Learning to Fly
Josh’s Summer Vacation Blog Post Part 2
Going anywhere away from home takes as much planning and preparation as it did when the kids were babies, I swear! Remember packing the diaper bag with multiple sets of clothes, toys, food (or bottles), snacks, etc. because you needed to be prepared for anything? Yep… it’s still like that for us.
When we were trying to decide between a direct flight from Detroit to LA or two shorter flights with a layover, the greatest consideration had to do with toileting and all the things that could possibly go awry. We opted to fly out of Grand Rapids with a layover at Chicago Midway (both smaller airports,) and we were excited to fly Southwest Airlines. Tom flies Southwest often for work and he was confident we would have a positive experience.
Josh was missing his routine bus ride, being on summer break from school, so we parked in the economy lot so Josh could ride on the shuttle bus. He loved it! We were the only ones on there, and he was grinning ear to ear.
Riding on the shuttle bus
We brought Josh’s wheelchair for this trip. He has full mobility, but with his history of eloping, and his history of just sitting down if he wants to stop and people watch, it was best to push him in his chair. He enjoys that anyway! To check in, some SW employees sent us to a “special” line so we didn’t have to wait in the long line with Josh, which ended up taking way longer.😂 Then the lady who checked us in seemed like she hates her job, and we hoped that would be the only negative experience with this trip. Going through TSA in Grand Rapids was almost a fun experience. They had Josh walk through a metal detector to me, and checked his chair out. The agents were very accommodating and caring, which was a real blessing since we were concerned that Josh may not follow their instructions. It was a breeze!
We made it through check-in!😅
There's our plane!
Josh did so great at the airport, and thankfully we were pre-boarded and were the first ones on the plane! He was a little anxious once we taxied down the runway and the plane took off.
Take Off!
https://youtube.com/shorts/PKY0b3G-YRQ?si=WX5Xtp27RGc8Fjtd
Josh stared out the window during the fairly short flight to Chicago. There was some rough weather and the landing was pretty wild!
Landing in Chicago
https://youtube.com/shorts/r33LHWRhW6o?si=soTG300d9nbSYrlb
We packed lunches and snacks and Josh was so happy sitting in his chair and people watching. Our layover was a couple hours long and he did get a little wiggy near the end. We think he was confused that we weren’t with Leah and Will after the plane landed. Tom wheeled him around the terminal and that helped calm Josh a bit.
Layover in Chicago
https://youtube.com/shorts/be5NO3a_sjc?si=WXOF3gt5EbcY1E7T
Once we were on the plane again, Josh enjoyed watching out the window for the entire flight to LA. He didn’t really want snacks, he wasn’t interested in any of his favorite movies we downloaded on his iPad. He just happily watched the clouds.
All of the flight attendants on both planes were fantastic, and very understanding. For all of our preparation and worry about possible toileting issues on our trip, Josh did great! Not one single accident.💖
Landing in LAX was so much smoother than our first landing!
https://youtube.com/shorts/hfjk4tXIssc?si=To65vUNSCRoYobDO
We’re Here!
Part 3 “Donuts and Swim Days” (Coming soon!)