All worked out for good

The day started well…we even left on time. The fun started after we cleared security. Here are some things from the first day that ended up being for the best.

NOT SO GOOD: After clearing security we noticed our flight was delayed. Turns out that the crew assigned to our plane had only arrived at 2AM Saturday morning and could not legally fly until 10:56AM. This meant we would most likely miss our connecting flight in Chicago to Tokyo and then our flight to Seoul. (Turns out our flight out of Dulles didn’t leave until after noon).
GOOD: After standing in line at customer service for almost an hour, we had a very nice (but a little spacey) agent get us on a non-stop flight to Tokyo that would still allow us to make our connection to Seoul.
NOT SO GOOD: The lavatory near where Grandma and Patrick sat leaked so they had to deal with the odor for 15 hours.
GOOD: We all got forms to turn in for some kind of consolation. Maybe a free ticket…but probably just a free UA towel or something.
NOT SO GOOD: Our customer service lady at Dulles used some weird, roundabout way to keep us on our flight to Seoul. When we went to board in Tokyo our seats on our boarding pass were invalid (or already occupied).
GOOD: We got a free upgrade to Economy Plus with extra leg room.
NOT SO GOOD: We don’t really have enough beds in our hotel room. We were told we would get 2 double beds and 2 singles. Right now we have 2 doubles and 1 single (more like a cot). Hopefully we’ll get another cot-like bed today which will be a little better.
GOOD: We don’t have a standard hotel room. It’s more like a 2 bedroom apartment with 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms, a living room, dining room, and a washing machine. Other amenities in our building include a gym, playroom, a rooftop pool, and complimentary hot breakfast.

Upon arrival in Seoul, our immigration and customs experience was easy and uncrowded. Our luggage even made it off our Chicago flight and all the way to Seoul. Our van driver (VD for short) was prompt, friendly, and helpful overall. It’s a good thing we aren’t any larger of a party or I’m not sure Holt would know what to do. We’ll barely have room to get Ty back to the airport as it is.