Lord, I was born a ramblin' man

Last weekend, Charlotte and I traveled to DC to celebrate my grandmothers. Here's thematic installment no. 1 of our trip. I call it: how to travel with a mobile 6 month old and not lose your mind.

We got to the airport three hours early because I figured there'd be a long line at security, it being the Friday before Labor Day and all. Not only was there virtually no line, the TSA agent actually opened another lane for us. Then I had to fill three hours with a mobile baby.

So, we played with the suitcase for a while. I also instagrammed a lot (follow me: joie_12). The awesome gate agent re-arranged things so that Charlotte and I had a row to ourselves, so she flew in the car seat.

Sleeping on the plane. This didn't actually last very long, and I was forced to resort to SkyMall to keep her entertained.

I learned an important lesson: just because you CAN carry the diaper bag, carseat/kid combo, and a carry-on duffle, doesn't mean you SHOULD. It wasn't so bad in Albany, but National Airport is a lot bigger. I earned some calluses on my hands this trip!

On the way back, killing time with Mimi before the flight. I had already checked the duffle bag at this point.

Despite the relative emptiness of our return flight, we were forced to gate check the car seat. This ended up not being an issue, because Charlotte (and I!) slept for the first 45 minutes of the 65 minute flight. I really enjoyed our snuggly little nap. 

The last twenty minutes were spent playing and making googly eyes at the baby two rows up.