The day started fairly early with us getting up to finish the majority of packing and showering before Alexis awoke. The last few items were stowed into the suitcases as she started to stir. After lunch and last minute house preparations for Calhoun (the dogs and Littlejohn were already boarded the night before). We packed the bags in the back of the van and you'd think we were moving out. Two large suitcases, a car seat bag (with her car seat and various other baby necessities), a giant hockey duffel bag, a medium size suitcase, a diaper bag, a satchel full of books, two backpacks (one for snacks and one solely for an assortment of electronics – it is 2011 after all) accompanied us and occupied more than twice the space of the humans in the minivan.
The drive to Milwaukee airport was uneventful. Seventy-five minutes on the interstate; flights still on time; estimated three percent vacancy in the super-saver parking lot at the airport. I pulled up to the terminal to drop off Nicole and all of the luggage. Imagine trying to get on a shuttle bus with that and Alexis – not happening. Then I went to park and had to drive all the way to the end of the parking lot and get the last space (well, not even in a space) in the parking lot. I shuttled back to the terminal with Alexis and then finally checking in. The Delta staff was very helpful checking our bags, even though we had some difficulty trying to maneuver the luggage.
We had just over two hours before takeoff, so we were wondering what there was to do past security. Reading the directory, we saw that there was a children's play area in our terminal – Jackpot! Getting through security was virtually a breeze compared to what we expected with Alexis's prescription medication, bottle of milk, and all those carry-ons. We wandered down the terminal, past a dozen gates, and reached the end; "Uh, where's the play area". Maybe we missed it. Traced back to the security checkpoint and still no play area. "Well, I guess this empty gate will do just fine". Alexis crawled around and was adored by all who passed by. Lesson learned: Don't always trust the airport directory.
After a bit, we made our way to the gate in preparation for boarding and made hundreds of new friends as they all loved to stare at her. We finally got to board the plane, sat down, and since we were the only two seats on our side of the plane we didn't have to bother anyone too close to us. Alexis made a new friend directly behind us named Reagan (10 months old). They played through the seats constantly throughout the flight. She drank her bottle during takeoff, played with us and she was passed back and forth to take turns keeping her occupied. Tiredness settled in with about an hour to go in the two-hour flight. I was finally able to swaddle her enough for her to stop fighting and fall asleep. She was passed out for the last thirty minutes and I was afraid to move a muscle. Unfortunately a cramp commenced in my hip and the pain was horrible. Rapidly declining altitude caused it to come and go as we landed. She woke shortly after landing and was in the best of moods again.
With a few hours before departing Atlanta for Liberia, Costa Rica, we decided to get some food at a Samuel Adams restaurant. There wasn't much on the menu, but we had already sat down and needed to eat; so we ordered anyway. The waitress assured us we would be able to get and eat our food with enough time. Yet, order after order out of the kitchen was not ours. With less than fifteen minutes until we started boarding, we hastily ate lunch/dinner and headed for the gate. Lesson Learned: Leave the Samuel Adams restaurant for ordering beer.
We boarded the plane to Liberia and the person sitting next to us in the window had already got to her seat, which saved some effort of us having to let her in later. She was a sweet southern gal from Albany, Georgia. Alexis and she became very close very quickly. The flight was full, but we pushed back from the gate only a few minutes late. Now getting our place in line for takeoff, the captain informed us we were number thirteen. Then we were number three, then number five – don't ask. Now number one…or not. Dangerous weather in our path to the south caused us to pull off the runway. After twenty more minutes of waiting, the flight was given the choice of taking off to the west and circling around the weather, or going back to the gate and who knows what from there. Luckily, option A was chosen and we jumped to the front of the line. Finally, airborne.
By the time we took off, we should have already been half way to Costa Rica. Alexis was already beginning to become restless and we had exhausted all of our bottles of milk. People who don't know how to listen annoy me… When they tell you five times that the illuminated fasten seat belt sign means stay in your seat, please do so. When they give you a five-minute warning to use the lavatory before they start the beverage service, don't continually get up to go constantly for the next twenty minutes. Passing Alexis back and forth they entire ride, while trying to feed her any snacks we had was exhausting. The entire flight wasn't a disaster because she would have spurts of happiness where she would wave at people, crawl on people, and clap her pretty little hands. She, however, didn't sleep a single wink for the entire six hours on the plane.
