Day 1
3/13/2013
San Clara, California
to San Jose, Costa Rica
After a whopping four hours of sleep (who knew there was so
much stuff to get together when taking a baby internationally for 10 days), we
got up at 4 AM to take care of the last minute things. Around 5:30 AM Opa
showed up and we were out the door by 6. We were hoping the little guy would
sleep on the way to SFO, but no such luck. It was a quick trip to the airport
and we managed to say goodbye, check in, and get through security with only a
few stressful moments (like, “sorry, sir…you’ll have to check the stroller and
carry your baby through the airport here and during your several hour layover
in Dallas.”) Though things always take so much longer with the kiddo that despite
arriving to the airport almost two hours early, by the time we got to the gate, it was already time to board.
We were in the very last row and sat with a nice family from
Mississippi. E really liked the father and smiled at him for a good part of the
trip. Eventually, he napped, but only if nursing…which is far from ideal, but
on a four hour plane ride and when you’re as tired as we were, you make
allowances. Though the only issue was that every so often, he bites in his sleep
and that was very uncomfortable for
Lisa (and made it difficult for her to sleep). Later, he also had a lot of fun
standing in the foot well (after all, there was plenty of leg room to begin with)
and looking out the window (who doesn’t?).
The plane got to Texas early and we had fun riding the train
to our next terminal. We had a nice lunch and because of these brilliant baby biscuits
(Mum Mums) that E could hold and chew, Lisa and I both ate our big, delicious
hamburgers at the same time. We
talked about how March 13th is the anniversary of our first date:
TEN YEARS AGO! Lisa loved rehashing the fact that as we headed out for dinner
that night, we were parked on a steep hill. My jeep was behind hers. It was a
stick shift. And I was so nervous, I had a really hard time engaging the clutch
to reverse…and kept inching closer and closer to hitting her car. Eventually, I
got it, but man was I sweating. Though Lisa took the opportunity to make some
sassy remark and I knew right then that she was the girl for me.
Anyhow, the plane to San Jose, Costa Rica pushed back from
the gate on time and then…came right back to the gate. They announced that
there was a mechanical problem and it was going to take an hour or so to fix. We
could deplane if we desired (as long as we took ALL of our carry-on bags off with us!). The thought of getting everything off and then
on again was daunting so we opted to hang out on the plane. Finally, two hours later, we took
off. E was a really good boy again and that made the total of six hours on that
plane much, much easier. Landing at 9PM (local time – the equivalent of
Mountain Time), we made it through Immigration (after being ushered to the
front of the long line because we had
a baby – MAN, I love Costa
Rica ), got our bags, and went though Customs
reasonably quickly.
Then we went outside too look for the driver. It was chaos.
There were so many people: travellers, porters, taxi drivers, and who knows
what else. It took some time to find ours, but eventually we did and he ran us
across the mayhem (a.k.a the “pick up area”) to his 12 passenger van. We
strapped E and the car seat in and were whisked away to our home for the next 3
nights: Villa Dolce.
Randall, the manager met us in our one-bedroom villa and let
us get some cold drinks from the lobby. Our villa was very nice. Around 10:30
PM, Lisa fed E some late night oatmeal as I set up his crib. He went to sleep
with manageable amount of fuss and though we wished we could, Lisa had to stay
up and finish some work and I, the dutiful husband, desperately tried to stay awake in support. Just as we got into bed, E woke up (ain’t that how it always goes)…and
was not a happy baby. By 12:30 AM, we calmed him enough, but he was not having
the crib. And as the flexible, exhausted, desperate parents we were, we plopped
him in the middle of the king-sized bed and we slept. Finally.
Day 2
3/14/2013
San Jose, Costa Rica
Lisa had to get up around 6 AM to get ready for work. I
lounged around until 7, before getting myself some coffee / breakfast in the lobby.
