Well it was an early morning indeed. Instead of the 4:30 alarm clock, though, I was woken up by the darling little wiggle worm that should have been sleeping beside me. 3:30 am... apparently she was excited!
So we were all ready for the 5:05 transport to the airport. The lines moved quickly and we were soon to our gate with more than an hour to spare before boarding. We headed down to find a restaurant suitable for breakfast. Somewhere between the gate and the food court, Sammy started to fall apart. So she and I went for a quick walk around the terminal and met the group back at the gate.
Scott sat with Sammy and I in the handicap seating of row 4. I was thrilled with her behavior and was even able to catch a few winks myself. Our flight arrived almost 25 minutes early in Philadelphia which gave us a little extra time to switch 2 terminals and get to our next plane. For that flight, Scott was in back with Tyler and the Wielhouwers. As soon as we boarded, Sammy got her movie started (can you tell we had prepped her well?) The man in the seat next to me shared that the flight rarely took the 4 hours listed... so I was eager that Sammy would have another great flight. But, after all the safety presentations were finished, we had already eaten up 30 minutes of the movie. Then we sat on the runway waiting for our turn to take-off at least 30 minutes more. We weren't in the air 30 minutes when Sammy's movie was done... and so was she. I'll save the details, but there were lots of tears, shrieks, legs in the air, and buns anywhere but on the seat. It lasted a long time. The gentleman that sat with Sammy and I was so kind and patient... the answer to so many prayers. He did so much to comfort me and help explain to the other passengers and staff what was going on.
After she started to calm down, the pilot announced that we had appx 1 hr 50 min left. Ugh... it sounded like an eternity. But, we made it! Tyler got to sit with JC and Mary for both flights. They swear he did really well and he was all smiles when he got off the plane. We headed downstairs for customs and immigration. It took a little time but went very smoothly.
The property manager, Miguel, was waiting right outside the door for us. Although he only speaks Spanish, we did pretty well communicating. He is a native of Cuba and has lived in DR for 11 years. He even serenaded JC for a while.
We crammed 7 people, 12 bags, and a stroller into a run down Toyota Sienna. It was so funny to see all of our faces turn from doubt to disbelief and then shock... but he did it - we all fit.
It was a 30 minute ride from the airport to the property... started off with a slight fender bender before we even left the airport. Yup, it was eventful... cars driving in reverse on the road, someone changing a tire in the driving lane, and even a bit of road rage. It really was fabulous. But in spite of it all, Sammy fell asleep. The sweetheart has had such a big day! Snuggled on Daddy's lap, crammed in the back seat of that minivan, she just couldn't keep those eyes open.
Miguel and Kenya helped us get into the unit and settled in. It is BEAUTIFUL! We will have no issues with accommodations for sure. (I'll post more pictures later)
It was almost 5:00 pm when we arrived at Marbella so we got our swim suits on and headed to the restaurant on site for lunch / supper. Mary took the kids swimming in the ginormous pool while we waited for the food to arrive. Then we took a walk down on the beach to play in the surf and sand for a bit while we enjoyed the sunset.
The sun set around 6:30 pm and I'll be honest we all were pretty tired. The kids and I did devotions and then they watched a short movie in bed. Us adults sat out on the balcony enjoying the sound of the ocean. We made it til 9 but couldn't last much longer.
So its off to bed for us! Praying for sweet dreams and rested bodies for tomorrow.
