The flight

As I mentioned earlier, I am just back from a warm vacation, notable because it was the first big vacation with the kids. Generally we are the road-trippers to see in-laws, or short-flighters to see my grandparents. I have to admit that the reason we haven’t had any big vacations with the kids prior to now was due to my extreme reluctance to take small children on flights with a greater than one hour duration, as well as my extreme exhaustion at the idea of caring for and entertaining small children in unfamiliar surroundings. However, they are older now and I thought that this would be the year to start, and it turns out, I was right. Don’t you love when that happens?

Traveling with a four and five year old is not bad at all, and I’m not just saying that because, on the airplane, my husband sat in the middle seat between them while I lounged in lonely bliss across the aisle. It pays to be the uncool parent that no one wants to sit beside. The flight was significantly easier on the way home, given that the Palm Springs airport has a separate express security line for passengers traveling with children. A more brilliant idea would, in my opinion, be difficult to come across.

This is not to say that the flight down was difficult. We actually arrived at the airport twenty minutes before the rush, so we sailed through customs and security. The super friendly security guy chatted with me as he went through my carryon which contained the eclectic mom-like combination of peanut butter sandwiches, camera, makeup, and a potty seat. He even mentioned that the flight we would be on would have the Teletoon channel, which caused a great deal of excitement and conjectures with regards to what programs would be on at this time of day, only to end in disappointment at the discovery that the brand new plane we boarded had yet to be equipped with televisions. Oh, the humanity! We were seated at the front of the plane and each and every passenger commented on this travesty as they filed past us.

The flight itself went great, despite having to rely on archaic forms of entertainment such as books and markers, and also in spite of it being delayed 50 minutes while waiting for connecting passengers to go through security. Heavy fog had delayed a connecting flight from Edmonton, and the latecomers had to endure the withering stares and extraneous mutterings of “Oilers suck!” from the other passengers as they sheepishly boarded.

But then we landed! In another country! And the boys were thrilled every second to be somewhere different, and every difference was noted, no matter how small (Scooby Doo gummies have different packaging than in Canada) or large (palm trees). Here is their reaction upon seeing flowers at the airport upon arrival: