4:30 wake up call came way too early!! We left the hotel about 5:45 and got to the airport at 6:00 am. Unfortunately we were leaving Tim and heading back to Ohio :( Here Garrett is with his carry on bag. He was super excited to have his own bag that he could pull!!
We said our goodbyes to Tim and headed in to check in our one bag we had. We were flying Southwest so our bag would fly for free :) I haven't flown in years and so much has changed since then. Definitely a new learning experience for me. Garrett was doing great and being very helpful. We finally got our bag checked in and headed to the TSA check in. Yikes, that line was so long!! We finally got through that line about 6:40 and went straight to our gate where they were just announcing to get in line for any A ticket holders. Garrett and I both had A tickets so we were able to be one of the first to board. I sat him next to the window and waited to see who our boarding partner was. Garrett was very excited for his first time flight :)
Of all the people to board an airplane who did we get to sit next to us.....a traveling Physical Therapist. He is essentially the same kind of traveler as Tim except as a Physical Therapist. It was fun talking with him during the flight and hearing about his experiences. He was asking lots of questions about the RV life as he is considering it himself because he has two dogs he travels with. He was such a nice person and Garrett really enjoyed talking with him as well. Definitely made our flight into Chicago go much quicker!! Sometime during the flight Garrett fell asleep against me. My sweet boy!!
Garrett's favorite part of the plane ride wasn't taking off, or seeing the ground from way up high, or even the clouds. Nope his favorite part was the landing!! We arrived in Chicago right on time!! As soon as we landed we headed to the restroom and then to eat lunch. Found a nice deli with subs and sandwiches so we decided to eat there as Garrett really wanted a Grilled Cheese Sandwich :) So far he was doing great!!
I think his favorite part of the experience so far was people watching, lol. Man does he love people!! Everyone we walked past he was saying hello too, or making conversation with. At one point when we were sitting and waiting for our plane to Columbus a group of teenagers had sat down playing cards and Garrett got right up in there to see what they were doing and talk with them. I of course asked them if they cared and they said no :) He sat there with that group of kids for over an hour before they were called to board their plane. Unfortunately our layover was already 3 hours long and then we had another 1 hour delay. I was a little worried but he played with his toys I brought him, talked with people, and watched a movie on the Ipad. He was doing great!!
We finally were called to board our flight and once again we were A people so we got on pretty quickly. This time we had an older woman sit next to us. She was going to see her grandkids and was pretty excited about it :) Our flight was only an hour long and the time went by quickly. Before we knew it we were landing and on our way down to get our luggage. Josh, Alisha, and Kayley were picking us up from the airport and Garrett was so excited to see them!! All of a sudden Garrett saw Kayley and boy did he run to see her :) He sure loves his Cousin very much!! We left to head out to Olive Garden for dinner and then to head home. I'd have to say Garrett's first plane ride was a huge success!! He did so good and once again I'm thankful that he is such a great traveler for me :)