While I was out, E woke up and “helped” Mommy finish. Her ride showed up a few
minutes before 8 and we walked her out. We were car-less for the day, so we
planned to hang out at Villa Dolce all day…which was fine since we were
both pooped. E ate breakfast, had a bath in his inflatable ducky tub (thanks,
Aunt Dasha!) and a bottle by the pool. By 10 AM, he was exhausted and went down
for a nap…in his crib and with minimal fuss. I decided to write some of this
log before catching a brief nap myself. After a solid sleep on both our parts,
we ate lunch...his broccoli/apple and mine a delivered Caribbean chicken curry
of some sort with mashed plantain cakes (patacones), rice & beans, and sweet plantains
for dessert. As we say to E, “delicious!”
Then it was time for a swim. He’s my son after all because he LOVED
the water. He splashed until he could splash no more. We ring-around-the-rosy-ied until we could
ring-around-the rosy no more. We even had races with me working his hands in a
“heads up freestyle” and him kick-kick-kicking. Exhausted, we rinsed off, had a
bottle, and (both of us) crashed for an afternoon nap.
From our previous trip to Costa Rica , I remembered the roads
being crazy. There are no street signs or lane lines or much organization to
traffic flow. Before, however, we were in remote areas and so it wasn’t a big
deal. San Jose, my friends, is a big city. With lots of people. And every one
of them turns clinically insane when given a steering wheel. So that’s what we
set off into to find a restaurant…with a hungry, quickly tiring baby. In the
dark.
We drove and drove looking for some random Y in the road
where we were supposed to turn left. We never found it. We turned around, went
back to the hotel. They said we didn’t go far enough. We tried again,
eventually deciding that we’d just take Lisa’s coworker back to her hotel and eat
at a “Costa Rican Fast Food” joint attached to a nearby casino.
“Costa Rican Denny’s” would be an accurate description. We
each had the “promotion”. Vladmir – our Tico (what they call natives) who spoke
superb English – pushed he promotion hard. Lil’E was getting fussy and the
Mum-Mum only lasted through ½ our beer. Eventually, we ate and were waiting for
our check when Lisa realized we hadn’t even brought the diaper bag. Jeez! What
awesome parents, no? (To be fair, we anticipated eating at our hotel).
Through some miracle, we found our hotel again and put E to
sleep, praying that he’d sleep better. After a quick beer purchased from the
lobby and a few chores, we crashed too.
Day 3
3/15/2013
San Jose, Costa Rica
The little guy slept great – almost as well as at home,
which granted us a much needed night's sleep too. Though we still had to rise
around 6:30AM, it was much easier. Lisa got ready while I grabbed a quick
breakfast and then switched. E woke just in time to drive Mommy to work – we
now had run of her company’s car and weren’t to be hotel-locked.
Once we got back, E had breakfast, bathed, played, and then
had a snack & story time in the gardens again. By 10:30, it was time for a
nap and he went down like a pro. I used the time to get myself and him ready
for the afternoon’s adventure: Zoo
Ave (Ave means bird and is not, as I was
corrected, the abbreviation for Avenue)!
Finding
He woke up just in time for us to have his bottle, snack,
and hop in the car to get Lisa from work. We made it there relatively safe,
only going the wrong way on a crowded street once in the 5 minute drive (a.k.a
a successful trip). E was so happy to see his Mommy. We got back to the hotel
and played a bit before dinner…and they actually had the pizza! And they were
delicious. One of the Tica workers loved E and kept coming over to him, calling
him “guapo guapo guapo.” All the grandparents would be happy to note that even
in a foreign land, the little guy was well fawned over. The rest of the evening
was pleasant and we got to bed early, because in the morning came our long
weekend away to Quepos!
Day 4
3/16/2013
San Jose to Quepos,
Costa Rica
We slept in (until 6:45!) and managed to get everyone ready,
all our stuff packed, bellies full, and in the car by 9:45 with the GPS aimed
at Quepos. After about 30 minute on the road, E napped and we were able to
navigate through the steep backcountry roads without killing anyone. Surprisingly,
the countryside reminded us of the hills of the Bay Area. We reminisced about
our past trips to Central America and the Caribbean. We got on the “highway”
and proceeded to hit a long line of motionless cars with men walking the line
selling cashews and mangos to those of us stuck in traffic. Eventually, we made it to Jaco
and drove along the scenic coastline – not that I got to see much since taking
one's eyes off the road was suicidal.
