Home Sweet Home

According to my calculations, and I never was very good at math, it took us 35 hours door to door from Hanoi back home to Easton, Maryland.

Now that does include all the time we were in motion, whether flying or not. I'm so knackered I can hardly right but just want to let my faithful readers know that we made it home safe and sound.

I cannot recommend Thai Airways more highly. They are a fantastic airline and have picked up on service where the Americans left off decades ago. The 17-hour flight from Bangkok to JFK is nothing short of long but it was very comfortable as we were sitting in premium economy (a compromise b/w economy and business class) AND a baby bassinet which is a must for all travelers who are waiting to go to Vietnam.

First off, with the baby bassinet, the baby has a place to sleep (and sleep they do!) and you don't have to hold the baby for the entire flight. I mean there's bonding and then there's BONDING. Also, b/c the bassient has to attach to the wall, you get seats in the bulkhead which is always a wee bit spacier.

The kids were excellent for the traveling part. Max had a meltdown here or there but I had my own share of them as well so who could blame him? Both he and Mols fell asleep from Hanoi to Bangkok. Too bad for Max because when we arrived in Bangkok, there were huge airplanes all around us on the tarmac - a scene he would have loved but there was no waking that boy up. (Did I tell you that the Vietnamese always called Max "boy"? and then cup him affectionately on the face?)

Molly did wake up though and was ready to party during our 2 hour lay-over. Soon after boarding the flight bound for JFK, we all fell asleep (it was 12:40 a.m.) except for Max who watched "Meet the Robinsons" on his own private screen. I think he stayed up til 4. But then he slept.

Lots of food being served and lots of cheap cat naps. The air hostesses kept the cabins dark except for during meals which was kind of weird. And once again I was thrilled we were flying through the Arctic Circle. Over China, Siberia, the North Pole and then Canada. I loved lookng at the polar ice caps from 36,000 feet above.

Our flight arrived on time and had a wonderful touch down. I was psyched because for the first time in years I didn't take any medicine to fly. No fear, no panic attacks, not even anxiety. I think it is b/c I'm so focused on the kids I don't have time to indulge in my emotional stuff.

We breezed through immigration and customs which kind of surprised me because we were importing an "alien" as our government likes to term our adopted babies. Do your think they could come up with a kinder word?
Then we had a 3 hour wait to Dulles. We were tempted to rent a car and just drive home. It would have taken the same amount of time but as it turned out, it would have been quicker.

After boarding the oversold flight, we were told the plane couldn't not take off for another hour b/c there were 35 planes in front of us on the runway. Here we were so close to home and time seemed to slow slower than a snail's pace. Both kids were crying on the plane during the wait and I was half expecting to be evicted at some point but we never were.

Alas, the plane got going and we flew the 40 minute flight to Dulles quite uneventfully. We were met by Tom's Mom and step father who drove all the way over from Easton to pick up. It was so wonderful to be met at the airport by someone we loved and wanted to see. Remember in the old days when people used to meet you at the airport?: Those days are so gone.

Anyway, the closer we got to home the longer it seeemd to take to get there. We did finally make it, after Tom's 85 year old step-father gave Molly a tour of the most important monuments in Washington, D.C. A big deal for a little girl on her first day in America! Rather approrpriate though.

My brain wants to keep writing but my eyes keep closing so I've got to sign off now. More later. And it's so darned nice to be home. I didn't realize how much I missed it til we got home.