After an eight week countdown, the day of our big trip to Kuwait to visit J finally arrived. The girls and I met up with Uncle J.I. and he drove us to Hartsfield Atlanta Airport.
Atlanta was pouring down rain with warnings of floods, but our flight was not delayed. We were able to get through the international check-in and security very quickly with no hassles.
We had lots of time before our flight, so we had a snack at Starbucks in the airport, then the girls worked on coloring activities.
Our trip from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., was very exciting for the girls! They enjoyed looking out of the window and ordering special drinks from the flight attendants.
Once we got above the rain clouds, the sky was perfectly blue!
As we entered the Washington, D.C., area, we spotted the Washington Monument from the sky. It is in the very center of the photo.
We took a shuttle from one side of the Washington airport to the other to get to the international terminal. The girls loved looking at all of the different airplanes lined up.
We had a 6 1/2 hour layover before departing for Kuwait. The wait seemed to last forever! We spent the time eating at two different restaurants, shopping, reading, coloring, and playing video games. Our plane departed at 10:04 PM and was full of American soldiers with a great sense of humor. They told me that I was a very brave mom for making a trip this long with the girls. They laughed and laughed at the girls' excitement over the size of the plane and the electronics at their seat, etc. The most difficult part of the trip was trying to sleep on the airplane while sitting up. It was extremely uncomfortable!
We loved looking at the map on the tv screen. It continuously updated the location of our plane. We flew up the east coast, then over Newfoundland, the Atlantic Ocean, England, Amsterdam, Germany, the Black Sea, Turkey, Iraq, then Kuwait...just to name a few places...
Somewhere over Europe, we peeked through the window and saw a beautiful sunrise. We had to shut the cover over the window, though, because everyone around us was trying to sleep.
We arrived in Kuwait 12 hours later...10:00 AM Eastern time...5:00 PM Kuwaiti time. One of the "hola girls" met us at our gate with our name on a sign just as we had arranged. We were able to go through the Visa process in an expedited line. All I had to do was give her our passports and sign my name once. While she did the work, the girls and I sat on a bench and observed the activity around us. My first impression was that the Kuwaitis smell WONDERFUL!!! There were so many beautiful perfumy fragrances in the air and one man smelled like lemons! It was great! Most of the people were wearing robes (black, white, and some with rich colors and metallic trims). I did not notice anyone staring at us. The girls were very intimidated, though. I wrapped my arm around Little A's chest while we were waiting, and her heart was pounding so hard! Big A just had HUGE eyes as she looked at everyone. She said it was a little creepy to her. Once the Visa paperwork was completed, the girl helped us get our luggage, then she hand-delivered us to Jeff! The girls ran to him and jumped up in his arms and gave him the biggest hug EVER. I gave him a small hug because I had been warned not to show public displays of affection. I looked around and noticed some Kuwaiti people watching us with huge smiles on their faces. They enjoyed watching the girls' reunion with their daddy.
When we walked outside, the heat hit us like a brick wall!!! It was unbelievably oppressive!!! It was very dusty. Our eyes were a little irritated and we could feel the sand gritting between our teeth! Luckily the car cooled off quickly!
As we left the airport, there were quite a few welcome signs! I thought this one was interesting because 1998 is the year that Kuwait/the Middle East started becoming intermingled with our lives due to J's service in the military!
We enjoyed looking at the scenery as we drove back to Kuwait City from the airport.
Desert land...
We passed so many American restaurants that had the names in both Arabic and English. We know that the kids won't go hungry here! Hahaha!!!
And we had supper at Papa John's! It tasted fresher than our local Papa John's in the U.S. We went inside to order and the owner spent some time talking to us. He wanted to know where we were from. He was very welcoming and friendly.
At last, we arrived at J's apartment!
We used a shopping cart to bring our luggage up to the apartment!
J took some time with the girls to teach them how to operate the electronics.
Nestled between J's apartment and the Persian Gulf is a Family Park. A celebration was going on in full swing for Eid Mubarak--kind of like a New Year's celebration. We were able to hear the live music from the balcony.