About an hour from Quepos, E woke and played happily. Around
20 kilometers away, neither Lisa nor I could handle it and we pulled off into a
palm tree farm to “water one” with all the coffee we had at breakfast. When we
were within minutes of town E decided he suddenly was starving and done with
the car ride. Before we could stop though, we had to make it through a
construction zone, weave through the narrow, bustling Quepos streets, and up a
winding hill (…which we had to back down again to avoid the semi-truck doing
the same).
After lunch, we headed for our home for the next three
nights: The Blue Banyan Inn. It wasn’t in our GPS, but luckily, I’d printed out
the directions…which included instructions such as “pass the above ground
cemetery, take a quick left onto the dirt road” and “look for the boulder
painted blue & white, then turn right.” But we found it and in the nick of
time, E was not excited to be in the
car anymore. So angry, in fact, that the only thing that appeased him was reciting
his favorite book, The Little Blue Truck.
Thankfully, we’ve read it enough that between the two of us we know all the
lines. Finally, after going down a hill so steep it reminded me of the Jeep
trips my family took in the southern Rockies ,
we arrived.
Beautiful.
The owner, Barb, sat us down in the comfortable outdoor
lobby and gave us an intro to the BBI and Quepos while her doggie, Max, came to
E for a pet. She walked us across the perfectly manicured lawns, showing us the
Avocado and Papaya trees and telling us a little about the Monkey
Rehabilitation Sanctuary attached to the BBI. She showed us to our little house, the
Orchid Cottage, a clean villa with a rain shower and high wood ceilings. E and
I checked out the tropical pool and made a deal that if he napped well, then
I’d swim with him afterward. Guess my bribe worked, because even Lisa napped. I
took the time to read in the rocking chairs on our porch…though I spent a lot
of time looking at the rain clouds hugging the jungle-covered mountains on the
other side of the valley or listening to the exotic bird calls coming from
everywhere.
VIDEO
I kept my promise and once the lil’guy was up, we threw on
our suits and hit the pool as Lisa took pics of us splashing and swimming and
having a great time. Suddenly, we realized it was getting close to dinner so we
headed back to Quepos. Once again, E had had enough car time unless we chanted The Little
Blue Truck. We stopped at a grocery store that had a gate attendant to get
into the parking lot. He gave us this little plastic card that we had no idea
what to do with…though after Lisa asked him and he explained, in great
detail…en espanol... we devised that we were supposed to return it to him on
exit. We bought some snacks and drinks and returned the card to him. Dinner was
at a nice restaurant that Barb suggested and E had a great time flirting with
the waitress. Then it was another trip home filled with The Little Blue Truck (he
did let us get away with singing Baby Beluga a couple times). We got him to bed
and hit the sack early too…the next day was to be a big one – our trip to the
infamous Manual Antonio National Park
Day 5
3/17/2013
Quepos, Costa Rica
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
And happy 90th birthday to GG!
It was an early morning, rising at 6 to get everyone ready for
Manual Antonio National Park
E napped while we made the 30 minute drive through the busy
streets of Quepos and up the rocky, jungle cliffs into the park. Again, always
an adventure…this time avoiding the strolling tourists and Ticos out for a slow
bike ride in the middle of the major street. Having been warned by Barb, we
drove past the men with whistles who insisted we park there. We found a place
to park at the entrance and “quickly” got E ready…half an hour later we were
ready to go. There was a man who bought our tickets for us and arranged the
best tour guide ever, Ivan.
