This Martins' Summer Grand Tour (Day 1 - Day 2)

The plane ride went much more smoothly than what we had anticipated. Kai had a one-hour nap in the cab ride out to the airport, so he was just happy and alert when we were going through the potentially most stressful part of the trip: checking in and going through customs and security.

You know how you always only hear about the difficulties in flying with a baby? Well, I started reading on "Flying with Your Baby" weeks before this trip. I read a good number of personal blogs, forums, parenting sites, and the official Transportation Security Administration of the US. While I was studying, I made a map of the airport in my head and put a big red cross on each of the "check points" (like in a video game). I memorized the tasks I might be asked to complete and the best ways to complete them. I reviewed what I'd studied in my head when we were in the cab to the airport, and I felt confident and prepared when we arrived at the airport. I knew what "problems" might lay ahead and acted preemtively. Sadly, everything went smoothly... so smoothly that I ended up feeling like that gigantic dork in the class who eagerly answered every question, even before it was asked. *sigh*

That said, I still suggest that you do your homework before traveling with your baby.

Kai handled all this traveling exceptionally well. He was simply excited and curious when we were at the airport. Even after we were seated in the plane, he was jumping on my lap, pulling the stuff out from the pocket in front of us, and looking at the pretty flight attendants. I put him on the boob when we were taxiing, and he was out before take-off (Told ya I did my homework). In fact, he didn't wake up until 8 hours later (I know!! We didn't have to use any of the tricks suggested by our friends). We even put him in the bassinet for a while, but it got bumpy quite frequently when we flew over Japan, so we decided to ask the flight attendant to take away the bassinet (for more space) and just held him in our arms.

Kai woke up when breakfast was served three hours before landing. He ate with us and spent the rest of the flight playing with a 15-month-old and checking out a cute 2-year-old girl with curly blond hair (If you remember from previous posts, Kai seems to be into blonds). Since we were seated by the work station, Kai also spent a great deal of time flirting with the flight attendants. They called him "xuai ge", which means "a handsome man" in Chinese.

We arrived in Vancouver around 7:30pm local time, and we were surprised at how bright it was. We were also reminded, once again, how beautiful Vancouver is. The mountains, the blue sky, the fresh air, and the friendly people (speaking with a funny accent in Bill's opinion). We stayed at the Riverport Holiday Inn right by SilverCity Riverport. By the time we were out for dinner at River Brew Pub, it was already 9 o'clock! We had an artichoke and spinach dip and sweet cherry sauce and pork lion (which were not as good as we'd hoped). The beer was good though. Bill had a special extra bitter Ale, and I ordered a blond Ale (the waiter asked, "Would you like to taste the blond first?" when he took my order. I thought that was funny in a kinky kind of way. Hey, I was exhausted after a whole day of traveling, okay?)

After a good night sleep at the hotel, we were ready for yet another plane ride from Vancouver to Portland. This one was one one hour long... almost felt like a joke in comparison to the 11-hour flight we took just the night before. To my surprise, it was a turbo prop plane! It was fun... and noisy. Once again, I put Kai on the boob when we were taxiing, and the little boy slept through the entire flight. Unfortunately, Bill and I both ran for the bathroom as soon as we landed (must be the dinner... or the buffet breakfast at the hotel).

We went out to "Family Night" almost straight from the airport, and Kai met the 30+ people in the family all at once. He was cautious and hesitant at first but warmed up to people very quickly. For the first time, he played with kids at different ages. He was super excited and happy, crawling everywhere and saying hi to everybody. On the way to our temporary home in the car, however, Kai was so exhausted that he cried... we haven't seen him cry like that since he suffered from gas pangs when he was 2 months old.

Even though our first experience of "flying with a baby" went smoothly, traveling with a baby is much more taxing than we had anticipated. Either that, or we're really feeling our age now.