cape town: the long haul

Paul's mom, Jenny, lasted about a month at home after leaving Timothy here in July before she broke down and bought a ticket for Tim and I to come for a visit over her September holiday. Without this visit, she'd go all the way until June 2010 before seeing him again. Monday 21 September, Paul drove us down to Denver International Airport for our 08:40 flight. We had a theory about how I'd get through airports with all the luggage, most of it Tim's, but this was the first test. The medium sized bag, piggybacks on the largest bag, and I drag these. Tim goes in his stroller. The car seat hangs from the stroller. The carry-on goes on my back. Whew. Don't forget, I'm five months pregnant. It worked but I wouldn't want to do it for long distances. After checking the two bags and car seat, things got much easier and I didn't have to do it again until Johannesburg.

tim waiting to board at denver international airport

Timothy is a fantastic traveler and what could have been a nightmare trip was only the usual drag of traveling for over 30 hours. He did not have his own seat booked on any of the flights, but he only had to share with me on the first one to Washington DC, not pleasant. We had a three hour wait in DC which just gave us enough time to have lunch and run around before getting on our seven plus hour flight to Dakar, Senegal. The agent told me at the check-in that she'd blocked the seat next to mine so that Tim could have a seat. This had a huge psychological impact on me. Suddenly it seemed I was on holiday instead of a mission. Once on board, our luck turned even better as it was half empty and we commandeered a row of four at the bulkhead. Neither of us slept, but the extra room gave Tim plenty of space to move around without getting in the face of our fellow passengers. Paul bought Tim a portable DVD player for the trip and I got it out on this leg. He sat for the whole of Madagascar which gave me a nice break. He played with his toys and with the seats, which have their own video machines that come out the arms and all kinds of buttons. He only summoned the flight attendant once. At Dakar, we let a few people off, gained a few people and refueled. It took an hour; then we were back in the air for seven plus more hours to Johannesburg.

discovering all there is at the DC airport

We both slept for about four hours on this flight. The meal services entertained Tim. They gave him the same meal as everyone and he picked at different things, but mostly played with the containers for each dish. Tim didn't want his stroller at Jburg. I can't blame him after being confined for so long, so everything went on the baggage trolley. I had a long walk through customs and up to the normal check-in for my flight to Cape Town. No one helped. I could have got a porter but had worked up inertia when I spotted them and soldiered on. Tim ran after the sniffer dogs, but mostly stayed near enough to me that I didn't have carry him until the end. Jburg airport is bright and airy and easy to get around. It wasn't that way in 2006 when I was here. It's nice to see the change. They need to work out a better system for transfers, but so do a lot of other airports. It was much easier to get through than Dullus in Washington DC.

our original seats on the transatlantic flight

Getting on the plane at Jburg, which involves a bus and stairs (no jetway), was the first time I got help from fellow passengers. A man from a group of Afrikaans men who seemed to be on company trip carried my bag and Tim's stroller. He put my bag in the overhead and then carried it off the plane and collected the stroller for me. His mate got me a trolley at baggage claim in Cape Town and then they went on their way. As I was the most tired and Tim the least agreeable at this point, the help was most appreciated.

Jenny and Neville were at the airport to meet us and after a quick phone call to find them, we were on our way home. We all stayed up until midnight, when Timothy took a bottle and crashed. I joined him and we slept through 'til morning. It was so nice to stretch out on a bed. I had some trouble reconciling the date. It felt like Tuesday to me but it was Wednesday morning. We lost a whole day in the trip.

cape town: family
Tim's Aunt Melissa came over after lunch to spend the afternoon with him. She bought him a toy airplane and an airplane book. Both big hits. She also bought a Billy Goat Gruff book, but it's a bit old for him. I left him on her lap and went for a nap. When I woke, his Great-Aunt Cath was there with her daughter's boyfriend Damian. Tim was asleep, had fallen asleep on Melissa's lap. He was asleep when Cath arrived and she was twitching with impatience. Fortunately, he woke and they spent some time together. Before dinner, we went to the park with Melissa.

tim and his aunt on the see-saw

We went to bed after dinner but Tim got us up at midnight and we stayed up until 04:30 then slept until 11:30. The whole family was due for lunch at noon so I rushed a shower and managed to be ready. Tim put on a great show, interacting with everyone. It was lovely. Tim's Great-Aunt Cath and Great-Uncle Chamie were there with their grown children: Michael, Leigh who had taken a bus in from Grahamstown for Tim's visit, Nicci and her boyfriend Damian. Tim's only great grandparent, Jenny's mother, was there. Melissa came over and of course Neville and Jenny were there. Tim and I were wide awake and feeling good until we crashed at about 16:30. Tim's Great-Gran said that Tim was just as she has imagined from his photos and videos. This is good to know as it means that she's getting to know the real him even at such a tremendous distance.

the whole family

cape town: kirstenbosch
Tim had a great night's sleep, from about 23:00-06:30. I was awake from 03:30-06:00, but Jenny took him and I went back to bed. Neville watched him while I slept and Jenny went to Curves for a work out. I was up at 08:00 and after breakfast we went to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens to see the flowers and run around. The weather forecast called for rain, but it held off and we enjoyed a cool breeze with patches of sun and cloud.

tim in the gardens

I thought Tim and I were turning the corner early on the jet lag, but we took a nap when we got home and slept more than five hours. Tonight, I expect we'll go to bed after midnight. But that's what holidays are like and I have loads of help from Jenny and Neville. I just wish Paul could be here.