Ethiopia - 2nd Trips - Days 7 & 8

March 3 and March 4, 2011


John got up very early in the morning so he and another dad could go to Ethiopian Arilines HQ to try to get a bassinette. We had no luck. Here's the trick:

• When you're setting up your flight itinerary, ask your travel agent to put a request in at that time.
• Go the Ethiopian Arilines HQ at least 48 HOURS BEFORE your departure in order to ensure a possible seat change. The airlines can not do anything the morning of the flight due to security reasons.

Shortly after John left, he called back up to the room to inform me that we had to change rooms. They were fumigating our whole floor. Well, so much for sleeping in. But thank God I got the majority of the packing done the night before. So, 2 hours later with everything "packed" we moved down 1 floor. After Eva and I had our last breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we were able to get a much-needed 3 hour nap.

We checked out of the hotel at 6:30 pm and had our bags checked just an hour later. At the boarding gate we met some other families that were headed home from their court dates. It's so interesting to talk to other families from other agencies to get their perspective of their adoption experience. Even though we were all on the same flight, once you get on that huge plane, all you want to do is settle in and sleep through the flight.

And speaking of sleep, can I just say that Eva is the best little traveler! She slept for about 6 or 7 hours of the 13 hour flight. She did excellent at takeoff and landing. There was no crying or fussing. She was awesome!

Once we landed in D.C., it took quite a while for us to go through customs and then after we got our luggage, we had to see another customs agent to give her all of Eva's paperwork (the infamous manilla envelope). I thank God for Eva's patience. At this point we had run out of bottled water to mix her formula. There was nothing nearby and once we were in those lines, we were slaves to the "wait". I was so proud of her. After a long layover and cheeseburgers and fries at 10:30 am, we were finally on our way to Columbus.

Ethiopia will always have a very special place in our hearts, but there's nothing like being home. We stopped on the way home to get fast food for dinner.....never ate it. Eva and I were asleep by 4pm, woke up at midnight and went right back to sleep at 2 am.

Good, hard, sound sleep...now that's the way to end an 18-hour travel day!