Getting off the plane was like walking into a sauna. The air was warm and humid, with a warm blowing wind. We passed by other gates and noticed all the seating outside when waiting to board. Even immigration and customs was outside. When we got to the entrance to the ropes for immigration, we were immediately escorted to the front of the line. People with disabilities, babies, or pregnant women were treated with extra care and bumped to the front. We even satisfied two of these criterions – the good two. Immigration was a "breeze" and we moved on to claim our baggage. The moment of truth…How many of our five checked bags actually made it to Liberia? We got the first and were promptly greeted by an employee asking if we'd like a cart. Normally, I'm quite fine taking care of everything myself. However, with a pregnant wife, a tired infant, a truckload of luggage, and being without a chance to relax for over sixteen hours, we succumbed to the aid of a cart man. He was extremely helpful in grabbing our bags as they came off the belt. We had all five! Going through customs, our hockey bag and car seat bag were a little too suspicious for their liking. A brief search and the agent found that we truly did have a legitimate child and not performing illegal activities. We found the representative for our booked travel and stepped off to the side for further instructions. There were a few other parties travelling on the shuttle with us to various hotels around the airport. Little did we know…Alexis's new friend from Albany, GA would be riding with us – different hotel, though.
We were out of milk, so we hoped we would be able to stop to get some for Alexis to drink (since we were unsure as to the availability at the resort). She was tired and hungry, but we sat in the darkness would help tiredness trump hungry. It took only a few minutes of soft crying and she was asleep in her car seat in the back seat of the shuttle. Our resort was the last stop, so the driver agreed to stop so we could purchase some milk. After trying two liquor stores (yes, a liquor store was the first place they all think of to get milk) that were closed, and after passing by numerous oddities in the streets, we find a supermarket that is still open. I run inside, trying to navigate my where to where I think Costa Ricans would store their milk. Luckily, both they and I thought it should be in the refrigerated section behind the cooler doors. They had 1% and 2%, so the 2% would have to do. I was trying to think about how much we should buy and how much it was going to cost me. I knew that 500 colones was approximately $1.00, but for some reason I was thinking that 100 colones = $1.00. So, I was thinking that this quart of milk was going to cost me $5.00 (the price was 493 colones) – I better only get one and we can find more at the resort in the morning. As I get to the checkout register, it hits me and I'm thinking… "This should only be about $1.00". Sure enough after asking, "En dolares por favor", he said "uno". I handed him a dollar bill and walked out with my quart of milk. Then I attempt some more of my Spanish knowledge and ask how much farther to our hotel. He responded with "Trente minutes" (Thirty minutes). Aye!! It was only supposed to be 30-40 from the airport directly to the resort. To get to the resort, there's only one route and that is over some hills and down in the valley, which leads to the coast. Many roads in Costa Rica are not well maintained, and this was for sure one of them. A majority of this ride was spent on some the most bumpy terrain you could think of, so it was less than pleasant.
Arriving at the Riu, the view of the lobby is gorgeous and the resort looks enormous. There was so much to explore, but we knew it would have to wait until morning. Check-in was well organized and we were escorted to our room with our bags. The room was very nice and was just waiting for the crib to arrive. We unpacked very little, but just enough to get ready for bed. We poured Alexis a bottle of milk, as she always drinks before bed. The crib arrived in the form of a pack 'n play, similar to the one we actually own. The presentation of even the made pack 'n play was dedicated. We put her on the other side of the empty bed in our room so that she was less likely to see us and be distracted when she should be sleeping. We laid her in the crib and before we could even crawl into bed, she was standing up and not wanting to sleep. When no one was coming to get her, she cried. A few failed attempts to re-lay her down and we decided to let her cry for a bit and let her lay back down to go to sleep. That didn't seem to work so Nicole brought her in the bed with us. That seemed to do the trick. First with Alexis laying on top of her, then rolling to the side on her arm, and finally with our child nestled directly between us in the spacious king-size bed. The night went well from there as the only time she even made noise was when she woke up for just a few seconds to fall right back to sleep.
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