Atlanta was pouring down rain with warnings of floods, but our flight was not delayed. We were able to get through the international check-in and security very quickly with no hassles.
We had lots of time before our flight, so we had a snack at Starbucks in the airport, then the girls worked on coloring activities.
Our trip from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., was very exciting for the girls! They enjoyed looking out of the window and ordering special drinks from the flight attendants.
Once we got above the rain clouds, the sky was perfectly blue!
As we entered the Washington, D.C., area, we spotted the Washington Monument from the sky. It is in the very center of the photo.
We took a shuttle from one side of the Washington airport to the other to get to the international terminal. The girls loved looking at all of the different airplanes lined up.
We had a 6 1/2 hour layover before departing for Kuwait. The wait seemed to last forever! We spent the time eating at two different restaurants, shopping, reading, coloring, and playing video games. Our plane departed at 10:04 PM and was full of American soldiers with a great sense of humor. They told me that I was a very brave mom for making a trip this long with the girls. They laughed and laughed at the girls' excitement over the size of the plane and the electronics at their seat, etc. The most difficult part of the trip was trying to sleep on the airplane while sitting up. It was extremely uncomfortable!
We loved looking at the map on the tv screen. It continuously updated the location of our plane. We flew up the east coast, then over Newfoundland, the Atlantic Ocean, England, Amsterdam, Germany, the Black Sea, Turkey, Iraq, then Kuwait...just to name a few places...
Somewhere over Europe, we peeked through the window and saw a beautiful sunrise. We had to shut the cover over the window, though, because everyone around us was trying to sleep.
We arrived in Kuwait 12 hours later...10:00 AM Eastern time...5:00 PM Kuwaiti time. One of the "hola girls" met us at our gate with our name on a sign just as we had arranged. We were able to go through the Visa process in an expedited line. All I had to do was give her our passports and sign my name once. While she did the work, the girls and I sat on a bench and observed the activity around us. My first impression was that the Kuwaitis smell WONDERFUL!!! There were so many beautiful perfumy fragrances in the air and one man smelled like lemons! It was great! Most of the people were wearing robes (black, white, and some with rich colors and metallic trims). I did not notice anyone staring at us. The girls were very intimidated, though. I wrapped my arm around Little A's chest while we were waiting, and her heart was pounding so hard! Big A just had HUGE eyes as she looked at everyone. She said it was a little creepy to her. Once the Visa paperwork was completed, the girl helped us get our luggage, then she hand-delivered us to Jeff! The girls ran to him and jumped up in his arms and gave him the biggest hug EVER. I gave him a small hug because I had been warned not to show public displays of affection. I looked around and noticed some Kuwaiti people watching us with huge smiles on their faces. They enjoyed watching the girls' reunion with their daddy.
When we walked outside, the heat hit us like a brick wall!!! It was unbelievably oppressive!!! It was very dusty. Our eyes were a little irritated and we could feel the sand gritting between our teeth! Luckily the car cooled off quickly!
As we left the airport, there were quite a few welcome signs! I thought this one was interesting because 1998 is the year that Kuwait/the Middle East started becoming intermingled with our lives due to J's service in the military!
We enjoyed looking at the scenery as we drove back to Kuwait City from the airport.
Desert land...
We passed so many American restaurants that had the names in both Arabic and English. We know that the kids won't go hungry here! Hahaha!!!
And we had supper at Papa John's! It tasted fresher than our local Papa John's in the U.S. We went inside to order and the owner spent some time talking to us. He wanted to know where we were from. He was very welcoming and friendly.
At last, we arrived at J's apartment!
We used a shopping cart to bring our luggage up to the apartment!
J took some time with the girls to teach them how to operate the electronics.
Nestled between J's apartment and the Persian Gulf is a Family Park. A celebration was going on in full swing for Eid Mubarak--kind of like a New Year's celebration. We were able to hear the live music from the balcony.
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