[Composed 8/7/2018]
Snowflake! How are we going to get Snowflake home?!
That was the thought I was wrestling with as the day started. Snowflake, you may recall, is the stick-horse T. had picked up back on Day 1. Snowflake was too big to fit in our suitcase, and too weapony to bring on as a carry on. How were we going to get her home?
Fortunately, we had allowance for an additional checked bag, and the kind lady at the ticket counter was up to the challenge of packing up Snowflake for a ride in the plane's belly. Spoiler alert: Snowflake made it back to Boston with nary a scratch on her. In fact, our excitement at seeing Snowflake in the luggage collection area in Boston was so contagious, that even the baggage handler who had hand carried her out to the floor was eager to see if she made it through the flight unharmed. It was a fun moment. It was then followed by me opening up one of our checked bags to re-arrange something only to find that a box of cheerios had exploded mid-flight. That was a less fun moment. Better on the return home, than on the way there. No big deal.
As we waited at the hotel in San Jose for the airport shuttle to arrive, Shira had her final exam in traveling-with-a-type-1-diabetic-child. Her test consisted of having to prepare breakfast for D. on the fly and then give him his shot of insulin while he ate his oatmeal standing up at the bus stop. Shira passed with flying colors!
Our short flight to Panama was on a newer plane and so we were treated to the enhanced entertainment systems I had hoped we'd have on the flights to Costa Rica. As I expected, everyone, including myself, zoned out by watching TV or playing games. It was glorious. For the 5 hour flight to Boston, however, we found ourselves on yet another old school plane.
I sat with T., and using Scotch Tape, bound the Snoopy comic she drew from scratch. We also played a version of pictionary, taking turns drawing different things we'd seen on our trip. Shira sat with J. and D. J. was happy to log hours playing his DS while D.'s favorite activity was monitoring our airspeed and altitude using his phone's GPS. If this sounds geeky, it's because it is. Finally, we Scotch Taped the phone to the window and he went to work documenting our descent. That is, until we finally lost GPS signal. I'm telling you, with the determination and precision this boy showed for data, he's going to have a bright future as a scientist. Lookout cancer, D.'s going to be coming for you!
After landing in Boston, we handed T. and D. back to their parents and hit a nearby hotel for a quick night's sleep. Before we knew it, it was time to put J. on a flight home (his second time flying unaccompanied) and for us to snag our flight back to DC. A few hours later, everyone was back to where they were supposed to be.
Costa Rica was truly a fun and beautiful country to visit, and an ideal locale to use as D. and T.'s first overseas trip.
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