The airplane was huge!  I was not able to get a picture of it because I boarded at night, this picture was taken the next morning and yes that is ice frozen onto the window! Beautiful views from the airplane!

Recently my husband spent a month in India working. Thankfully I was able to go over to spend some time with him and visit family.  My parents were sweet enough to watch the girls for us and take them to school so I could fly over and see Jake.  I was super excited to see Jake after being apart for almost a month.  I am not sure how military and other families handle all the travel time because a month was a very long time for us to be apart and there were some tough days.  Being apart a week here and there has been fine but by the time it came for me to spend two days traveling I was a little nervous going through several different airports and countries by myself but it was worth it knowing Jake was on the other end.  I was gone for two weeks, went through 12 airports, and thankfully my luggage never got lost!  Aww….there is so much that has happened over the past couple months, looking forward to sharing with you!

Traveling on Qatar Airways was very pleasant considering how long we were on the airplane.  The “moving map” was probably my favorite thing to keep up on my TV screen as I was reading I would occasionally look up and see all the details of the flights.

This screen shot shows:

• Local Time at Origin:  9:41 am
• Local Time at Destination: 4:41 pm
• Outside Air Temperature:   -44 degree Celsius
• Ground Speed:  568 mph
• True Airspeed: 561 mph
• Altitude: 35000 feet

Since we were going to several different locations we actually were traveling on several different airlines – US Airways, United Airlines, Qatar, Kingfisher, and IndiGo.  Kingfisher was the only one that we had any major complications with and that was because the government froze all its assets and it went bankrupt the week we were flying with them.  All our scheduled Kingfisher flights got canceled, at one point they re-routed our flight to a different city, the schedule had to be juggled around, and we had to switch airlines for one of the flights but otherwise it was pretty smooth trip.  Qatar was my favorite, which is good since it was the longest leg of our trip both ways. They had bigger seats that reclined more, individual TVs, headphones, pillow, blanket, delicious meals, and a goody bag (with items like ear plugs, socks, toothbrush & toothpaste, a blind fold).  I flew coach the entire way and it was a great experience for me.

When you look at the map it really doesn’t look too far, until you realize you just flew halfway across the world!  The longest part of the trip was from Washington, DC to Doha, Qatar.

What an amazing blessing it was to fly overseas.  I met some of the most wonderful people from around the world during my trip.  I was able to share stories and experiences, learn about many different cultures and families, laugh with other women over silly stuff even though we couldn’t understand everything each other was saying, give out disposable toothbrushes to fellow travelers, and so much more.  Even though a couple weeks have passed since traveling I am still processing all the great things about the trip.  I am thankful for the wonderful opportunity and the people I was able to meet during my trip.  It really was a true joy just talking with people from around the world and I pray that through my conversations, actions, and interactions that I made a positive impact on the lives of the people I met.

Almost to the end of my long flight!  On the map you can see Ad-Dammam, Bahrain, and Qatar.  It is my first time in Doha, Qatar!

Even though I traveled over on my own it was a really pleasant experience.  I am thankful for the many people I met.  I sat next to really neat and thoughtful people.  Only one person had a panic attack in flight which was a really “interesting” experience.  The guy having a panic attack was in the back of the airplane (row 37 and I was in row 13 with my headphones on watching a movie) and I could hear him yelling.  He was yelling for one of the guys sitting next to me.  Thankfully the stewardess didn’t have to restrain him but I did have a several different people that I sat next to since the stewardess had to juggle around some passengers.  My heart went out to all the families with small children as they tried to keep them content for so long, they must have been exhausted by the end of the trip.  There were many exciting stories and crazy little things that happened along the way which made the experience a fun adventure!

The girls are convinced they are ready to go overseas now!  They really want to go this summer but since we were just there, they don’t have their passports yet, and the summer is already full we told them maybe the next time we travel overseas they can come.  I think the best part of the flight, according to the girls, was that they served us ice cream for a snack (they’ve never had ice cream on a plane before)!

My family loves to travel, both flying and road trips.  Over the years (and after many trips) we have discovered ways to make the trips more enjoyable for whole family.  Do you travel overseas a lot?  What airlines have been your favorite?  Do you have any tips for flying with your family?

The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!