(Except for South Korea or Moscow...and probably some other places, too)

They forgot to put that disclaimer in the statement. Mistake number one on my part: not checking with our bank to be sure that we could use our credit card in Moscow. Back on trip one, we tried using the card when we were in S. Korea, and it just wouldn't work. Well, I got in touch with our bank, who said that South Korea is on Visa International's list of places that they would not allow credit card use. I promptly asked if we could use it in Russia, and we were told "yes." So it was then that I told them that we were headed to Russia, and would be there again in the next few months - she said that was fine, not to worry. So I didn't...we used the card fine in Vladivostok, so it didn't occur to me to call again (one of those important details that I just sorta forgot to put on my list) before we headed out on trip two.

On this trip, we used the card fine, in Vladivostok, to pay for our hotel. But... when we got to Moscow on Thursday, we tried to "guarantee" our room with the card, and it wouldn't go through. Because of the time difference, I let it slip my mind to call the bank on Friday...so we had to wait till Monday (evening, in Moscow) to call. We were leaving on Tuesday, so we were in a bit of a crunch, counting our cash to be sure that we would have enough to pay for everything.

As it turns out, I was told by my bank that Moscow is indeed on the "ban" list by Visa International (I'm not telling you this to announce my stupidity for not checking, or to complain about Visa - merely to set the stage for the rest of our tiresome day...and to make sure that if YOU are going to Moscow, check to be sure your cc will work) because of the high risk of theft, and there was nothing my bank could do about it.

Fortunately, we had brought enough cash...BUT, forgot to change it to rubles before the hotel bank closed on Monday. We were supposed to leave for the airport at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday...the bank didn't open till 9:00. Yikes. So at 8:30, Nathan met our driver downstairs and told him we were going to have to wait until the bank opened so we could pay our hotel bill. This confused our driver, because he couldn't figure out why we wouldn't put it on our credit card. Nathan tried to explain it to him - but I think one of them got confused about what the other was talking about, and so the driver is probably still trying to figure us out.

So...at 9:00, the bank opened and Nathan was waiting. Only to have to run back to us in the lobby to get his passport. Then he was off again. Little I was getting pretty antsy that he couldn't see his dad...but we waited patiently, while Nathan made the exchange and then paid our bill.

Long story, huh?

So, leaving 45 minutes late, we made the trek to the airport. Our driver made sure we got in safely, and he took us as far as he could physically go...put us in the right line for the Delta flight, and then we were on our own. If you think that security is tight in a U.S. airport, then come to Russia! We went through an initial checkpoint, for our passports, tickets, and Little I's immigration papers. Then, we were directed to a table where we had to open up our checked luggage and have it hand searched thoroughly. After that, we got in line to check in with Delta. We finally got checked in and our seat assignments (no bulkhead, unfortunately, for this trip). Then it was off to passport control, where the lady took a long time, checking & stamping our passports...and checking, rechecking, & thoroughly rechecking Little I's paperwork.

All of this took roughly an hour and a half. Thank goodness for that stroller Israel helped us find (and whilst I think of it, if you are headed to Moscow & you want Israel's contact info, just let me know. i'll be glad to set you up with it!). That stroller was truly a lifesaver. Little I got cranky whenever we had to stand still for a long time...but for the most part, he people-watched and enjoyed being pushed around.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that Nathan had woken up with a really sore throat, and by this time was starting to go downhill. Not full-out feverish, but just feeling pretty bad for being in an airport.

Also worth mentioning is that, while we were having our bags checked, someone came up to me and said, "Hi! You don't know me, but I read your blog" (how cool is that? it was another adoptive parent...Hello, Ronda!!).

Anyway, we finally made it through passport control and found a bathroom and water. Only to have to go through another security checkpoint - the one where you take off your shoes and throw away any big containers of liquids (any drinks or liquids you may've just bought in duty free stores, too, which was strange). So then we were in a glass case, with no way to use the bathroom or get anything else to drink. I highly recommend that the SVO airport put drink machines inside these glass cases!

So we met up again with Ronda & her husband & their two kiddos...they had about 45 minutes until their plane boarded (headed to NY) and we were set to leave (headed to ATL) almost an hour behind them.