Ivan introduced us to the other two people in our group, a
couple from Montreal,
and we took off along the dirt road that ran through the heart of the jungle in
M.A. I’d heard how crowded the park can get and while it never felt like we were
alone, the congestion was far less than Yosemite or Grand
Canyon on a dead day. Ivan was fantastic, carting around a huge
telescope and pointing out interesting insects (like the inch-long, colorful
Rainbow Grasshopper), reptiles (Black Iguanas up the wazoo, and the so-called
Jesus Lizard…named because the dragon-esque creature can walk on water), and
plants (the citronella tree? smells just like citronella…one of the reasons the
park has no mosquitoes).
The best, for me, were the monkeys and sloths. For some reason, sloths were on my “animals to see before I die” list. Today, we saw both the two- and three-toed variety and learned some wildly interesting facts: They only climb to the ground once a week and that’s to poop. Also, they eat leaves which make them mildly drunk to help them stay so still. And, get this, they’re actually in the same biological family as the armadillo! We also got up close’n’personal with White-Faced Monkeys (which are smarter and more meddlesome than Yosemite raccoons), more Squirrel monkeys, and a mama Howler Monkey playing with her baby. E did great and while he registered seeing the monkeys, he had the most fun dipping his feet in the ocean and drinking from Mommy’s water bottle.
The best, for me, were the monkeys and sloths. For some reason, sloths were on my “animals to see before I die” list. Today, we saw both the two- and three-toed variety and learned some wildly interesting facts: They only climb to the ground once a week and that’s to poop. Also, they eat leaves which make them mildly drunk to help them stay so still. And, get this, they’re actually in the same biological family as the armadillo! We also got up close’n’personal with White-Faced Monkeys (which are smarter and more meddlesome than Yosemite raccoons), more Squirrel monkeys, and a mama Howler Monkey playing with her baby. E did great and while he registered seeing the monkeys, he had the most fun dipping his feet in the ocean and drinking from Mommy’s water bottle.
Having very little nap and not much time for a snack,
post-tour we headed as quickly as possible back to the BBI. We all had a small
lunch and then E took a nap under the condition that he’d get to go into the swimming
pool again before dinner. Lisa fell asleep also and I enjoyed a couple hours on
the porch writing, reading, and listening to the roar of the Howler Monkeys…which
sounds like a lion to the untrained ear. As promised, we took him in the pool for
a swim – or rather, a splash. We showered, got on our nicest green outfits
(though they don’t seem to celebrate St. Patty’s day down here) and headed out
for dinner. We drove through the jungle with one of the most breath-taking
sunsets I’ve ever seen. The sun was huge, electric orange as it settled into a
deep red ocean.
The restaurant for the night perched at the peak of a hill
just outside Manuel Antonio and though we just had a few moments of twilight to
take in the view from the open air dining room, we were more than impressed. E
was busy during dinner and so it took a lot of energy keeping him occupied
while enjoying our fresh caught snapper. For the drive, the lil’guy decided he
wanted Mommy and Daddy to sing the entire time. We were really reaching when we
started on “The Song that Never Ends” on the dirt road about 4 kilometers from
the BBI. But we made it with voices semi-intact and a tired baby in tow.
Day 6
3/18/2013
Quepos, Costa Rica
After a good, long night's sleep (well, 8 hours…which is a
lifetime these days), we were up a little after 6 and got ready for another fun
breakfast with the other guests – not to mention the banana pancakes. So it was
with full bellies that we toured the Monkey Sanctuary with Barb as our guide. It was
truly amazing to see what they’ve done with their rehabilitation efforts. The
monkeys we saw being fed in large fenced cages were not going to be able to be
released back into the wild, but they treat many others (as well as other
species of primates, sloths, mammals, and birds) that are able to head back
into the jungles.
They had a couple troops of Brazilian Marmosets which are these tiny, adorable monkeys with tufted ears and a long striped tail. There were also several troops of Common Marmosets. E really liked the Squirrel Monkeys who seemed just as interested in him. The white-faced monkeys are evidently smart, but pretty aggressive – which I buy after seeing them on the beaches in Manuel Antonio. My favorite were the Spider Monkeys, who have a long tail that they truly use as a fifth limb. I loved watching the young male named Darwin who swung all over the enclosure. On the walk back to our cabin, we talked about how fun it would be (will be) to take our kids here when they’re old enough to help out feeding the animals.
