Trip to Chicago – 3/26/08

The last week was a hectic but enjoyable vacation to see isaac's grandpooks and a wedding in Chicago. Blogging was near impossible after the first day, so I have some catch-up to do.



vacation in the life of a pooklet

3/25
Last-minute packing last night and today before our drive from work to san jose. I don’t know how to get there, how long it’ll take, or even what time our flight leaves tomorrow. These are the things I’ve left to the wif, who is more experienced in coordinating peoples’ schedules and in getting the best price.

The night before our 8am flight from Mineta Airport, we stayed with three pharmacists-in-training from pookie’s small group. This was to give us a 15-minute drive to our flight, instead of a 2-knows-how-long-hours drive. We slept on a brand-new aerobed we got on sale at Bed Bath and Beyond and left it at our friends’ unfurnished apartment. Ah, modern living solutions.


Regarding re-packing, if you aren’t already conditioned to do this, I recommend taking extra empty Ziploc bags and travel-sized plastic containers (available at Target) for last-minute and unforeseen suitcase-content rearranging, like when pill consolidation becomes the crucial final stage in excising that smallest of suitcases from your entourage.

My coworker lent us her Eddie Bauer compact carrying port-a-bed for the pooklet, which we put to use only at our first stop, the house o’ pharmacists. It’s compact with a handle, and fits our 26” pooklet just fine. A Pooky recommendation if you can put it to use.

Our friend Steponme drove us to the airport the next morning. However, shortly after she dropped us off and we got into the security line, Pookie realized that we’d forgotten the car seat base, that which is forever latched into our backseat, and incredibly difficult to remember if you’re supposed to take it with you on a plane. So, set a reminder on your phone, write it on your hand, but avoid the mistake we made. In the end, it just amounted to a return trip for our friend, and Pookie standing in line again while I waited with the pooklet in the stroller. What we failed to remember, however, was the breast pump cups we also left in the car. That would’ve been disastrous. There’s probably some method of creating a checklist of every necessary item and ensuring that you know that they're all accounted for by the time you go through security, but I’ve yet to master it.
By the way, they let you carry bottles of milk through security. Just have them out. We’d been advised to feed the baby on takeoff and landing to help with the pressure change.

A fellow new mother-friend had recommended boarding as late as possible on assigned-seat carriers (like our United), to reduce the time spent cramped and trapped in the plane seat as much as possible.
For United’s 4hr 30min. flight to Chicago, however, with a 4-month old baby, we didn’t think it mattered much, and in the end, it didn’t, especially since pre-boarding is per section now, as in, pre-boarding for section A, pre-boarding B, etc., meaning you don’t get much of a jump on things if you’re not in the first section. And then, it was understaffed and disorganized at the gate, so we jumped into line late anyway.

We carried on our super-hecka-awesome BOB Revolution stroller (It’s so fun to break down, and even has a handle!) and Peg Pérego car seat (which fits the BOB if you buy the BOB’s car seat bracket). At the gate you just ask for a tag, and they apparently store strollers separate in the cargo from the luggage. I guess it’s a step up from risking mangling-proximity with the suitcases. Still, we were misled in advance to believe that it would be going in with the peoples, not some glorified check-through business…


We ran into my friend Sharon at the gate. The first from my old capoeira clique to see the pooklet.

We were blessed to have a down-to-earth and accommodating gentleman as our seatmate, who let both pookies get up to use the toilet twice. He assured us at the outset that we needn’t worry about any crying because “we’d never see any of these people again.” It helps to sit next to parents who can relate.

The pooklet flew well, snug as a bug in a flying rug. Someone told us that 4 months isn’t the problem age, though, so we’ll see what the future holds for the traveling triptych of pookies.