We
all woke up at 5 in the morning (Andy must have been excited too!) to finish
all the little things before my father was supposed to arrive around 8am for
our 12pm flight. I told my husband that I wanted the house completely clean –
new sheets on the bed, dishes washed and dried, counters wiped and cleared,
toys put away – so we could come back to a neat house and just relax upon our
return. When my dad showed up and saw how good the house was looking, he said,
“You should travel more often!” Ha, ha, ha. But I won’t argue ;) Both Adi and I
were feeling a little sick, sore throats and headaches, but we had been
chanting for weeks that nothing would keep us from enjoying this trip. So, we
take medicine, essential oils, and a positive attitude, and power on. Made
oatmeal but was so hyped up on adrenaline that I didn’t want to eat it until
EVERYTHING was finished and Dad was shooing us out the door. We took a family
picture with all our luggage outside the house, and piled into the car. Oh my
god, this is really happening!
AIRPORT
TRAVEL
SFO
was pretty easy. In fact, it was the least stressful airport experience ever,
domestic and international. Andy ate FOUR applesauce packets on the way to the
airport (thank you Trader Joe’s for helping us avoid a meltdown early!) and my father
navigated traffic flawlessly. We hugged goodbye at the gate, promising to talk
as soon as we could. Check in was quick and we even got through security in
less than five minutes because we had a toddler. It was incredible, even
somewhat enjoyable (to see everyone else still waiting in line! Though, to be
fair, it was not too crowded. Travel on Thursday afternoons, people!) and we
had enough time to get tea and yogurt. I ended up getting even more yogurt,
because the kiddo stole all of mine (“Want a taste baby? Oh, you like it!
Honey, he likes yogurt again! Wow, you really like it, huh? Um, honey, can you
get me another yogurt please, Andy just ate ALL OF IT.”) and I added honey and
a drop of Thieves essential oils to ward off the sore throat that was creeping
in.
We
headed down to the gate (literally, down an escalator) and the kiddo was
absolutely enamored with seeing the airplanes up close. His nose was glued to
the window and was shouting “Airplane! Airplane!” We had the stroller out, and
an attendant came over to help us check it in. I asked if there was preboarding
for parents with young kids, thinking I had seen certain airlines do this plus
we had just gotten that privilege at security, but the lady said, “Oh no, pre-boarding is only for the richer people.” !!!!! I’m
going to chalk it up to her English as a second language, and what she MEANT
was, “Only the people willing to pay get to preboard” and not “You are poor so
you do not get to pre-board.” Oops.
Andy
really liked the seatbelt on the plane, until he realized we were going to make
him use it. His new phrase is “No, no want to!” which actually sounds like “No,
moattu!” and we had to do some serious negotiating with him. Eventually we got
him on Adi’s lap looking at pictures on his phone (in airplane mode, of course)
and I offered a steady supply of grapes, which kept him chewing and distracted
while the plane took off. He looked out the window a little bit, but within an
hour he was passed out on the seat and slept for almost 3 hours! Turns out
waking up at 5 am was a blessing today.
The
dinner was pretty foul, but luckily we brought chicken pesto wraps from Trader
Joe’s so we did not starve. I had downloaded a show about pirates on my phone,
so I got through an episode and change, plus an episode of The Big Bang Theory
on the airplane TV, before Anderson woke up and it was keep-him-happy time. We
played with window cling art (great idea from my sister-in-law, courtesy of
Target’s dollar spot!) and fuzzy pipe cleaners (idea courtesy of my teaching
experience) and made magic wands and beautiful tiaras. We also made friends
with a skateboard-shoe designer from Orange County and a mini poodle named Boo.
Andy was also friendly with the people in the row behind us, so I hope they
were okay with his incessant peek-a-boo from the top of the chair! There were
no issues until we had to buckle him in for landing, and he REALLY did not want
to do it again, so I just held him tightly and hoped the flight attendants
would understand…
LANDED
in the Narita airport with no chastisement from the stewardesses, and no
injuries from lack of seatbelts, and we were on to the next adventure of
airport security and customs. This time it was not as smooth as in SFO, and it
took almost three hours to get on the road to our hotel. Customs was PACKED
(and we found out at the END of the line there was a section for families with
young children, dang! ALWAYS ASK AN AIRPORT ATTENDANT IF THERE ARE SPECIAL
LINES, you never know!) Then, luckily, we met up with Adi’s friend from
Georgia, Mark, who helped us navigate getting our Shinkansen bullet train
passes in the subway beneath the airport. We could NOT have done it without
him. We were tired and hungry and already jetlagged (I did not sleep on the
plane) and we definitely would have gotten lost and more stressed if Mark
hadn’t been there to help. Anderson made a friend through the window, some nice
teenager who played “Inai, Inai, Ba!” (peek-a-boo) and blew him kisses. Once
she left he got bored quickly, so he started taking out ALL THE FLIERS from the
train office and ‘rearranging’ them on the seat. Oh, travel with a
two-year-old.
Finally
we were on our way and Mark drove us to our place… If he hadn’t been with us we
would have either tried to brave the subway (which would have made me very
cranky) or hired a taxi (which would have made my husband very cranky), and we
ALL would have been starving and at our wit’s end. Luckily Mark wanted to eat
too, and we stopped at a service station with full-on food court. We all got
hot udon which revived us a little, but exhaustion took over as soon as we got
back in the car. Andy refused the car seat, and Mark assured me it was okay to
have him in my lap without a seatbelt, so I did not argue and the kid and I
fell asleep while Adi and Mark caught up for the hour-plus ride to our hotel in
Akasaka, Tokyo.
THE
HOTEL was amazing! Very clean, and a small but very cozy room that overlooked a
cemetery (not as creepy as it sounds). We pushed the two twin beds together to
make one big bed, which opened up space for our luggage against the bathroom
wall, and allowed Andy to keep sleeping (he did not wake up upon arrival, and
slept for almost 17 hours through the night AND the next morning). The bathroom
was super cool, with great shower and heated toilet. I was so thankful. We
promptly fell asleep and did not wake up for almost 12 hours.
I
have still not entirely
recovered from the jet lag, now over a full week later; Japan is NO JOKE with its
16-hour time difference to California. And I have traveled all over the world
and have never experienced anything like this. I mean, when I was in New
Zealand I don’t remember ANY jet lag, and that flight is even longer than to
Japan. But I was a young single twentysomething with the goal of making new
friends and crazy memories, so I guess I just partied through the jet lag. And
before that, when I did various international tours with various choirs
(Australia, Hungary, Cuba) or went to Europe with my family, I did not have any
problem with extreme jet lag either. But then again I was even younger and had
all my friends around me, and adults were taking care of all the travel
arrangements. NOW, I’m the one in charge, and I’m sure much of it is because
I’m traveling with a two-year-old, so it’s a completely different experience in
mind and body, because it’s so much more about keeping all his needs met and
joyful and keeping him safe than it is about me simply having a good time. I
definitely AM having a great time, it’s just a different definition at this
point in my life. And honestly, I think it’s way MORE fun, because Anderson
sees things in the most beautiful, innocent, joyful way that helps you remember
all the good in the world. He doesn’t care who you are or what language you
speak; if you wave hello, he loves you and is ready with that beaming smile
that melts you into a puddle of happiness. It’s amazing. I’m so glad we are all
here together experiencing this amazing world as a family.
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