Our Long Travel Weekend

When your BFFs from a previous duty station are getting ready to PCS OCONUS, what do you do? You go see them before they leave! So that’s what we did over the weekend. With a little bit of partying mixed in!

For five years now, our friends have been hosting a family Oktoberfest party. We always went while we were stationed in Hawaii, but with everyone back on the mainland, it’s a little more tricky.

We managed to make it last year, since we were only 5 hours away from the party in Illinois. I wasn’t so sure it was going to happen this year though, with us living so far away in Rhode Island, but with them getting ready to move overseas, we had to make it happen.

The girls hopped off the school bus on Thursday afternoon, and we made our way to Connecticut to catch our plane. After having several horrendous experiences with other airlines, we try to remain loyal to Delta. The ticket prices are typically a little higher, but it’s well worth it, in my opinion!

Currently, Delta allows two free checked bags for active military on personal travel. You can also check baby items, such as strollers, pack and plays, and booster seats for free, so we checked our boosters to save ourselves from the hassle of carrying them around.

Thanks to John’s military ID, we were able to get pre-check through TSA fo’ free. This is SUCH a lifesaver when you’re traveling with three tired kids. Delta also allows active military to board the plane first. Again, lifesaver!

After two pretty easy planes, we made it to our hotel in St. Louis around midnight. We like staying at Embassy Suites, because of their free happy hour and delicious breakfasts! How can you say no to made to order omelettes?!

Following breakfast the next morning, we were on the road for the two hour trip to Illinois. Our friend’s parents’ have a HUGE backyard where the party happens, and everyone camps out. I think the last time our little Army framily was together, was at this event last year. It’s always so nice when paths are able to cross after leaving duty stations.

I wish I could say the return trip was as easy as getting there, but we all know that’s never the case.

We made it back to the airport an hour later than we had hoped to be there. Not a huge deal, as we had planned for a good amount of wiggle room, but things were going to be tight. Good thing for TSA pre-check, right?!

Except TSA took forever. Apparently the baby wipes that I took for our little campout looked suspicious. I have no idea what the heck the issue was (especially since they didn’t trigger anything on our original flight out), but it resulted in a TSA lady and I getting pretty personal. I’m so glad I was able to shower that morning! I’ve given birth three times, so almost every shred of my dignity is gone, but it was awkward to have an audience for my very thorough pat-down.

They also dumped out an swabbed everything in my bag, while an annoyed line built up, waiting to also have their stuff double checked by TSA.

At this point, I’m pretty nervous about missing our flight, because it’s starting to take FOR. EVER. Thankfully, the flight ended up being delayed due to weather, which gave us plenty of time to grab some PSLs before taking off.

Thanks to the weather delay, we missed the connecting flight–the last of the night. So, who’s up for a night in Minnesota?! I usually insist that the kids wear pants on airplanes, in case it’s cold. This worked in our favor, as it was cold in Minnesota.

I have to give MAJOR props to the Delta employee who saw that we were traveling with kids and comped a hotel for us! I don’t think I would have survived the airport floor with those three! She also shared a bag of snacks and toiletries, which was nice, since our suitcases were checked. The gorgeous hotel had a shuttle, so we basically went door to door and then back again in the morning.

I was nervous to go through TSA again, but guess what?! No issues. I thought “WTF,” considering it was the same exact bag with the same exact contents as the day before.

A few hours later, and we were home. The girls went straight outside to play with the neighbors, while John and I decompressed. I made sure to schedule our Hello Fresh delivery for Monday, so that we’d be able to cook for dinner.

I’ve spent the majority of this morning (it’s actually 1pm now) in bed finishing up this blog post and being lazy. Traveling sure does take a lot out of you! It might be time to finally get up and get some coffee!