Make-up post #1: Travel Day!

On Saturday, September 4, we left for Korea! We left our house at 6:30 am in order to have plenty of time to check in, get some breakfast at the airport, and chill out before flying to Dallas for our connection. We had a 2-hour layover in Dallas so the plan was to eat a rocking lunch (as rocking as you can get in an airport) since we aren't big fans of the food on Korean Air or in Korea for that matter. It mostly just turns us into puking idiots. So, we get to the gate in Baton Rouge and sit down.....and wait.....and wait....and no one calls for boarding. Then the announcement that we will not be leaving Baton Rouge until nearly 10am. Oh NO!!!! We were supposed to leave at 8:45.... And we watched our layover and lunch vanish into thin air.

Some time near 11:30 in Dallas....a crazed Momma and Daddy run at breakneck speed through terminal D to get to our flight. We made it as they were finishing boarding. Oops. It was then that I see a very relaxed and sweet lady waving at me from the line to board. It was one of my online buddies from the adoption forums!!! They were on our flight, and she recognized me!! It was really great to meet someone who I already "knew" but had never talked to in person. (they were also staying at our same hotel, so we got to eat breakfast together too!)


We bought two bags of chips, a bag of M&Ms, a bottle of water to share, and called it lunch. Thus begins a weeks worth of similar lunches, plus a pizza here and there. The flight was long. That is about all i can say. I popped a Unisom a few hours in and took a nap for a bit. We were in row 51 of 60-ish rows and in the two middle seats of a four-seat section. The largest Korean known to man was seated on the opposite side of me. I mean seriously, we are talking over 6 feet tall and legs all in my leg space and arms across the "personal space" barrier (armrest). Good thing I am not overly claustrophobic or any bigger than I am. I was pretty short on space.

Fourteen (that number looks so small when I write it-doesn't do the length of the flight justice AT ALL) hours later we were in Seoul! I cried at touchdown, knowing we were in Emma's birth country and so close to meeting her. I was also happy to be back in Korea-oddly enough, I feel very "at home" there. I love it dearly, and I just immediately transition into reading Korean and speaking it, and hearing it spoken. Coming back to the US is always harder for me than entering Korea.

Anyway, Mr. Kim, our driver, was waiting for us outside of baggage claim with a sign that had our name on it. Pretty cool stuff! We waited for the other family, then we were whisked off (seriously-100 mph and no seat belts) to our hotel. Our hotel was great...we had a two bedroom apartment with full kitchen and a great view of Seoul. We wasted no time in changing clothes and hitting the Lotte Mart for some groceries. Food in hand, we got back to the hotel, organized our luggage, and were so tired we hit the sack around 9pm. We woke up at 2 am....but thats another post entirely!


Here's a few pics from the hotel (pre-Emma....note how clean and tidy)