Getting There

Here is the long story of how we got to Tanzania.

Friday, May 6^th, was our last day at the Country Hearth Inn in downtown Monroe. We spent the morning throwing together last minute items that remained in the room. Since we had so much stuff to transport, we were given use of the Harmony Baptist Church van. We had loaded most of the luggage in the van the night before (thank you so much Richard and Bobby for helping drag our suitcases downstairs!!) so we only had a couple of suitcases remaining.

Pastor Brant (AKA our driver) and Audra (who is accompanying us for the 1^st month of our adventure) both arrived around 11:00am. Once it was all said and done the van held 4 adults, 2 children (in car seats), 2 dogs (in their carriers), 4 trunks, 1 Pack-n-Play, 8 suitcases, 3 diaper bags, 1 stroller and 7 carry-ons. By noon we were on our way to the airport.

When we arrived we started piling our stuff on the sidewalk. A Skycap came over and asked if we needed help. We told him “Yes, and bring a friend”. We were so glad to have the Skycap’s help. With 2 carts they got all of our stuff to the right check-in desk and were very helpful, especially with the dogs. Check in was an amazingly smooth process. One by one our bags were weighed and tagged and sent on their way. Thankfully they were all within the 50 lb weight limit. Well, one bag was 51 lbs, but our desk agent let it slide.

For the dogs, we had to fill out paperwork that was then attached to their carriers. After we were checked in, we took them to a separate area where they were taken out of their kennels and the kennels were tested for whatever it is that TSA tests for. Our Skycap promised he would take good care of them and off they went. We wouldn’t see them again until we arrived in Dar.

One of our missions for our flight was to get seats behind the bulkhead. We had been told that there is a bassinet that attaches to the bulkhead wall. After hearing that we knew we wanted it for Cash. And we wanted the extra leg room and floor space for Sadie. We asked at check in if we could change our seats (we weren’t assigned there originally). We were told that only gate agents could make that change. So we decided to head straight to our gate.

Once again, we were blessed with a smooth transition through security. Having Audra along was a definite help. Just loading all of our bags, taking off our shoes (Sadie’s too), collapsing the stroller….it’s quite a process. And of course I always get pulled aside because of liquids in the diaper bag. This time it was Sadie’s milk and our bottle of children’s Benadryl (hee-hee).

When we got to the E-gates (for international travel at the Atlanta airport) we stopped at Delta’s customer service desk to ask again about changing our seats. We were again told that only gate agents can make that change. The customer service lady explained that those seats are set aside for person’s requesting a bassinet, and they are assigned on a first-come-first-serve basis. When we heard that we were even more determined that we were going to get that seat. So we went straight to the gate where we camped out (the gate agents wouldn’t be there for another hour). Mike said he felt like we were vying for concert tickets.

While we waited we ate our McDonald’s lunch; our last for quite some time. Quarter Pounder with Cheese, I will miss you.

At last, the gate opened. Mike was the first one in line….and we got our seats!!! We were so excited. Mike, Sadie, Cash and I were assigned the 4 center seats, while Audra was on the aisle seat next to us. Since Cash was not going to sit in his own seat with his seatbelt securely fastened, Audra moved over and sat with us. Boarding the plane went well, no trouble finding space in overhead compartments, smooth take off.

When we originally booked our flights, Delta told us that the flight attendant would give us a form before take off that confirmed that the dogs were loaded on our plane. She was very persistent in telling us not to let the plane take off before we had that form in our hands. Did we remember that…no. By the time we asked, all our flight attendant could tell us was that there were live animals on board. We were glad to hear her say it was pleural and hoped it was our boys.

Sadie did not get her usual afternoon nap, so about 5 minutes into the flight, she was asleep in Mike’s arms. We laid her down, hoping she would sleep. And she did…for about 45 minutes. After our airplane-food dinner, we decided it was time to really work on getting the kids to sleep. We requested our bassinet, loaded Sadie up with Benadryl, changed diapers, put the kids PJ’s on and started rocking. We hit a rough patch with Sadie as she didn’t really want to go to sleep. But pretty soon the Benadryl kicked in and she was out. We laid her down across the 2 center seats. Cash, also asleep, went into his bassinet. We decided to try to get some sleep ourselves. By this time it was around midnight Atlanta-time and we were all pretty tired. Unfortunately, sleep did not come for any of us adults. I think I got about 30 minutes before I just gave up on trying to find a comfortable spot in my seat.

