The WORST Line in an Airport EVER Could be Found in HKG Today!

Sunday, May 1: Day 19:
So we got up this morning and had a yummy pancake breakfast with the Allbrittons, said our good byes and hopped in a cab at 8:00 am. Audrey was totally bummed to be leaving Chase- she felt like she didn’t get enough time with her friend and even said in the cab, “I wish this was just the very first day of our trip so we can do it all over again.” Very sweet! Thank you thank you thank you for hosting us B, L, C and M!!
We were at the airport and standing in a medium sized line by 8:50 am for our 11:30 flight. PLENTY of time! We are NEVER this early to the airport. (This is one reason I am looking forward to Scarlett moving up to having her own seat on flights- when you travel with a lap infant, you can’t check in online. You have to do it in the airport, especially when traveling internationally.)
So we are standing in line, then Scarlett wanted milk, so I decided to wander around looking for some for her. We were gone 10-15 minutes & when we got back to Joe and Audrey, they had only moved 1 or 2 spots in line. We left again to go to the bathroom and same thing happened, but now the line was huge. We stood, we stood and stood some more. One hour passed. We probably moved about 3 spots up & still had at least 8 people in front of us. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Now the line reached almost to the exit doors. And now it was 10:30 & we still had a few people in front of us. People were starting to get pissed & official United folks were running around. Part of the problem- yesterday’s San Francisco flight was cancelled, so now those folks were trying to get on our flight. Plus, today’s Chicago flight was cancelled, so those people were scrambling. It wouldn’t have been so bad but it seemed like today was every United employee’s first day on the job. I mean they were clueless! One guy a few spots behind us flagged someone down to ask how worried he should be about missing the flight and they gave him a sticker. A sticker! No explanation about what that sticker meant either, then she just ran off. Audrey was stoked to see that they were handing out stickers so she asked for one too.
Well, long story and a lot of mad people later, we FINALLY made it up to the counter around 11:00 and got checked in. Thankfully we were not checking any bags as they never would have made it! (We do our best to only carry on due to one too many lost bags in the past) Mind you we still had to go through security and customs plus make it out to the proper concourse. We were moving as fast as possible and still had to run to catch the flight. Thankfully (for their sakes really) United held the plane until everyone was onboard. Idiots.
The flight went pretty smooth. The girls settled in and took some decent naps. We played games, colored, watched movies, wandered the aisles and watched the sun set and rise again. I don’t know which is stranger- having it be day time all the way across or watching night move that quickly.
We made it to SFO pretty beat, but still kicking. We had a 2-3 hour layover and thankfully our flight’s gate was right next to the kid’s play area. This kept the monkeys occupied until take off again. If you are ever in SFO with a decent layover and you are traveling with kids, you should seek it out. It’s located near gate 87. (And if you are ever there WITHOUT kids, avoid the area around gate 87 like the plague!) Everyone napped on the flight again which was good, but Audrey and Scarlett got into that deep sleep zone and Scarlett was NOT happy when we landed in Denver. She did her breath holding, kicking, crying thing the whole way off the plane.
And once again, we have to give 2 (or should it be 8??) thumbs up to our neighbors Dave and Sally. Not only did they drop us off at the airport when we left Denver, but they also parked our car at the valet off site parking lot so it would be waiting for us upon landing. (They were out of town this weekend too) So we hopped in and made it home safely by mid afternoon. And what do you know? While we were gone, the Easter Bunny came and left (plastic) eggs in the front yard for the girls to find. AND Easter Baskets on the dining room table! Wasn’t that super of him? Audrey and Scarlett happily ran around the yard collecting eggs and Audrey exclaimed, “This is the BEST Easter day ever!”
We all were about ready to pass out, but wanted the girls to go to bed at a reasonably normal hour. They were down and out by 7:15 and now Joe and I are just relaxing on the couch.
Phew! What a long, yet oddly short, fabulous journey. We are indeed glad to be home though and look forward to processing it all over the next few weeks.
I’ll be adding photos tonight after I get them all downloaded.

Thank you for following us on our journey!