Lie Flat Seats, Ice Cream and Chocolate Make a Short Trip to San Francisco a Fun One

What’s a dreadful scenario for someone who loves to travel and has a family?  A daughter who doesn’t want to fly.  She got sick on a trip a bit over a year ago and it put her in a tailspin when it came to getting on planes.  She’s been working slowly back up to it, but our trip to San Francisco for a close friend’s wedding would be her longest flight in quite some time.

Her mom did a great job of convincing her of all the fun things there were to do in San Francisco, and I built in a few fun plane things. And, voila, we had a great trip, even despite time changes and a short 3 days on the road.

It started with a flight from IAD to SFO.  We were on a United 737-900 (old Continental plane).  I can’t remember the last time a flight I was on had a movie that my daughter would enjoy watching but this one just happened to have Wreck-It Ralph, a kids movie she was reasonably interested in.  Only problem was the in-flight entertainment system on this plane wasn’t built for a kid to  sit in the last row of First Class and be able to see the screen.  A brief bit of engineering with a backpack and pillow and my daughter was now tall enough to see over the seat in front of her.  The only reason I’m willing to put up this dippy picture of myself is to illustrate how the 6-year old is the same height as daddy.  And, yes, before anyone screams, she had her seat belt securely fastened.

And, what would a transcontinental flight be without some ice cream?

Seeing a city like San Francisco through the eyes of my daughter for the first time was a lot of fun.  I can only imagine how fun it was for my father when he got to take me there for the first time.  We got over the power outage at the St. Regis quickly and were on to more fun activities.

Like feeding sourdough bread to the birds.

Or riding a cable car for the first time.

Chocolate scavenger hunt with mom?

And, how about the barking seals near Pier 39?

Who decided to set up a Biscoff store and NOT give away miles for buying something?  I sure do miss that US Airways Grand Slam.

And, finally, lie flat seats on the way home.  Not the first time my daughter has flown in one, but she was too young to remember the first time.  She had a great time with the in-flight entertainment and finally ended up crashing for a nap.  A very tired, but happy 6-year old on a whirlwind weekend I hope she’ll remember when she’s older.

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