Finally! Since I made the first airport post, we had some significant changes in our air travel plans. We were bumped to the 11:50 pm flight since we gave up our seats, so since it was only 3:00 we had quite a bit of time in the airport. We could've left, but I didn't have carseats for the kids, so it just wasn't really a good idea. So, we explored LAX. We went over to the international terminal and checked it out. The airline workers told us that it had more restaurants. It did have more restaurants, but nothing really note worthy. They tried to accomodate all cultures with Mexican food, Chinese food, Japanese food, Sushi, seafood, burgers, salads, and of course McDonalds. Andrew made a few friends while we were there. One little boy shared his trains with him, and even though they didn't speak the same language they still had a good time! We changed the kids into their pajamas and headed back to our gate around 8:30. By this time the kids were exhausted, as were we, and Andrew couldn't contain his exhaustion very well, so he was running in circles and crying any time things did not go his way. We also had to go through security again since we changed terminals. Getting our massive amount of stuff through was not much fun! We finally got to our gate and became "those people" in the airport that had the kids that couldn't sit still or be quite or really even behave. I will say, Madelyn was very well behaved for the most part and Andrew did as best he could with his two year old self! At this point it's after 11:00 and all I wanted was to go to sleep and change clothes, because mine were covered in baby food. Then, surprise, surprise, they had overbooked this flight and were asking for volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for airline vouchers. They would also put you up in a hotel and give you food vouchers for breakfast. I was worn out, Andrew had finally fallen asleep, and the thought of getting to Chicago at 6:00 am and then boarding another plane home just didn't sound good to me, so....we took that offer and ended up getting to the LAX Hilton at 2:00 am with (drumroll please!!!) $1800 in airline vouchers, 6 hours of sleep, and an 11:00am flight to Dallas then getting home around 7:00pm. Andrew didn't even wake up during the transition from airport to hotel and that bed never felt so great! The only issue was that we only had enough formula for one bottle for Madelyn, but we made it work and got home at 8:30 pm on Wednesday. We are workoing on our trip for next summer. It will include the kids!
So, here are some things that I learned being at LAX for a good 14 hours:
* The people that travel at night are; Amish, business travelers, people coming from and going to Hawaii, people from Asia, and standby passengers who aren't in good moods!
* You do not want to be on the sidewalk when the buses of Asian tourists arrive
* LAX does not shut down EVER!
* There is no formula in the airport
* Don't walk barefoot or your feet will be black and sticky
* If you leave your bags unattended, the police will come in and check it out with the dogs
* Automatic toilets can flush numerous times while a wiggly two-year old is on the potty
* Don't carry more bags then you are supposed to
* Airline attendants are very kind when you are kind to them
* Giving up your seat really does pay!
* Most travelers get a kick out of a wild two-year old and bouncy baby girl
* Play-Doh is a must!
I will be posting the pictures from our trip soon. There are about 350 of them, so I'm trying to narrow it down to my favorites. It's hard! In the meantime, our suitcases or put away, the laundry is almost done, my house is pretty clean, and the kids are so worn out they were both in bed asleep before 7:00!
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