The Day Everything Was Perfect Until I Was Covered in Puke - Part 1

Sorry for the long post, (actually this day needs two posts), but travel days are long and there was a lot that happened.  Let's start at the very beginning, shall we?

4:30 a.m.  Alarms go off.  We quickly dress and scoop the little guy out of bed.  I was afraid he was going to be a fussy mess after being woken up so early, but instead he started clapping his hands and saying, “we’re going to the airport!”.  I love this kid.  The car was already packed and ready so we easily hit the road and drove off towards RDU.  I will never stop being grateful that we live less than ten minutes from an airport.

After parking and riding the bus to the terminal, I expected to see our sleepy little empty airport that normally you can easily get through all lines and security in about 15 minutes.  This was not the case.  The line to check bags was insane and the line to get through security literally stretched back about three times longer than I have ever seen it before, almost back to the airport entrance. Uh oh.  Brandon and I had the “this might not work out” quick exchange, but fortunately everything moved quickly and we got to the gate about fifteen minutes before boarding.  Dad, you would have lost your mind.

We boarded our flight and Caleb got settled in the window seat and was non stop chatter watching all the other airplanes and little luggage trucks through the window.  As we took off, I was curious if we were going to have ear issues or he would think it was scary, but it was simply a breeze.  The whole flight I just gave him snacks when he wanted them, we read Pete the Cat, dealt with some seat kicking issues, and he kept announcing, “we are in the sky”!  First flight down, 100% success.  I am starting to feel a little cocky…I can travel with a toddler, I can conquer the world!

Let the adventure begin!

We hung out in the Miami airport for a couple of hours.  We took the little train out a to kind of a crappy international terminal with no good restaurants or anything, but we found some seats in a sunny window where Brandon and I could put our feet up, and Caleb could watch the little terminal train go back and forth and back and forth and back and forth (Mommy - the train!).  Our next plane from Miami to Liberia was quite small, just two seats on both sides.  There was an empty row in the back, so Caleb and I moved all the way to the back and Brandon sat in front of us so we didn’t have to worry about apologizing to people about seat kicking.  The stewardess (do we still say stewardess?), instantly took a liking to Caleb and gave him a big stack of empty cups and challenged him to build some towers on his tray table.  

Deep exhale as the plane took off…we are officially heading out of the States and are ready for relaxation.  The flight was pretty good, our stewardess friend even hooked Caleb up with a free can of Pringles, so the living was good!  The flight was three hours and Caleb definitely started getting bored.  I took a deep breath, put my “zero screen time policy” on the shelf and handed our little dude an iPad.  I have never seen a happier kid in my life…these people really know what they are talking about, kids love ipads!  Brandon and I were cringing, but Caleb was shreking with laughter as he did some stupid “feed the animals” game.

As we passed over Nicaragua, we saw two giant volcanoes out of the window.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  Everyone on the plane also seemed to be going on vacation too so we were all happy and friendly.  There was a big group of surfers crushing bud lights that continuously were visiting the bathroom that was right behind our seats, Caleb and I (the nosy members of our family), had lots of entertainment.  The views coming into Liberia were like nothing I have ever seen before.  The mountains we flew over were nothing but jungles with cliffs right into the water with no development on the land.  It was just what we needed to really slip into the zone.

Caleb checking out Costa Rica

We joyfully pranced off of the plane and basked in our awesomeness for surviving our first plane travel with Caleb and then it was like a giant record scratch.  Oooooh shit.  The customs line was wrapped back and forth and back and forth all the way to the back of the room with only about five people checking passports.  We didn’t see a single person step forward.  This line was going to take longer than the flight.  Of course Caleb does not want to sit in the expensive stroller I purchased specifically for this trip that folds down to itty bitty.  Why sit in a stroller when mommy can carry you?  Then all of a sudden, a Costa Rican customs agent approached us and said, "feel free to go over to the Residents line".  The clouds opened up, God smiled down and said, “go get in that tiny line of six people, Ray family”.  Now we realize, traveling with a toddler is AWESOME, special treatment everywhere.  Maybe in another life, I would have felt guilty about leaving everyone in our dust, but now all I could think was “hells yes, let’s get out of here and go swimming!”

Travel Days are Exhausting

Our bags were waiting for us and we quickly passed through customs (or immigration, or whatever part is the part when you scan your bags and give them the form).  We walked outside to a big sign that said “Bridget Ray”, someone swept our suitcases away, and all of a sudden we were on a little bus with our new friend Javier, ready to take us to Tamarindo.  He asked us if we wanted to stop at a market to get drinks for the 1 hour 20 minute drive.  I obviously said, YES PLEASE.  Caleb didn’t sleep a wink on either flight and was passed out on the bus before we even left the airport.   Javier took me inside a little market and we got some Imperials, bottled water, and he showed me the milk I should get for Caleb.  Why is milk not in the refrigerator here?  I am confused, but I also don’t care because I am so excited to be breathing new air and cracking open a cold one.

Brandon and I talked and laughed all the way to Tamarindo.  Javier was super nice and we asked him lots of questions and Caleb snoozed the whole time.  When we got into town, I ran into the Condo office to get our check in stuff and then our main man Javier took us to our condo, put our bags inside (damn, this is how to travel!), and was off.  We were checked into our new home for the week.  It was only about 3 p.m. so there are many more adventures to be had on travel day...stay tuned.