Traveling to Africa!

The day finally arrived. We had been anticipating our travel to Africa for many months. All the goodbyes to friends and family. All the last minute shopping. All the covid testing. All the packing. Abby had been counting down the day on her calendar. The day was finally here, we were finally ready. Can you be fully ready and prepared? 

Abby's calendar just over Josh's head

Friday morning we loaded up our luggage and set off for the airport. We had 9 totes and 3 suitcases as our checked baggage. Denise and i weighed each one. In weighing the last tote before traveling, I happened to take out 2 bottles of medicine and a piece of cloth fabric. The scale gained 3 ounces! I exclaimed to everyone in the house that I had broken the laws of physics! But in fact this made me nervous that our bags would be overweight.

Well, God hears and answers prayers. All but one of our bags were 49 pounds or heavier, yet not one was over our allotted weight!  The only checked bag weighing less than 49 pounds weighed 48 pounds. We were so happy to not have to repack any of our bags or totes. Denise did wonderful packing our luggage and I give her all the credit. It couldn't have been any better!

My mom and George took our totes with them to the airport. Denise's brother Steve surprised us by joining us for the evening before leaving, and saw us off at the airport as well. He then drove off with his newly purchased car that he bought from us.

The airplane rides were mostly uneventful. Denise was a champion mommy as always, sitting between both kids while I was separated from them, either by an aisle or by a row. I was there to watch kids during potty breaks, take kids to go to the bathroom, change diapers, hold hands and pray, and share stories, but Denise handled the kids for the majority of the time with all wisdom and grace.

Abby giving all the hugs

We like to explore during our layovers at airports. The airport in Atlanta was my highlight. We found a nice porche Panamera! Abby found a bookstore with some of her favorite titles-Daniel Tiger large story book being one. There were also many stuffed animals, knick knacks, and novels there. I am reminded of how much I liked knick knacks and stuffed animals when I was Abby's age. Denise and Abby found a very cool service animal relief area! Abby was so excited she had to show me, too. I had mentioned when we entered the gate area and saw signs for restaurants of my sudden Asian cuisine craving, and Denise found the perfect mouth watering sign while I watched Josh and luggage. Oh, and how could I forget that we got to ride a train and an elevator?!!

Mommy Abby snack

service animal relief station

bye Aunt Sum

train ride!

Paris to Africa was the hardest flight transition. When we deplaned we immediated checked the departure table to see our next gate assignment. One departure sign said our flight was at one terminal, but as we went that way we discovered  another sign pointing us back to the terminal we had just left from. At least we got to ride another train! We had to go through customs with very little layover time. They were odd in that they required us to use their ziploc bags for our liquids, required us to use large boxes to put our carry on luggage bags into, and wouldn't bother to refill the boxes when they ran out. We made it through customs 30 minutes after boarding for our flight began. We got in line and were tired, hungry, hot, and thirsty after carrying all the luggage and a tired Abby all through the airport. Denise had just enough time to fill water bottles before we boarded our flight. I was nausious on this flight and couldn't even look at food. 

I need to brag on Abby. Without her help we honestly could not have gotten all our bags boarded. We found that she could easily push my small tote that had 4 wheels. She loved pushing it down the ramp and through the aisles. She is always a big helper! She wore her mask very well for the duration of our travels! She was actually sad to learn she didn't have to wear her mask on the airplane from Paris to Africa. "But Daddy said I need to wear my mask on the plane!  I overheard and told her, "That's right, but we just learned you don't have to if you don't want to! That rule is for kiddos 6 and older." She was a champion throughout the whole travels. Thank you Abby Chip!

being a goof wearing Josh's hat.

I can't brag about Abby without also bragging about Josh. He was the best any 5 month old could be! People who saw me hold him during the flight even said they forgot he was on board. He was a very calm traveler. Great job, Josh!

Well, we made it. After getting off our last flight we got our stroller and made it to customs. Abby helped me find a bathroom for her (more escalators) and me, and we came back to help Denise fill out customs papers. We were last in line only to learn we didn't fill out the proper form. So we start over filling out the proper forms, getting our fingerprints scanned and our stamps of acceptance. 2 hours after landing we finally collect our luggage-all of it! We had 2 men who were overly excited to help us with our luggage load everything into the SUV and one of our coworkers drove us to our home.

Here we are! We knew it would be a big challenge to get here and to get settled. And we are surviving. One day at a time.