OurVirginia Adventure begins

My little traveler, ready to take off on our adventure!



I was packed and ready to go. B was awake and dressed and we were on our way, and to think it was only 6am. Our neighbor works next to the airport so it is very convenient, he is a great, cheap airport shuttle.

I had already booked our seats and printed our tickets at home so check in was a breeze.(sad had to pay $15.00 to chk in one bag) Our plane left at 8:40 and it was only 7:15! We stopped on the main level of the airport and grabbed a light breakfast. B was very excited he said he was a little nervous. He had flown before but he was probably about 16mths old and he had know recollection of that trip.

I still remembered it, it was not a very smooth trip. B was very little but walking. I was going to meet my mom and sister in South Carolina for a visit. I was a new mom and had never traveled alone with a toddler. For the first 3 years of B's life I would classify myself as a nervous mother. I got very tense when B would get fussy and cry. So this trip was a little unnerving for me.

Long story short on that trip once on the plane in Tampa we pulled away from the gate and waited for about two hours on the taxi way. Atlanta, where we were connecting was having tower troubles and would not let any flights even take off from their departure cities until it was corrected. Once in the air B was fine, but two hours with a nervous mom and a very small active child was challenging. Needless to say we walked the isle ways a lot. Once we arrived in Atlanta it was jammed with people trying to get to their connecting flights, all the flights were delayed but the connecting flights were going out fast. I had to run with B and our carry on luggage for what seemed like a million miles. When we arrived he was screaming and I was exhausted. Once we finally boarded the next flight everything went smooth from their. He loved to fly.

I was completely thrilled B wanted to be responsible for his own luggage. His carry on was a Jeff Gordon plastic Halloween bucket filled with race cars, a stuffed teddy bear(also in the helmet)a Jeff Gordon car pillow, Jeff Gordon back pack with electronic games, coloring books and crayons. He liked pulling my bag on wheels.

After breakfast we proceeded on the tram to the terminal. We could have ridden this all day. Fun stuff when you travel with a 5year old who basically is experiencing all of this for the first time. Once we arrived at the terminal we attacked the security line, Our stuff took up 7 of the little gray plastic bins. We slowed the process down a little but once we were through we were off to our gate.

A few times B mentioned he was a little nervous so we talked about the process of getting on the plane, taking off, landing and getting off the plane. I explained we were going to change planes in NC and continue on to VA. From this point on every question for the next FOUR DAYS was about what we were going to do next, how long do we have to wait and when are we going to be their? If we were on the plane he wanted to know when we were getting off the plane, if we were off the plane he wanted to know when we were getting on the next plane. He gets this "NEED TO KNOW"! thing from his father....o.k. sometimes from his mother. His excitement was so infectious.

I really don't like to fly in my old age, but with him it was all very new and fun.
Whenever the plane made a strange noise I was forced to be the adult and act cool and calm and explain away his fear. I covered well, because usually I was wondering the same thing What the heck was that noise. Our flights were great, on time, easy connecting and pleasent people. We touched down in VA about 3pm and headed for our rental car. After a lenthy check in with the car company we went to the car garage and climbed into our, very economy car. No frills! No tinited windows, no power windows and no power locks. B was excited, he had been excited all day. We seat belted in grabbed our map to the hotel and headed out on to the highways of VA.

As we manuvered our way toward our beach destination I noticed the back seat had become very quite. With quick glance over my sholder I realized my Big man, my very busy traveler and completely fallen asleep. Traveling will catch up to ya. He slept for about an hour,which created a small problem because we reached the hotel in about 20 mins. I didn't want to wake him so it gave me time to tour around the town and see a few sights. VA Beach is great.