Some of the good and not so good details of our return to Oki:
• I survived the 24+ hours of travel with my 2 boys
• Luckily, no one was sitting in the seat in front of us as the boys pounded the airplane phone back into the receiver 78+ times en route to San Francisco.
• I successfully passed through security 5 times: apparently I’m not a security threat despite having 3 oz. of water in a sippy cup. (After 5 minutes of debate the security guard dumped out the water and let me keep the cup.)
• Our flight was full so there wasn’t an empty seat for Ethan (I cried when they told me). He was on my lap the entire time.
• We only had to run to catch 1 of the 3 flights. This was no easy task when pushing a double stroller while pulling a carry-on suitcase and carrying a backpack and diaper bag.
• We were one of the first ones off the plane which should have guaranteed us a spot at the front of the line through Customs but I had to wait 20 minutes for my stroller, placing us at the end of the line. Apparently no one felt bad enough for a woman traveling alone with 2 small children to let us cut in front of them.
• We waited in line 45 minutes to get through Customs and I only had to bribe the boys with candy twice to prevent any melt-downs.
• The boys only slept 4 of the 12 hour flight from Cali to main-land Japan.
• Now for the ugly part of this entry. There was some sort of leak in the 1st class section of the plane (they told me it had nothing to do with the bathroom), flooding the floor with water which seeped back to the front row of the economy section where my boys were peacefully sleeping on the floor. They woke up with drenched blankets and clothing causing us to smell like stinky airplane carpet for the remainder of the journey.
• The best part of all: It’s over!
Welcome back to the blogosphere!
ReplyDeleteYou should complain to the airline about the water, maybe you can get free perks for next time.
That's messed up.
ReplyDeletethe question is, will you ever do it again?
ReplyDeleteYou are surely a trooper, hope the trip was worth it...probably great coming over but no so exciting going back. I doubt I would have ever done it alone, I got nervous to fly from Seattle to Utah with only Kaden and he was 2+ years old! Glad you made it back safely, it was good to see you guys.
ReplyDeleteThis entry triggered my stress response and made a knot in my stomach. I would have nightmares for years if I went through something like that. I'm happy to hear you made if back intact!
ReplyDeleteWell if you only cried once you must be superwoman! I guess with a trip like that you are either laughing from disbelief at how ridiculous everything is or crying out of frustration and lack of sleep. Glad you made it back alive!
ReplyDeleteWell you just cemented my decision not to fly back home after the baby is born. That is just a hellish trip and I only did it with a husband and one child.
ReplyDeleteWe are considering going to Utah for some time in the summer...after reading your post, well...maybe not. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm just catching up on blog reading & wow, I missed out on a lot of excitement on yours! I would give you the mother-of-the-year award for enduring such a flight (not to mention the crazy mishap of having your kids wet! That would have made me cry!!!) Congrats for making it to the USA & BACK.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have you back. I have been missing updates from you guys! Wish that we could have seen you!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you survived your marathon trip back Melanie. Sorry to hear about the horrible water spill though :(
ReplyDeleteWell folks, thanks for going through all the trouble. I hope that no permanent damage was done. Thanks again for making it out for our wedding, it meant a lot to Tiff and I that you were there!
ReplyDelete