We were all busy talking, feeding snacks to our kids, chasing our kids, and then dodging a little guy whose mother just wouldn't keep up with him (he was probably about Little I's age... at one point, he got away from his mom while she was changing his diaper, and he was walking around in a shirt & shoes, that's it. then he tried feeding Little I lots of stuff. a cucumber, a cookie, & an apple, to name a couple things. then he decided he would get into other people's bags & climb into their strollers & claim their toys as his. it was interesting. but he was cute)

Ronda & her family went to get in line to get on their plane, when an announcement was made that they were going to be a few minutes late leaving. There were some mechanical difficulties on their plane, so it would be another 45 minutes before they would know anything. At that point, they swapped our gates around (we were still able to stay in the same glass case, though, which was nice). So we were back to waiting together.

When it came time for us to board our plane, we went to get in line. Ten minutes after boarding was supposed to begin, we were still waiting, and they made an announcement that they needed to refuel the plane, and that we would know something in about a half hour.

There were more announcements made about the NY & ATL flights, pushing them back a little farther. And we just wanted to get home. But we were doing our best to be patient & keep our kids as patient as possible.

Finally, our boarding call was made - the NY folks were still waiting, and they were supposed to fly out an hour ahead of us. I'm not sure when/if they finally got to leave. I sure hope so!

About 45 minutes late, we were 'wheels up' and this is where the post gets boring. So I will just say that on a 10 1/2 hour flight, Little I slept almost 7 of those hours...and the Delta crew was sooo much better on this flight than our last one. They were very helpful, and overall more cheery. Little I, when he was awake, won the hearts of almost everyone around him.

asleep, on the plane...waiting to deplane in ATL

I can't tell you how many times, on this trip (altogether, not just this plane ride) we were asked how often we traveled with him, how many kids we had (one person even made the comment that she just didn't believe that we were first time parents...what a compliment!!). One lady, upon finding out that he had been with us only a couple weeks said she almost couldn't believe it - he just appeared so happy and comfortable with us. You know how that made us feel!!

So the flight was uneventful, except that neither Nathan nor I slept a wink, and we were both exhausted by the end of it!

We finally arrived in Atlanta, only about 20-ish minutes late. But everyone & their sister was coming back into the U.S....the passport control lines were really long. We had been told, at the Embassy, that since Little I was traveling on a Russian passport, we could go through foreign citizens line...but we didn't do that, because that line was even longer than the U.S. citizen line. So we stayed on our original path. We got to a very tired, but nice, passport control agent who welcomed us home and directed us to baggage claim, customs, & immigration control.

Since we were off schedule a bit, and since Little I had slept through every meal, he was living off of yogurt, cheese, & crackers. He had to be starving...but he was doing so well. Hanging in there, my little trooper!!

We got our baggage, went through customs, and then headed toward immigration.

There were quite a few people in the immigration area...but being U.S. citizens, we were ushered to the agent. He stamped Little I's passport, and congratulated us on Little I's brand new U.S. citizenship!

America's newest citizen!!

Then we were on our way, again, to re-check our baggage and head to our gate. Nathan was feeling pretty bad by this point & wasn't hungry - but we stopped and grabbed some food for me & Little I before heading to the gate. We got some wraps - a club wrap for me, and a ham & cheese wrap for Little I. We got to our gate A13...only to find that there was not a flight to Birmingham departing from that gate. We rechecked our tickets, and upon finding that they did, in fact say "A13," Nathan checked with the desk. He was told that they had changed the departure gate to A30, which is a pretty good walk. So we headed down that way. Only to get there, and notice that there is no flight leaving from B'ham from that gate either. Nathan went to check with the desk, and I guess the lady was pretty sick of people asking her about it because she got major attitude with him. And that's really not the professional thing to do, especially when you are dealing with majorly tired, sick people who just wanna get home, and want to make sure they are not going to miss their flight that is supposed to leave in 30 minutes.

Finally, they made the announcment that the flight to Birmingham would be leaving from gate A7. There was a collective groan among all the people that had trudged down to the end of the terminal...and we all headed back toward A7.

All's well that ends well, though...and we got on our plane, were told that there had been a power failure, and that we would be up & running in another 30 minutes. Finally. in about a half hour, we were wheels-up, and headed toward home.

Twenty four minutes later, we deboarded the plane in Birmingham. Finally, home. Or at least 45 minutes away from it, anyway! I used the bathroom, really quick & changed Little I's diaper. And then we were headed on the one-minute walk to our welcome home entourage. Here are a few pics my mom sent to me...I thought they were good. Click on the thumbnails to make them bigger.