We have a baby coming. The surrogate is in the San Francisco area, so we need to be there before she delivers; and for at least two weeks after, because babies need to be at least that old to fly. So we are going to have to be in the area for three weeks.
On Saturday we flew out. It was not easy. We checked a car seat and a suitcase; and there was certain juggling to try and get it so that we didn’t have to pay for either. We travelled as if we were doing an international flight: we arrived two hours early. We had hoped we would be able to get things done quickly enough that we could relax in the United Lounge that we had passes for. But by the time everything was done and we got through security, we only had about half an hour before boarding. Considering the United Lounge costs $60 without passes, it didn’t seem worth it to use the passes for such a short time. Hopefully we can on the way back.
We started asking people who were there with babies how they did it. It gave us good advice, so we have a better idea of what to do when we are coming back.
When we checked in 24 hours in advance, we picked a window and an aisle seat with the hope that no one would come between us. Unfortunately someone did, although they spent most of the flight sleeping. When we were about to deplane I asked him how long before the flight he had purchased the ticket. And that opened up an interesting story. He got his ticket 20 minutes before the flight. He had missed his previous flight because he was late and running to his gate; apparently the TSA does not like people running in airports. They stopped him and put him in handcuffs. For the record, this was a white man, although he was a music producer with longish hair and a goatee, so I’m not sure how much profiling was involved. I can’t believe that running isn’t allowed in airports though; romantic comedies thrive on that trope.
On landing and after we got our luggage, we picked up our rental car. The rental company put the fear of god in us: crime is rampant in the city and you should expect anything you leave in your car to get stolen. We then drove to our AirBnb. The place seems suitable for our needs; it is only five minutes from the hospital.
But there is no rest for the weary. We immediately went out shopping so that we could have supplies for our time here. This was followed by a run just as the sun was setting. I think there might have been some nice views with all the hills I ran, but it was getting to dark to appreciate them.
Written 2023-5-9 23:30