come to Moscow...I'm told they stay here. Above is a picture of the main foyer
dome.
Dome and Fixtures
I personally like looking at hotel lobby's...if there happens to be a Casino attached so much the better.
Unfortunately there was no casino to be seen at this
hotel....
Stained Glass Foyer
Waiting for Vlad
Denise and Isabella waiting for Vlad. We checked out of the hotel at 10:10 and Vlad (Moscow Driver) was here early at 10:25 am.
The Marriot Fountain
Inside the Moscow Airport
Once we got to the airport I was expecting a big hassle with the Russian Customs Police....but it was
very uneventful. Vlad said a few words, made some hand gestures, pointed to the kids and the next thing
you know we were being waved through....no probs at
all....we didn't even have to show our completed
customs forms.
Tony, Patty and Christian
We met these folks who also adopted out of Khaz. Meet Tony, Patty and Christian. This was their second adoption and it showed...they travelled extremely light ...unlike us. We lugged our babies, baggage (Lots of Carry-On) and other stuff all over the place looking for the Delta Lounge....Found it...3 flights of stairs later and on the other side of the terminal...ugh
Patty and Christian
Christian was a very sweet baby. Very
bright and attentive. These fine folks are
from Louisiana and ended up going our way
home via Atlanta. Except their journey
involved a 3 hour layover in Atlanta...I think
they got home around midnight...
Ready To Go...
Here is the goup in Business Class ready to fly home. The fine folks at Delta did us extremely well...they set us up with 4 Business Class seats + the bulkhead so we could setup a bassinett. It was the most comfortable you could possibly feel in our
situation.
Paka Moscow
Here Ethan has his nose pressed against the glass so he could say goodbye to Moscow...next stop
New York...
Sittin In The Big Boy Seat...
Ethan actually sat by himself halfway thru the trip. He even fell asleep in the big seat which was a big relief for me. As you can see the boy even has his seat-belt on.
...Now Where's My Cashews
The kids did reasonably well on the flights. The In-Flight Attendants were doting all over the two of them all the way to JFK.
Waiting for Take-Off
Up Up and Away
Picture of outside the plane just moments after leaving the ground.
Some of these plane pictures came out pretty good
which really surprised me.
The Round Rainbow
We saw this neat effect over the Atlantic. If you look closely near the center of the photo above you will see a small round rainbow. I blew it up in the picture on the right...
A Clean Baby Is A Good Baby
Here the boy is washing up before dinner.
Little did he know that he had a nice
bottle and some baby slop to eat...you
need teeth before you get the lovely
airplane food. I had the beef by the way.
Nearing the Coast of Canada
Here we are just over the coast of Labrador. The ocean is crusted over in ice and you can see the coast line...
Nearing Newfoundland
I basically had Ethan for most of the trip.
He was very well-behaved but he did manage to rip my sweater, dowse me in wine and pop my eardrums while I was trying to change him in the airplane bathroom....
Is This Thing Still First Class?
Here is the boy sitting in the bassinet. It doesn't look comfortable but believe you me he loved it. If you're on
a long flight with a baby this thing can save your life...
Balancing a baby, while watching a movie, and eating
dinner is very difficult to do while in a plane.
Stop the Plane I Want To Get OFF
Here's a picture of the girl. She was basically asleep most of the trip.
After We Touched Down...
We basically made the mad rush down to Customs where we had to process the kids for their entry to the US. The lines were long but we eventually got to our Customs agent who was having a devil of a time trying to use his computer...But he processed both kids and the wife very easily. When he comes to my passport the fellow mutters the words "Oh #$%^".....trust me; after you've been on a plane for 10 hours+ you don't want to hear an Immigration Person utter the words "Oh #$%^...apparently my L1-Visa card wasn't properly affixed to my passport....I honestly thought this guys was going to "detain me", send me back to Moscow or deport me back to Canada. Then I remembered I photocopied my Long Form L1-Visa notice along with my entire green card application (it pays to be thorough) so we did eventually get through.
After the Customs hurdle we then had to go and find our bags and then drag them down to the Delta belt so they could put them onto our next plane. No problem here....but getting back through the security checkpoint was a real hassle. They had me take my coat off, my belt off and my computer off....(and some people had to take their shoes off) in a very small place. Now you try doing all of this with a baby attached to your front...very tough indeed. Thankfully the Russians in front of us let us go to the front of the line....Apparently this is a Russian Custom.
We did make our next flight with minutes to spare. The In-Flight Attendants were even more friendlier on this flight. They paid alot of attention to all of the new babies on-board and when the time came to land they announced Ethan, Isabella and Christian to the rest of the plane and welcomed them to the US as new US Citizens...
After that the rest of the Journey was a snap...I just had to hunt down this person who tried to make off with one of our bags...(Atlanta stinks for claiming your luggage- anybody can grab anyone else's luggage and then make a bee-line towards the door----I don't understand why they don't have security check your claim tags before you leave the airport.....) and then our friend Lesley Boyette and her father met us to drive us home. By the Way thanks Lesley and her Dad for the lift....you guys were great.
Well this concludes "Our Journey to Kazakhstan"...Thanks to everyone who participated on our little adventure to pick up our kids. We do plan on updating other areas of the site so if you still want to see what we're up to then please plan on visiting....we'll be posting other pics of the kids as they grow-up.
Paka Paka
The Correias
Moscow
Pics
Back To
Jounal
Just when you think you're done....Wham you rediscover some more new photos of your trip. These next few Gems come to us from Dave and Leslie Boyette. Leslie and her father picked us up from the airport and she was snapping photographs. She did give us these shots from awhile ago but of course I misplaced them until I finished my photo logging session. Well here they are...enjoy and thanks again Leslie for the photos!!!
The Arrival
Ahhh...I miss the days when I could use our Baby Bjorns.
Kangaroo Kid
Here's Denise and Isabella.
Big Hug
Ethan give Auntie Leslie a big hug and a smooch.
"So Who Are You Anyway?"
Ethan says hello to Leslie while Isabella lounges in the background.
Ethan In Crib
Here's the boy preparing to go to sleep. No tears....its different today.
Good Night.....I Think?
Isabella was so excited to be home, she just didn't want to go to sleep...poor kid!.
