Day 1: Mission of Hope

So today was a travel day. Our first flight left Nashville at 4 (because it got a little delayed). It was a pretty good flight, as most Southwest Airlines flights have gone. It was a little bumpy throughout the flight. We arrived in LAX and got our 16 checked bags fairly quickly and made our way to the international terminal of the airport. We had dinner, which let me just tell you that eating in LAX is like eating at a sit down restaurant. It is pretty expensive. Anyway, we checked into our Asiana Airlines around 2040 (midnight Eastern Standard Time). That was chaotic. Well it was busy anyway because practically the entire Korean symphony was trying to check in, but when you have 8 people checking 2 bags each and being required to weigh the carry-on luggage it can get pretty crazy. I must be spoiled, thank you Carnegie Hotel, but I was not very impressed because of the check in process. Attendants were rude and made everything more complicated than need be. I guess I have to wait until I finish this flight before I can form an opinion about the airlines as a whole.
Ok. I have gathered quite a bit of tips over my travels and I am still picking up more. So over the course of the trip I will write them all down as I think of them instead of just having one large post with a bunch of them. Anyway…
Tip #1: Weigh your bags ahead of time. It is much better to figure out how to rearrange stuff at your house than it is when you are at the check in counter. (It might just make the attendants a little happier too.)
Tip #2: Check in one at a time, especially if you are in a big group. I have found, with 8 of us, that it if we checked in one at a time with our two bags and our carry-on it would have made a huge difference in our experience at LAX.
Tip #3: Be on time. I’m currently sitting in the LAX terminal # 123 and watching several Australians running to catch their flight. There is a reason that people stick to the “be there 2 hours early” rule.
Tip #4: Try to remain calm. I know that I get very frustrated here at the check in counter and I just have to walk away and let Mom deal with it. Sometimes I run my mouth to much, which doesn’t exactly help in most situations.
I had another tip in the back of my mind, but with it being 1:17 AM (Eastern Time) and we are waiting for a 12:20AM flight (LA time) my mind is just about mush. :) Ok. Well. I’m going to attempt to stay awake for the next couple of hours before we get on the plane. Hopefully I will get a chance to blog tomorrow. I’m so excited to arrive in Manila, PI! 