Part 2

The whole reason I wanted to use up ALL of our allotted baggage (3 suitcases each, 1 carry-on and 1 personal bag each = 25 bags, includes 1 stroller, but a car seat isn't included in the total so add that to the load) was because it could be as long as a month before we see our air shipment (2 months for our sea shipment). I wanted to bring as much as possible with us and I figured after we unloaded the checked baggage with the skycaps we could easily manage the rest with Jamison's heavy duty stroller. We could load him in that, place 2 carry-ons in the stroller basket underneath, hang his diaper bag on the handle, I sling 2 bags over my shoulders, the boys have their little duffel to carry and Kris carries the car seat while rolling the last 2 carry-ons that stack on top of each other. We could pull this off!

This set-up worked well in Richmond with little hassle. Miami, worked well too. That stroller was perfect for the job and we were able to manage everything without collapsing under the weight. We would push the stroller to the end of the jetway, the boys would each take the bags under the stroller and we'd gate check the stroller. After the flight, the stroller would be there waiting for us to load up again....except when we landed in Venezuela. When we landed in Venezuela, one of the doors to the baggage compartment on the plane (American Airlines) wouldn't open and that is where our stroller was along with the strollers of 3 other families. All of a sudden, all those bags seemed like a very stupid idea. We somehow managed to balance Jamison and all of the bags off of the jetway only to come out into an airport that had lost power. The escalators did not work and once we managed to climb them we found out that we had arrived during a blackout that was affecting the entire country.

We must have looked pretty pathetic as we made our way to immigration. A ray of sunshine, a facilitator from the embassy met us and was able to put us at the head of the lines for entry (had we waited in line it would have been about 2 hours), he took a few bags and we headed to the baggage carousels that thankfully, were running on emergency power. We got almost all of our suitcases (and the stroller!!!!!), just missing one blue one that was full of Braedon's clothes (thank goodness I packed emergency clothes in one of the carry-ons!). The facilitator told us he would take care of bringing our suitcase to us once it arrived from Miami. We were exempt from customs so we didn't have to go through that ordeal. We were met on the other side of customs by John, one of Kris' agents. He grabbed one of the carts full of suitcases and we met up with the embassy driver who would take us into Caracas.

The airport is in a city north of Caracas called Maiquetia. It's right along the coast of Venezuela and is usually a 45 minute drive over and through mountains to the valley where Caracas is located. I say usually because on any other day it would be a 45 minute drive. Today, it would be a 4 hour drive. All I can say is, I'm glad I had a lot of snacks and John brought bottled drinks which, bless him, also served as little boy potty stops (not like you can just pull over into a rest stop). The blackout was so severe that it was creating all sorts of problems. Lights in tunnels, traffic lights, and even once people got to their destination they couldn't get into their neighborhoods. Neighborhoods are all gated where we are and no power means no gates opening so back ups into the neighborhoods were extending into the main roads and highways.

We finally made it to our temporary apartment and dropped into bed. What a day! What a way to be welcomed to Caracas.