Trip highlights

I have to say, traveling with Isaiah was not bad. He really was very cooperative and didn't have any melt-downs. Sure, he had a couple of instances where he was less than perfect - and actually acted his age - but for the most part, he was a real gem. We dressed him in his pajamas and a pull-up for the flight out because we'd be landing late and I didn't want to have to mess with trying to make sure that he stayed dry in his sleep (he is prone to "wet" nights).

He was charming on the flights out. Several people commented on how good he was.

In addition to spending one day on the base waiting for Shaun's ship to return, Isaiah got to go swimming (which he loved), go to the beach (although he decided it really wasn't a beach since there wasn't any sand - only rocks), go for an ice cream sundae, go to a farmer's market, ride the ferry from Kingston to Edmonds and from Bremerton to Seattle.

He loved, loved, loved riding the ferry.

We spent our last night at a hotel in Seattle because I didn't want to fight incoming traffic on Monday morning. Since we had a relatively early flight out Monday morning, and I was really unfamiliar with the area, I opted for going into Seattle on Sunday, getting a hotel room, and returning the rental car early. That ended up being a very smart move. The hotel wanted to charge $20 to park the car there, but they had a free airport shuttle. So, we returned the car to the airport and we rode the shuttle back to the hotel and then Monday morning had the shuttle drop us and our luggage back off. It cost a few bucks in sky cap tips but much less than $20 AND sky cap tips.

Isaiah enjoyed watching cartoons in the morning before we headed out to the airport.

Other highlights of the trip:

Keeping himself entertained while waiting for the ship

The ride home from spending more than nine hours on the pier. It was a very long day that started at 5:00 am.

Enjoying some French Fries while waiting for the ferry.

Enjoying the ferry ride:

Checking out the dock and pier:

And, finally, coming home. Isaiah decided that he needed a welcome home party and cake. I'm not entirely sure why he thought he needed one, but he did. Luckily, he told me while we were waiting to take off and not after we took off. I was able to send a quick text message to Amy that he thought he needed a welcome home cake. She got the message and showed up with welcome home balloons and cupcakes for him. I'm sure the folks waiting in the same area as her thought she was waiting on returning military (the balloons were camo-green) and the grins on their faces when Isaiah came down the ramp were priceless. They thought the whole thing was very cute and touching.

The night before we flew home, he had me call her so he could say that he wanted her and Crampa to say "Surprise!" when we got home. She asked me what brought that on and I couldn't say - only that he'd mentioned it more than once. He didn't forget either. When we pulled into the driveway, he made me wait outside with him while Amy went inside to tell Crampa what they had to do. Isaiah and I walked up the sidewalk, opened the door, and heard, "Surprise! You're home! We missed you!" He was glowing. It was so worth it all.