Folinazzo

When United Airlines announced an awards travel sale last summer, and we realized it would cost us only 60,000 frequent flier miles for three round-trip tickets, we thought it a really good idea to book flights to Arizona for Mark, Lucia, and me.  The regular “price” of one round-trip ticket from O’Hare to Phoenix usually is 50,000 miles.  So 60,000 miles for three tickets?  We couldn’t pass it up.

There is always a catch, though.  Neither leg of the journey would be non-stop.  We learned we’d have to stop twice on the way to Phoenix, and then once on the way back home to Chicago.  Still not bad, though – right?  It’s free, after all.  Not costing us a dime.

Did I mention that Lucia (our daughter) would be one year old at the time of travel?  Honestly, what were we thinking?  We would have to strap in and then undo her car seat three times.  Three flights, two layovers = a long day of travel.  We would have to pack a small feast to make sure she was properly fed throughout the day.

Still, last July when we booked the flights, it all didn’t seem so bad.  But as our departure date grew nearer, I became more and more anxious.  Again, what were we thinking?

Turns out, Mark and I are awesome planners and Lucia is an exceptional traveler.  Our extended day of travel could not have run more smoothly.  Even the weather cooperated.

My greatest concern was that we would not be allowed to carry on a sufficient amount of food and milk for Lucia to last throughout the day.  I checked the TSA’s website and found nothing helpful at first.  Then I looked a bit more closely and found exactly what I needed to know; this link was extremely helpful.  We breezed through security at O’Hare.  The TSA did test the milk in the bottles we had prepared ahead of time, but that was the only “delay” we experienced.

Lucia was comfortable and relaxed throughout the day.  We had enough food and bottles for her, and, equally important, enough snacks (especially her favorite, HappyMelts [highly recommended by this mom]).  Of course, we had toys and books for her – enough to keep her occupied for hours.  The flight times also worked well with Lucia’s nap times, so that was an added bonus.

Despite the long hours, it was a perfect day of traveling, and I am elated that my daughter is such a good little traveler.  Actually, she’s a veteran now; this was her third airplane trip since she was born a year ago!  She is – we are – on our way to what we hope is a long history of happy travel tales for this family.

I’ve given up trying to be “deep”.  I thought there might be a way for me to write something detailed and eloquent about the people who helped us win the trip to Tuscany.  But that will take too long, and I think too much time already has passed.  So here it is:  I am deeply grateful for all of the help offered and provided by so many during the contest.  Several days later, I am still completely overwhelmed by the number of people who spread the word in an effort to get more votes for us.  During a time when I was feeling really down about how mean and disrespectful some people can be, there were plenty of others who stepped up and proved there still are good people in this world.  Friends and family members I have not seen or talked to in years were posting the contest details on Facebook, asking their friends to vote.  Friends of friends – people I’ve never even met – were doing the same thing.  My co-worker’s son’s basketball coach (follow that?) even posted it on his page.  Our entire Taylor Street neighborhood (save for a few rotten apples) rallied behind my family and did what they could to make sure we won this trip to Tuscany.  And what would these people get out of it?  They knew it would be nothing monetary or material, just the knowledge and satisfaction that they helped someone else.  These people are good people.

Thanks again for the help, support, encouragement, and votes.  You know who you are

We won the photo contest, run by Ciao Bambino!, that I wrote about a few weeks ago. Well, we're co-winners, but we still get to go to Tuscany. What a wild ride! The contest started out friendly ... [Continue reading this entry]

How, you ask?  Well, first you need to visit the Ciao Bambino! page on Facebook, become a fan, then vote for my photo of Lucia & Mark by leaving a comment.  If you do not have ... [Continue reading this entry]

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This year probably wasn't the best to plan a road trip due to the outrageous gas prices. That thought did occur to us early on but we continued to plan and figured we could make do. Since ... [Continue reading this entry]

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