Before too long we had breakfast on the plane and then it was time to pack up. We arrived in Amsterdam right on time. We wanted to get the bassinet row again but were told the same story (only gate agents, they aren’t there yet, etc). We also wanted to check on the dogs but were told there was no way that we could see them between flights. So we decided to head to the Kid’s Forest. Let me just tell you that Schipol Airport in Amsterdam is awesome!! They have this great area dedicated to babies and kids. The Kid’s Forest is an indoor playground. It’s set aside in a quiet room where kids can play and get out of the hustle of the main airport area. Sadie loved it in there. Next door is the Baby Care center. It is a beautiful, quiet, dark room with 8 curtained areas that have cushioned seats for parents and a crib for babies. They also have a nice changing area with sinks and microwaves. All the while, soothing music is playing softly overhead. I didn’t want to leave!

Our layover was only 2 ½ hours, so we had to head to the gate after about 45 minutes of playing. Interesting note, Amsterdam’s airport has the security screening at each gate. After you go through security, you then go to the gate agent to check in. Once again, no problems getting through security. At the check in desk, we quickly begged for our bassinet row. Unfortunately, we were told that it was not available. But the very nice agent said she would block 2 extra surrounding seats for us so we could spread out. 5 of us with 7 seats, not bad.

We also asked the gate agent about the pups. We were told that they did not get to go to the Pet Hotel at the airport because there was not enough time between our flights. But she spoke with someone who was “taking care of them” and she would confirm for me when they were on the plane. It was nice to know that they had at least made it that far with us.

When we boarded the plane we were surprised to see so many empty seats. We soon found out that the flight was not even ½ filled. Who needs a bassinet row….we wound up taking up the whole back of the plane. At one time we were spread out across 4 different rows. We took the opportunity to each get a nap, taking turns watching the kids. About ½ way into the flight Sadie passed out and we made her a little bed on her own row.

We landed in Kilimanjaro at night. Unfortunately it was too dark to see the mountain. A few people got off the plane. Those of us traveling on to Dar were not allowed to leave. We stayed in our seats while they cleaned the plane and got it ready for the next leg. At this point the plane filled up with people traveling back to Amsterdam. We were all pretty tired after our long day of flying and ready to get off the plane. Thankfully the next leg of our journey into Dar was a short 40 minute flight.

We arrived in Dar about 30 minutes early. Eager to get off, we grabbed our stuff and headed for the door. In true African fashion, there was a problem with the electricity and they could not get the ramp to attach to the plane. So we all turned around and headed to the back of the plane where we disembarked via a staircase.

We were greeted in the airport by an expeditor whom the Embassy had sent to meet us. This was quite an interesting experience for us. We have all been issued diplomatic passports while we are living in Tanzania. We gave our expeditor our passports (and grouped Audra’s in with ours). He led us past the immigration desk, said he would take care of things at that point and instructed us to start pulling our luggage. It was a bit strange getting to walk right past all the other people in line. We did not wait long at baggage claim before our stuff started coming off. Our expeditor arrived with 5 rolling carts and loaded our bags. We were thrilled when they brought the pups to us. We were so grateful as well that all of our luggage arrived safely. We had zip tied all of our luggage before leaving Atlanta. All zip ties were still in place except for one. However, nothing appears to be missing from that bag.

We exited the airport after only being there about 30 minutes. We were met by a US Embassy 30+ passenger bus that took us to our new temporary home. 28 hours after leaving the Country Hearth Inn in Monroe we were at the Protea Oysterbay Hotel and Apartments in Dar. We are glad to be here and enjoying having beds to sleep in.

Please continue to remember us in your prayers as we settle in to our new lives. I’ll be posting more later on our accommodations and first few days here.