They had a couple troops of Brazilian Marmosets which are these tiny, adorable monkeys with tufted ears and a long striped tail. There were also several troops of Common Marmosets. E really liked the Squirrel Monkeys who seemed just as interested in him. The white-faced monkeys are evidently smart, but pretty aggressive – which I buy after seeing them on the beaches in Manuel Antonio. My favorite were the Spider Monkeys, who have a long tail that they truly use as a fifth limb. I loved watching the young male named Darwin who swung all over the enclosure. On the walk back to our cabin, we talked about how fun it would be (will be) to take our kids here when they’re old enough to help out feeding the animals.
Hot and in need of a nap, we stopped by the Canadians' cabin to see the Morpho butterfly that emerged from its cocoon on their deck
while we were at breakfast. This half-my-palm sized insect has wings that look like an owl’s head on one side, and on the other side…the most striking, beautiful blue. While
E slept, we relaxed and planned for a leisurely afternoon. It’s amazing how
long it takes to remember how to fully relax and that it’s ok to move a little
slower…
(Click for Video)
We got dressed in our “nice” clothes and drove into Quepos
one last time. At the Rainforest Café, we ate another delicious Mahi Casado for
dinner (which is a traditional Tico dish of fish – or chicken – with beans,
rice, squash, salad, and sweet plantain). We shopped in the KSTR (Kids Saving
the Rainforest) benefit shop and then hit the grocery store. Before bed, we
took E for a “night hike” around the grounds (i.e. to the pool and back), but
it was fun showing him the moon and stars, though to him the solar path lights were far more interesting.
3/19/2013
Quepos to San Jose,
Costa Rica
Another fantastic breakfast of banana pancakes…for which Barb
refused to relinquish the recipe. We nor the other guests could figure out how
they get them to be so thick (we’re talking calzone sized). It was a quick
packing job and a good thing too, because the baby was tired. He feel asleep
fairly fast, but woke up about 20 minutes from Jaco Beach because I decided we
needed gas and stopping the car always does the trick. There was no hope he’d
be napping more, so we drove through Jaco looking for a good place to stop.
Jaco is a popular resort town and one of the closest to San Jose and it reminded
me of an over-grown beach town. Not someplace I’m dying to return to…however,
we did find a little parking lot right on the beach and took the opportunity to
have a Coca-Cola Light and some baby food. And though it was hot, we had a lot of
fun watching the big waves and admiring the jungle as it swept into the sea.
E took a while to fall asleep again – just minutes from being back at Villa Dolce. Instead of stopping or continuing to battle the insane San Jose
drivers, we chose to drive along the countryside…aiming at Volcan de Poas –
about 45 kilometers away – until he woke up and we’d turn around. Except that he
kept napping and we kept driving, twisting along the road as it went through
sleepy towns, jungle, and farms – always getting higher and higher. By the time
the lil’guy actually rose, we were about 10 kilometers away and I couldn’t
resist heading into Poas
National Park
In the parking lot, we changed his diaper, nursed, and put
on warmer clothes (high enough that the breeze chilled). Then we took the short
hike to the crater’s rim, which was absolutely…fogged
in. It was like walking into a gray wall. No view whatsoever. We laughed about
it, shrugging off the $23 entrance fee to see fog, and took a couple of
pictures. And then, suddenly, there was a window in the visibility and the whole
lake at the bottom of the crater appeared…complete with a plume of volcanic
steam coming out of the middle. It was beautiful, if only briefly, and then the
fog rolled back in. The trip was well worth it and almost more exciting than if it had been clear from the get-go.
The drive back to Villa Dolce was just as beautiful and we
were all in need of a good swim once the car was unpacked. We played / read
stories until it was time for pizza where we chatted with a Canadian family
who’d spent two weeks here (those Canadians sure do get out!). Wonderful day…and
a great way to wrap up Lisa’s vacation segment, since I’d be going back to Mr.
