In a Pickle

Friday, August 30

Nice leg room for R!

Our flight from LAX to ORD was not without some drama this morning. When we boarded the plane, we found out that the seats we originally booked were changed to accommodate a family with children. So instead of the four of us sitting together in Row 36, R was assigned to an exit row in the front of the plane, and the boys and I were given seats in Row 35, also an exit row. However, the gate agent did not notify us or the people originally assigned to Row 35 about the changes.  

Ordinarily, exit rows would be viewed as better seats. But we are used to having our backpacks and water bottles easily accessible to us, so this wasn't really an upgrade in our eyes. 

Things got worse when one of the original passengers boarded with a screenshot of their old boarding pass rather than using the United app, so she didn't understand why her seat was taken. It probably didn't help that she and rest of the party traveling with her only spoke Italian. Her son (I presume) was using Google Translate to communicate that he purchased the upgrade for his mother, and both of them were getting increasingly agitated.

I'll pause the story here to raise an important point about sitting in an exit row - how could an elderly woman who speaks no English assist the crew in the event of an emergency?!?!

By this point, the flight attendant had called the gate agent aboard and was trying to sort everything out. But considering the language barrier, it was clear that there would be no quick resolution. To expedite our departure, I offered to take the woman's new seat in Economy Plus at the front of the plane instead. 

So instead of sitting with M and J, I was sandwiched between two large guys who were annoying manspreaders. And the boys were stuck with Italian grandma who coughed on them the entire flight (at least they were wearing masks). R, enjoying his ample leg room, was oblivious to our troubles. 😖 

Update: I submitted a complaint to customer service, and we got $75 each for our less-than-satisfactory experience.

Saturday, August 31

Today was the main reason for our trip back to Illinois - the inurnment of R's dad's ashes. We were thankful that many family and friends were able to join us to honor and remember him. 

Miss you, Dad!

After lunch at Angelo's, we spent the rest of the day hanging out with the cousins. So fun to play pickleball with them! And E even hooked us up with some spiffy paddles to take home - thanks! 

Tuesday, September 3

After church on Sunday, we drove down to see my parents. Because of M's limited PTO, we could only visit for a short time. But at least he could take advantage of the Labor Day holiday to save one vacation day.

Yesterday, the boys went to the driving range with GongGong - it makes me happy that they are learning from him! And as usual, we all enjoyed PoPo's cooking. 

Here's the obligatory pic of the grands before we left this afternoon...

Then we zipped back to Chicago because we had tickets for the Cubs game tonight. We parked the car in the remote lot off Irving Park Road (free parking for night/weekend games!) and rode the shuttle bus over to Seminary Avenue - only had to walk a couple blocks south to Wrigley Field. Easy peasy!

In front of Ryno's statue, sporting his new jersey

Our first-ever night game at Wrigley

Cousin D was at the game, too!

Unlike the game in San Diego earlier this year, this one had a outcome more typical for us. The Cubs lost to the Pirates, 5-0, so now our record is 1-8 in games that we've watched in person. Boo.

Cubs pickleball paddles were the special giveaway, though!