Here is a quick recap of the timing. We left Vineland in a light rain, drove through a very heavy rain and arrived at JFK at about 10:45am EDT. Once we were checked in and at our gate we grabbed some elevensies…glazed donuts for Kai and Daddy, sushi for Christina, fruit cups and drinks.
We took off at about 1:30pm and landed in Tokyo at 3:15ish PM Japan/Korea time on Tuesday.
This first flight was pretty good including Japan Air giving us great seats with lots of legroom! These new 777 jets are awesome! Less seats and more leg and head room though not very wide. We sat in economy but they were practically on verge of their premium economy missing only the reclining leg rest and over the should reading light. Kai was determined to be up for the entire trip always saying he wasn´t tired. He was up for 19 straight hours. What a trooper! There were lots of video games and movies to watch plus we brought fun activity books, coloring books and reading material for him.
At Narita Airport in Tokyo we had about 3 hours to spare so we first did a little walking to stretch out and then settled in for a nice meal at the Miso Cafe. We both had miso chicken and rice and I had some awesome french fries with mustard and ketchup sauce. Something tells me my definition of awesome is going to change greatly in the coming 11 days and may apply to anything familiar.
Kai slept for the entire stay over until we had to check his stroller for our connecting flight. This flight was on a 767 and not as nice by comparison but still a fine flight. Kai managed pretty well too at this point having had about 6 hours of sleep he was a bit refreshed and of course loved the games and movies.
We landed in Incheon, managed well through immigration, customs, baggage claim, etc. Kai really was a very adaptable traveler. We met our van driver (who was kind and helpful and gave us the sign with our name on it for keepsake (we have the one from Kai’s trip)). The drive is about an hour from Incheon to our hotel in Seoul. And this city seems to be very alive even at 11pm on a Tuesday night because there was a ton of traffic! We got to the hotel just after midnight on Wednesday morning but alas, Kai was refreshed(we got showers) and continually reminding me he didn’t need to sleep and even though he’s trying it’s not possible for him to sleep. So, we played Angry Birds for about an hour and we finally fell asleep around 2:30am. For me, I was up for over 2 1/2 straight days so even the 3.5 hours I was about to get will do the trick nicely. Now, on to breakfast and then to pack up our gifts and donations and make our way to meet our son. It’s now 7:18am on Wednesday, 6/12 and will meet him at 10am. Can’t wait!
Happy you all landed safely!! We are so excited for you to meet Keegan and wish we were with you. 🙂
Reading your blog made me feel good! Close even though you are so far away ; so excited for u , Christina, Kai @ Keegan
Awesome update! So glad Kai is such a great traveler.. how excited he must be! Stay safe and get some rest when you can. I can not wait to see more updates especially the one where you get to meet Keegan!! Love you all!
So excited for you all! Give Kai and Keegan a big hug and kiss from cousin Traci!
Glad the traveling went well. You are probably meeting Keegan as I am writing this. I am so excited for you all and can’t wait to hear about it!
Lori (loriahc from bb)
What a great traveler!!! YAY you’ve met Keegan by now!
This blog is wonderful, Gandalf! We’ve all been thinking of you. My friends keep asking me if I’ve heard anything. I’m so glad Kai enjoyed the flight so much. 🙂 I’m sure you are having a wonderful time, meeting Keegan. 🙂
I love you all very much!
P.S. Calvin and Annie are getting along great. Nana Sue is spoiling them both.
I knew she would, thanks!
Is Kai playing a video game (like a console game) on the plane?! They have video ges now?!
Have a great time. Lisette and Ami say hi.
Yes, at least international ones have pretty good entertainment systems. We watched Monsters Inc, Wreck It Ralph (actually I watched “Identity Thief” during it), played games…older games though. The remote flips around and is a play station-like controller.
By the way a trailer for the second Hobbit movie was released today. Kate from “Lost” plays an elf that isn’t in the book.
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/06/11/hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-trailer-best-moments/
I bet her character was mentioned in The Simarillion or other side book. We’ll check out the trailer though.
No apparently it’s a totally new character that doesn’t previously appear in written works created in part to bring in a female character.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauriel
This blog is amazing! It’s a wonderful way to see and feel like we’re a part of your journey. I’m so happy for you that your travels are going well. I can only imagine how excited you all are to be with Keegan. I can’t wait to see the 1st pictures of all of you together. And better still, when all of us here can share in your joy when you bring him home.
Thanks so much for sharing your story as you go! It warms my heart, and helps put things in perspective about what is really important – keegan is one very luck and blessed little boy! Blessings as you continue your journey!
And then there were four 🙂