. Argh! It was crazy. Finally we were allowed to go through- without the baggage fee. What a waste of time… so, good thing we got there early.

Our dads accompanied us to the airport, we all had breakfast together and chatted until it was time to pass through security. The goodbyes were short and sweet and I think it went well except that Colten was not happy to be leaving his Granddaddy behind.

Going through security took more time than we expected and was kind of a mad house going through the xray scaners with 10 bags and 3 kids. On top of all that for some reason Colten did not want to take his shoes off. Once we reached our gate we had about 15 minutes on the clock to spare however, we were rushed onto the plane and told that it was ready to take off right way… again, it was crazy breaking down the stroller, gathering the children and maneuvering 5 carryons and 5 personal items on the plane + a diaper bag that I stuffed into my bag to make it as one.

The seats were comfy and provided much needed space; Economy comfort is well worth the upgrade fee. Another perk was the all you can drink liquor, which I did indulge in between hours 3 & 6 of the flight. Afterwards I tried to sleep. I also attempted to watch Julie & Julia, pretty cute movie but it took me about 7 hours to get through the 2.5 hour movie due to walking laps around the plane with Colten. There were lots of open seats so we were able to sprawl out between 3 rows making it far more comfortable than I would have imagined. I was later told by an American woman I met in the back of the plane that this was the least crowded plane she had ever seen and she had made the trip with her children 3 times.

I thought it was pretty neat that aside from movies, music, television shows, there was a moving map option that let you see exactly where you were in real time and at the end of the flight displayed a summary of flight time, distance, altitude, etc. Overall I thought the flight went really well, our children did wonderful and the accommodations were satisfactory. The movie selection was pretty good- better than I could have imagined. Note: earbuds are provided.

My only complaint was the old white stewardesses – they just seemed so bitter the whole flight and I don’t think they ever cracked a smile. The Asian ladies were pretty nice though.

The Finishing Touches

Even though we spent the last week packing and weighing everything that we intended on taking with us we had to make a few slight changes.

On the way home from Chicago Andrew learned that Delta actually allows up to 52 lbs per bag so of course we had to maximize our allowed weight. So, in our last minute effort, Andrew picked up the calcium vitamins that we had not yet purchased and we began to add a few other things that had been put to the side.

The plan for our last night in Georgia/United States was to load my mom’s (Taurus station wagon) Car and my Dad’s (full size conversion) Van with all of our bags, have a nice family dinner and stay overnight in Atlanta close to the airport since our flight was scheduled so early (09:55). We stopped at Buckner’s Family Restaurant – known for their fried chicken and lazy susan serving style. Nothing like a home cooked southern meal as a proper sendoff to Asia.



We stayed at the Westin Atlanta Airport – the accommodations are decent and because we had stayed there before, we knew that they had an indoor/outdoor pool so the kids took their suits and enjoyed the pool for a few hours. After bath time, we room hopped most of the night but usually ended up in my mama’s room (Granny) because she bought snacks and drinks. So that night Colten stayed in Granddaddy’s room and Drake and Avery stayed in my Mama & Aunt Carrie’s room. Again, Andrew & I barely slept (maybe 1.5 hours) – I think at this point our bodies had started to reject sleep as a necessary function.

Pack it up, Move it out

So far we have done alot of things to prepare for our trip. I have made list after list to ensure we are maximizing our time and luggage capacity.

For our flight we are allowed 2 checked bags at 50lbs each, a 20lb carry on and a personal item (for the 4 of us with a paid ticket). Colten has an infant ticket, we only paid the taxes on it, and he is allowed a 20 lb checked bag and stroller.

Originally we bought eight 29" bags... I don't know what we were thinking except that they were a great deal! However, I had an epiphany and we took four back and bought four 25" and four 21" bags. Keeping in mind that our apartment may be small, we will be able to max out at our allotted travel weight and also nest the bags inside each other for storage - taking up less space. Here are the bags we purchased. We also used space bags when packing so that we could neatly fit more into each case.

Almost everything is packed and ready to go, we have had to move ounces from one bag to another to ensure that we are hitting the weights just right for each one. It seems like a lot of luggage and weight but let me tell you, when you are packing for a year, you begin to notice how many ounces a pair of socks weigh and what a difference it can make.

We also bought a new stroller, a Graco Urbanlite. Not only will it come in handy at the airport but we expect to need it for getting around the city and going to the market. We chose this one because it is a newer model of the highly reviewed Metrolite. It weighs less than 20lbs, folds flat and has a big under basket. We recently test drove it and it is wonderful - very smooth.

To date we have all had our teeth cleaned (of course it can be done there but we pay insurance here now - and its free), the kids have been updated on any shots needed. We have purchased common medicines and first aid items as well as toiletries - some we need, some we like. My thought is that we can get all of the same items at the Wal Mart in Nanjing but I am not sure we will be up to that experience as soon as we arrive.

The kids are getting alot of great quality time with their grandparents, who have helped us out tremendously by getting the kids out of our way while we do all of this stuff and stress out here & there.

Wow, it's all coming together and we only have a few days until we take off...