Mom for the next couple days.
Day 8
3/20/2013
San Jose, Costa Rica
After a long, restful – though hot – sleep, we all got ready
and had breakfast with the Canadian family we met last night (E was enthralled
with their 6-year-old daughter, Zoey). E
and I took Mommy to work and came back to the hotel for a bottle and diaper
change. As the signs of naptime approached, we hopped in the car and took off
for our adventure of the day: La Paz Waterfall Gardens.
The Gardens were spectacular. If I didn’t know better, I’d
say that this was a Disney establishment – not in that it was fake in anyway,
but in that every detail was perfect. The lodge perched on the side of a steep
jungle valley with a (unseen, but heard) river running at the bottom, with the
gardens and animal exhibits between. The view from the pay kiosk was breath
taking and the bathrooms even had a diaper changing station – seriously, the
first we’ve seen in Costa
Rica . And we arrived early enough, that we
barely saw anyone but the friendly staff.
I’m glad I left the stroller in the car, because there was
no chance it’d been usable as we descended the steps through gorgeous tropical
flowers and darting, exotic birds. Thankfully, I had the Ergo baby carrier with
me. First, we visited the Avery. Immediately upon entering the enclosure,
multi-color birds were everywhere…I’m not a birder, but they were all amazing.
There was a section with parrots and another with hummingbirds. There were
ducks, parakeets, strange looking Turkey-things, and so many others I’d never
be able to name. Our favorite was the Toucan section. There were a dozen
close enough to touch and a couple even zoomed right past our heads…in fact, it
happened often enough that I got the impression it was on purpose and –
possibly – even a message for us to leave!
The weather was perfect, overcast but not too hot. We saw
some more tree frogs, Spider and White-Faced monkeys. There was also a cool
Puma and a couple gigantic Jaguars in plain view. The part that caught me most
by surprise though was the Butterfly Observatory. Upon entering the huge jungle
room, we had to stop just to take in the thousands of butterflies among the
trickle of small waterfalls and striking flowers. Morpho Butterflies dominated in numbers (the
same kind we saw at BBI, which is about palm sized and who’s wings have one
side that looks like an owl’s head/eye and the other a brilliant blue). E had
fun watching them feed and flutter overhead, or poking them if they rested within his
arm’s reach.
Having felt we got our money’s worth on just the animals
(shoot, on just the butterflies) we took the kilometer hike through the jungle
to the four waterfalls. Walking though the primary and secondary forests was beautiful
and it felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie – especially when we crossed
the footbridge over the river. E got a little hungry on the way, so he had a
bottle on the platform under the 40 meter high (120 feet) Templo falls – just
about the most postcard perfect waterfall I could imagine. That is, until we
saw Magia Blanca Falls, which the trail almost took us behind. The last two,
Encantada and La Paz, were also amazing…though by then, E had seen jungle
waterfalls.
We took a short shuttle back to the lodge and E had his
lunch on the boardwalk under the mists of Poas and over the Gardens. Tell me
that’s not a lucky baby. Then he napped again while I drove us back to Villa
Dolce for a swim and quick wash before E took a longer afternoon nap, after
all, he wanted to be a happy camper for picking up Mommy. For dinner, we found
a local Tico place and I had a Casado and Lisa had Chicken and Rice. E really liked
flirting with the waitress. We made it back to Villa Dolce in time for E’s bedtime and Mommy/Daddy's beer-time as we talked about our days…and made plans for our last
full day in Costa Rica.
Day 9
3/21/2013
San Jose, Costa Rica
Impressive bills, right?
Lisa had to take the car back to work, so E and I had to
stay at the hotel, which was fine by us after so many adventures on the trip.
We all had breakfast together and then waved to Mommy as she headed to work.
