NaBloPoMo 22/30: Travel day

Last year we went to Orlando over Thanksgiving weekend, and had a lot of fun. Before Carter was born Doug and I would always take a big trip over Thanksgiving weekend, often to London to see musicals in the West End. That trip would be a little tough for Carter, but Orlando is an easy flight from Austin, and obviously kid-friendly. This may become a tradition for us -- we'll see!

We flew to Orlando this afternoon. The last time I flew with Carter was our Halloween trip, when I decided to try flying without the stroller. That was, of course, a big mistake. We obviously have the stroller with us on this trip, but I was amazed at how much easier it was in the airport with a stroller compared to last time. I think we'll be traveling with it for a while yet!

When we got to the airport and through security, I got out Carter's travel present. I usually try to have a small new toy for him when we get to the airport to help keep him entertained. Sometimes I pull it out on the plane, and sometimes not until we get to our destination -- whenever it's needed. Today the flight was taking off right around Carter's usual naptime, and so the toy came out early.



He is SO into Cars right now, especially the "Mater's Tall Tales" videos.

The flight from Austin to Orlando is a nonstop, and it was a really easy flight. Carter is finally understanding that he has to sit in his seat with the seatbelt fastened for the entire takeoff and landing, and he does it without complaint. He was a lap child for the first two years, and the transition to his own seat was a bit difficult for the first 8 months after he turned two.

We read books and ate snacks and watched videos on the phone, and generally had a good flight. Carter and I sat on the bulkhead, and Doug was right behind us with an empty seat next to him, so Carter was able to go back and forth between the rows and sit some with Doug and some with me. That was great, because usually my entire flight is spent making sure Carter is entertained. I got a little break!

When we got to Orlando and into our rental car, Carter looked pretty tired. Sure enough, he was sound asleep when we got to the hotel. He slept through being put in the stroller, check-in and going to the room.



Let me pause here to say how much I LOVE this new stroller. It replaced our worn-out umbrella stroller, which was a nice stroller but nowhere near as cool as this one. I wish we'd gotten one of these in the first place! It's a Baby Jogger Citi-Mini stroller, and it's the easiest stroller to fold EVER. Seriously, you pull a strap and boom, the whole thing collapses. It's awesome! It's easy to push with one hand, and the seat lays back flat, which makes it nice for naps. The sun shade covers more than any I've seen. It's going to be fantastic to use it at the parks this week!

Anyway, Carter is now asleep on the bed and Doug and I are hanging out in the room. We're staying in a Hilton this time, not nearly as nice as the Animal Kingdom resort where we stayed last year, but at a third of the price, we're not complaining! Tomorrow we'll get up and go to the Magic Kingdom, and see how the day goes. It's supposed to be warm, so I hope we can get some pool time in tomorrow afternoon. I'm so excited!