January 27-28~ Zoo and Airport and Homeward Bound

Last day in GZ!  We packed up some more (we started yesterday afternoon) and got breakfast, and at 11 we headed to the GZ Zoo with the other families.  The zoo was like a regular zoo pretty much.  There were animals.  They were in miniature habitats and such.  It was nothing spectacular, but was nice.  E insists on being carried everywhere.  He doesn’t like the baby carrier because he has to face me (and who wants that when he could be looking forward!?) and my arms get tired… so this time I got smart and we borrowed a hotel stroller.  However, he hated that too.  I’m not sure if he thought it felt scary and unstable, or if he just really loves to be held.  Either way, I carried him again all through the zoo.  Good thing my arms are so strong.  ;)  Overall, he did well, tho.  I was a little nervous considering we left right in time for lunch and nap and instead go walking around the zoo for a couple hours.  But he was pretty happy… as long as we kept him snacking and I carried him around everywhere.

Our travel group at the zoo

This is a giraffe.

This is now much Ephraim loved the stroller.

See? Much better when he can pull my hair.

Swans and Fishes

Welcome to the Zoo.

Flamingos

So then it was back to the room for lunch and nap and final packing and checking out.  At 4:10 we met  Simon to get E’s visa... but Simon was late.  John paced, and Ephraim whined, and we sat in the lobby with all our luggage for a while until Simon walked in just before 5.  He found John and walked up and the first thing he said was "There was a delay with his visa," at which point John had a heart attack until Simon continued, "a 30 minute delay."  lol.  He had the passport (with a visa!) and immigration packet in his hands, and we everything looked fine.  We waited a little bit longer until our van arrived at 5:15 to take us to the airport. 

The drive was around 40 minutes, and we got checked in.  The very helpful check-in lady even blocked off a seat between us for E since the flight wasn't full, even tho he was just on a lap ticket. Woohoo!  

Our first flight left at 9:30pm.

The flights went smoothly.  They served some food at the beginning of the flight, but it was after E's bedtime, so he finally got his bottle and he was out like a light for the next 11 hours or so.  Well, not exactly like a light I suppose.  He stirs a lot, and flips around like a fish out of water.  But he slept, and that was a relief to all the surrounding passengers, I'm sure.  

We landed in LAX in around 630 in the evening on the same day, having gained more hours than we lost apparently, and made it through customs and immigration and back through security without any problems.  Sat around in LA for a while, then another 4 hour flight to our final destination.  E slept almost that entire flight as well.  Seriously, I've had the best newly-adopted travelers!  So thankful!  

Sleepy World-Traveler Baby. 

(Pardon the weird color.  It was dark.)

Then we were harshly greeted back in the region, where it's still nastily winter... and E's first experience outside of GZ's "winter" of low 70s was to something around 9 degrees.  He was not a fan.  He likes driving, tho, and once he got over the initial trauma of being strapped into a carseat, and he got a little bit warmed up again, he ate some food and then slept most of the way home.  

Home!!!