We made it!
Our drive to Atlanta from Florida was pretty uneventful. We were feeling soooo good about it, we even stopped at the Tanger outlets south of the city and did some light shopping and had lunch at Denny's. Little did we know that it was going to take us 2 hours from the time we parked the car until we got to the gate.
Even though we had the rental, we parked in short term parking to unload at 3pm. We had 7 bags to check plus stroller, 2 car seats (1 base), bouncy seat and 5 carry-on's and the boppy. We took all of our checked luggage inside, me pushing the stroller and pulling one suitcase, and Matt pushing the cart loaded high. We left most of the carry-on's in the car for Matt to bring with him after he took it back to the car rental place.
We go inside ATL and check in, which after going to two different counters and 3 different Delta agents, was rather uneventful. Then Matt headed back out to the car to take it to the rental place and ride the train back with all our carry-on's. I entertained the girls as best I could. Grace ended up getting her first lollipop during that time to keep her from getting agitated in the stroller and/or removing her shoes and socks and throwing them at people passing by. Sigh. Audrey was also getting fussy, as it was slowly passing her feeding time.
Matt finally got back around 4:15 and we headed towards security. We zipped right through, but after dismantling the stroller, kids, carry-on's with 2 laptops, boppy, car seat and base.... and then putting it all back together again, it was slowly approaching our boarding time. We headed downstairs to the train and rode it all the way to Concourse E (6th, and last stop!), and went as fast as we could all the way to the end of the concourse to our gate - wouldn't you know it was the last one! We got there right as they were boarding.... and we really wanted the bassinet for Audrey, so Matt went to the counter while I stood off to the side with all our stuff. So they are calling for first class and families with small children to board, and I'm waiting for Matt, and a few guys started offering to help me get everything on the plane. People were so nice. I've never really noticed people being nice to people with children before. I thought most people were more annoyed with families and (loud, crying) children. So these guys took most of our stuff to the front of the line at the gate entrance, and then waited for us to get ourselves together to board. We got on, and we're in the first row, and had to ask a lady to trade seats with us, so we could get the bassinet. She was more then happy to oblige once she understood why.
So in general, we did ok on the flight. All of the flight attendants were very nice and helpful. I held Audrey through most of dinner, so they brought me out my dinner in stages. Grace got a special toddler meal; chicken fingers, mac-n-cheese, and corn. Could it be any more yellow? What's the rule? One yellow food a meal? Ehhh, whatever. We're on an adventure.
Audrey decided that she finally could tolerate a pacifier. That was a blessing. It cut down on some of the screaming. (You can see it in the video below.)
So that bassinet we were so worried about getting..... Audrey didn't end up using it. We attempted it twice. Once, she laid in there staring around for awhile and then started fussing, and the second time immediately started fussing. So I gave up and just held her. It wasn't that horrible since I had the boppy and the seat fully reclined. Once she was swaddled, she fell asleep and slept ok.
Grace finally went to sleep around 9:30 or so. She was having too much fun and hopped up on sugar. So without further delay, here is what first class looks like to a 2 year old:
Yes, an ice cream sundae, with chocolate sauce, nuts and whipped cream. And yes, Elmo and Abby on the in-flight TV. Thanks, Delta. You rock first class for 2 year olds! Not so bad for adults either! :)
