Just a fair warning, this post is going to be long slightly boring to some and unfortunately completely true. Sorry no pictures yet.
Our move to Korea started with a slight detour to the Portland, OR area to visit with family. It was a great week and the girls had so much fun playing with their cousins. Andrew and I had a great time with his siblings in the area. It was also a much needed relaxation between the hectics of getting things ready for our move and the big move with all its challenges. And boy did we start out with a big challenge.
Last Monday we headed up to Seattle where we were going to catch a military flight to Korea. It was the best solution and made the most since when we were booking our tickets. The flight left at 7:20am on Tuesday and required arrival to the airport between 1 and 4. This is a flight that you have to show up early to see if there is a spot for you and if you have PCS orders than there shouldn't be any problems (you are first on the list). Andrew and I didn't sleep well and were easily awakened at 2:30 by the alarm. We showered, woke up the girls and headed to the airport.
Arriving at 3:30 in the morning, the airport was dead. Andrew stood in line and showed the contractors his paper work and that is when trouble started. "Do you have military ID?" "No, but I have my PCS orders. Nobody told us we needed ID." "I am sorry sir, you can't fly without ID." "Can I talk to your supervisor?"
This went on and on. And in the end, we were not on that flight at 7:20am. Andrew was livid but he really did keep his cool. He started calling all the numbers he could. The clock kept ticking by. I think the worst feeling was when the kid who denied us getting on that flight came downstairs and said he might have made a mistake. WHAT!!! Civilians usually don't fly on these flights and it happened once that a civilian rode without government issued work ID with PCS orders. He did feel bad and wanted us to keep him updated.
Andrew was finally able to have one of the travel offices he worked with get us reservations on a flight that left at 1pm but now the issue was who was paying and could they really book it for us since our official orders had us leaving from Washington DC not Seattle. Each phone call Andrew made sent him in circles but eventually it elevated and reached the right people. Around 11:30am everything was worked out and we were for sure headed to Korea on Tuesday. We had a fear that we were going to have to go to a hotel and then get back to the airport again. This is quite the task with 4 suitcases, 9 carry-ons, 3 carseats, 1 stroller, 3 kids and 2 parents. After walking from one end to the other and back (we thought we were flying one airline but we were flying its partner) the five of us were on a flight and sitting next to each other.
After being at the airport for 9 hours, we were ready to board our airplane for a 12 hour flight. The airline was fantastic. We had help getting onto the plane, the service was fantastic. Pillows, blankets, slippers. Juice and water constantly being served. 2 hot meals (Andrew and I enjoyed them, the girls not so much). There were outlets to charge our electronics which was helpful since we didn't have a chance before hand. The best part was the selection of movies was awesome. I watched The Help, Rio and The Proposal. Tried out a couple of games they had available to play and kept and eye on what we were flying over. Charlotte was great, she took 3 naps and didn't really cry. Elanor was so good. She would watch shows, read, find other things to keep herself busy. She also took one long nap. Sophie was quite the reader, she preferred reading over watching anything. Luckily I had enough snacks to suffice for the flight and luckily the meals had fruit the girls would eat. Sophie feel asleep as the landing gear was coming down. Getting through the airport with a sleep walking Sophie was quite entertaining. We made it through customs, got our suitcases and carseats and were met by some of Andrew's coworkers. One last 2 hours to get to our lodging and we were out.
There were several tender mercies from our Heavenly Father that day. He helped Andrew stay cool and know what to do to get us on a flight. The biggest blessing we received that day was to have a working cell phone. As many of our friends and family know, it is time to upgrade phones. We were holding out to get new ones here in Korea. Most of the time the phone will say it is charged and die out sooner than expected. That little phone of ours kept going and going. It worked from 4am until we made the last call at 12:45. All we can do is thank our Heavenly Father for this miracle because it truly was one.
And that my friends is the end of the tale. I can't believe we stayed at the airport for 9 hours, survived a 12 hour flight and 2 hour drive. And it has come to the conclusion that yes it was a big fat mistake that we were not on that original flight. Unfortunately we won't get a free flight out of it like we had on a bumped flight last year.
The End of that tale and now on to many more.