The morning was pleasant outside, so we played / drank coffee out front of our
room before getting all our clothes back into the suitcases. Then we decided it
was high time for a morning swim, rinse, and bottle. Then E played in his crib
until naptime while I did some chores, packed more, and read.
Lisa got home from work in time for dinner and we had a good
pizza before putting E to sleep and finishing up all the last minute packing.
Finally, we sat down had our final Imperial beers and rehashed what an amazing
trip it’d been.
Day 10
3/22/2013
San Jose, Costa Rica
to San Clara, California
We had a very early morning…earlier than anticipated since
the lil’guy decided that 3:30 was a perfect play time. By then, we’d moved him
into our bed (we were spoiling him, yes, but com’on it was vacation) and when I
woke he was cooing and doing tummy time. By the time he got back to sleep,
around 4:30, our alarms went off – though luckily, he continued to sleep while
we got ourselves ready. At 5:30, we threw him in a new diaper and loaded up the
driver’s van with our million bags.
The airport was busy, but we managed to get through the tax
collector ($30ish each to leave the country – strange, I know), security, and the
souvenir shop with no hassle – and managed to burn through the rest of our
Costa Rican Colones. The Ticos were so accommodating of E again, having a
special (shorter) security line for those of us with kiddos. E had his oatmeal
in the airport and we had coffee…which we all found delicious.
While we were waiting for the plane to board, a teenage girl
approached me and said, “Excuse me, but we were buying some souvenirs and it
was buy 2 get 1 free…but we don’t have a need for a 3rd, so we got
your son a hat.” And she handed me a cute blue baseball cap with a turtle on
it. I offered to buy it from her, but she refused. Seriously, what a country.
The plane took off without issue and we were sitting next to
an older woman who turned out to be a graduate student from Iowa…and looked
like she’d just stepped out of a safari. E napped much of the first half of the
flight – as did our seatmate. For the second half, both were awake. E was being
a little bit difficult and we were running out of books to read / cars to throw
on the floor, when the Canadian family across from us (a mother, 8 year-old
daughter, and 11 year-old son) asked if they could hold E. After a quick glace,
Lisa and I handed him over. And there he stayed for an hour – perfectly happy
and enjoying his new family. I swear, instead of stranger anxiety…he prefers
them! It was fun for all and it gave our seatmate an opportunity to demonstrate
the loud bird calls she’d learned on her trip…which was exactly as funny as it
sounds. We asked to take E’s picture with his new Canadian family and our seatmate
tried to get E to smile by speaking to him in “fluent cat” sounds…which were
good enough to make other passengers look around curiously.
We landed in Dallas with about 2.5 hours before our flight
to SFO. It took a little effort, but we convinced E that he wanted to go back
to California instead of Canada and we
said bye to his new friends. And then the race began: Go through Immigration,
collect our million bags, make it through customs, recheck our bags, and then
back through security (which was far more complicated when bringing breast milk
and baby food). Luckily, we had just enough time to grab a burrito to-go and
dash on our next flight. It’s amazing we made it…even with that long of a
layover.
On board, we discovered that we had the front row seat –
which meant no under the seat storage to store toys and food (though more
legroom / play space). We managed. E needed to nap, but refused…so the
first hour of that flight was very, very busy keeping him occupied. Luckily,
all the other passengers were very patient. Finally, we got him to sleep and
the rest of the flight was pleasant – even after he woke. As we were taxiing to
the gate, he suddenly learned how to wave and really enjoyed saying ‘hi’ to the
good ole’ USA.
Uncle Brian picked us up and, BOY, was E happy to see him.
The entire ride back to Santa Clara, E was talking and kicking and playing with
his long, lost uncle. We had a quick dinner at the Country Inn and finally,
around 7:30 pm – 16 hours after our alarms went off, 10 days since leaving – we
arrived home to a pair of very happy dogs.
That night, Lisa and I talked, once again, about how amazing, though different type of a trip, this was compared to our honeymoon in Costa
Rica. And how much we loved the country. From our ~ month spent there in total
(so far), we both agreed it lives up to its motto: La Pura Vida.
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