Papa checked in first and left to go to security to make sure he made it through since it was going to take us longer to check in. After security, Dad headed to his gate and learned that his flight was delayed two hours which would put him in Korea after us. He went up to a customer service counter; and the employee was able to book him on our flight after all!! What a blessing!
We made it to LAX for our layover. I don't think I have ever had to change planes in LAX before today and I can't say I was all too impressed, but quite the opposite. We had to leave the terminal and take a shuttle to the international terminal and had to go through security again. And that was after finding out that the boarding passes United had given us at IAH weren't any good and we had to go to the Asiana Airlines counter for new ones.
The lines for security seemed crazy long and we were starting to wonder if we would make it our gate in time. But luckily, we got into a short line and made it through security in no time.
We finally boarded our Asiana flight and it was crazy packed. Sadly, we didn't have seats together (another complaint I have with United). But we did have two pairs of seats together. So, Dad and Mom sat up a few rows up in front us Andrew and I (but the restrooms were between us too); and James sat in a window seat a few rows behind us. Andrew and I were the middle two seats in a row of four. I asked both the gentlemen with the aisle rows if they would like a window seat hoping to have them switch seats with James, but neither one accepted or didn't understand what I was asking. A little sad, but not the end of the world.
Anyways, Andrew fell asleep shortly after take off and slept for two hours. After he woke up, Andrew didn't eat much of the food, but enough to hold him over and I had packed some snacks for him as well.
For most of the flight, he watched videos as I also did. He started out watching Madagascar 3 on the in-flight television, but soon asked to watch video on his iPad. He did watch the Lorax on the television though. Probably due to my saying that we should try to save his battery.
They turned off most all the lights and I didn't see many people using the overhead lights so I didn't want to be the only one. So, I let Andrew continue watching videos inside of drawing, reading, or doing his workbook.
We also had visits from Ngoai and Papa and we went to see them as well and Daddy too. Andrew didn't seem tired at all and I was worried that he might not fall asleep again. But finally, I told him no more videos or anything and that I wanted him to rest for thirty minutes. He obliged and laid down. I think he fell asleep in about twenty minutes and he ended up sleeping for over four hours until after we landed.
I was so proud of Andrew today. It's been a long day traveling and the thirteen-hour flight from LAX to ICN was not easy. But he took it all the stride and seemed to be okay with everything. He didn't fuss at all today including when I told him it was time to stop watching videos.
We deboarded the plane and went through all immigration, baggage claim, and customs. Dad had arranged for the hotel shuttle to pick us up so that was easy enough. We arrived to Papa's hotel and checked in. The hotel staff was able to put our rooms on the same floor. After, we settled in and then walked to the nearby grocery store to pick up a few items. We also grabbed some Burger King for a small bite to eat. We hung out at Ngoai's and Papa's hotel room for a while. Our burgers were Korean style which meant they included chili sauce making it rather spicy. But it was still pretty good.
Then, we came back here to settle into our room some more and get ready for bed. Andrew is already asleep in the bedroom. I should add that Dad has been staying at this hotel during his stint here. He likes it because it is like a fifteen-minute walk from his office. But the hotel is actually executive apartments so we have a living room, dining area, and kitchen. Andrew was so cute about checking out our entire hotel room! Another nice feature is that we have a washer and dryer in our room so that helped with our packing situation.
It's great to be here. So far, from what we have seen, the city is amazing and I can't wait to see more of it the rest of the week!
Here are some photos from today: (1) on the flight to LAX; (2) asleep on the plane to ICN; (3) our kitch in our hotel room; and (4) our living room.
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