This post is backwards- must read from bottom up!
Sorry. Not sorry.
When we drove in from the airport, it was absolutely pouring rain. It was hard to drive in (Bravo Sara & Chris) and hard to see in also. But Brian noticed what looked like many red, white & blue political signs across the Leadbetters front yard and thought "oh no. Not THEM too!" Turns out it the signs were a very creative way to congratulate Brian on his retirement. WE NEARLY DIED! They were sooooo freaking cool and unexpected.
For the next week, all 5 kids would bunk together in the basement. Happy as clams to be back together. My kids have been sleeping in this basement for the last 10 years, so it surely felt like a homecoming to them once again!
True happiness are allllll these smiles around this dinner table! Not only did they manage to chauffer us home from JFK, they managed to give us a wonderful welcome home dinner too!
Then I think relief washed over him and he was finally ready to relax and rest, which made me so happy.
Then my little Prince Charming decided to look out the window and take it all in! America!
3 hours in traffic, and this is how Sparky started off the ride- on top of Macy
About 30 minutes after we arrived, Sara and Chris arrived in 2 cars, both with luggage boxes on the roofs. They are also rockstars! I loved that I had enough time with Diane and then she passed me off to Sara. I was home. So loved and so supported. Lucky, lucky me.
These kids are absolute joy to travel with. So easy going and low maintenance. So helpful and up for adventure. So resilient, tidy and just absolute ROCKSTARS.
Little did I know that Diane was in CT and was always planning to come to JFK to surprise us upon our arrival! Sara and Chris were stuck in traffic, so it worked out great- cause we needed the extra hands, and hugs at this point!
We got Sparky out of his crate and he was happy to pee on the first electrical box he could find, because the pet releif area was currently behind a construction zone! This amazing dog DID NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT IN HIS CRATE! 20+ hours. Wow wow wow. I'll just add this fact to the long list of reasons why I love him so!
Thankfully, because of Sparky we needed & were able to take a direct flight from Seoul to JFK. Everything was on time and going smoothly. When we boarded I asked the Korean flight attendant to please notify me when Sparky was boarded. A few minutes later she came up and said "your dog is on stand by now" and I almost flipped out! Why was he on standby? I knew only 5 dogs could fly on each plane, but he was a gauranteed reservation! How could he be bumped like that? Well, there was no way we were flying out without him on this plane. Actually, this plane would have to stay grounded until he got his slot back. This is wrong, just wrong.
Thankfully Macy saw my face and knew what I was thinking (see above, those were just my thoughts thankfully!) and helped me process what she was saying- Sparky was on standby to be boarded!
Oh okay, Delightful! Good news! Phew.
Then a few minutes later she came back with a tablet and picture of Sparky and said he was onboard!
When we lifted off, I immediately looked at the kids and said "Sparky is FLYING!" He sure is a wonder dog. This is likely the 3rd time he tried to go to America, and I felt victorious for making it happen for him. He could have been turned into to dog meat at the Korea pound, instead he was headed to America! What an amazing rescue/refugee story!
16ish hours later, we landed. Found our suitcases. Found our dog. And off we went to get him out of his crate- which he was in for about 20 hours by now.
We headed out out of airport to meet up with the Leadbetters who insisted on driving two cars 3+ hours to greet us and transport all our stuff back to their house in CT where we would stay for a while. As I am frantically looking for the signs to "pet relief area" Brian and Tate are saying "mom, Farrah- look!" and what do I see but not the Leadbetters, but the Wisneskis!
As I took this picture, I wondered if the others around us thought we were just flying out for a vacation?!
All day yesterday we were getting updates and videos of Sparky. It was so reassuring!
With his very patient handler- who didn't mind my nervousness or tears!
Within minutes of arriving at the airport we saw Sparky!
Our first (and only?) hiccup would be that we needed to get to the airport before the hotel airport shuttle began for the day! So the concierge called two vans for us and off we went, fully loaded up!
South Korea is known as the Land of Morning Calm. With so much that could have caused us chaos, I am praising God for our last calm morning (and beautiful sunrise) here in this lovely little country.
After we got our fill of fun, we went back to our hotel to get ready for our big day tomorrow. We are ready!
We were the only ones there!
At the culmination of the awe-inspiring 150-meter-long Aurora lies the Rotunda. This versatile circular hall is home to the mesmerizing kinetic chandelier, a hallmark attraction at INSPIRE Entertainment Resort. Comprising 156 LED panels, the kinetic chandelier puts on a spectacular display of dazzling images and sounds.
Next up the chandelier show in the rotunda.
Even Macy loved my duckie! (he would become her pillow on our 16 hour flight the following day, and still lays on her bed 7 months later!)
Experience new worlds with Aurora, an innovative immersive entertainment street canopied by a 150-meter LED display showcasing surreal imagery. The high-resolution LEDs, reaching skyward, unveil captivating digital content that transports you to otherworldly realms. As you stroll through this enchanting environment, you'll feel as if you're meandering through tall grasses in a mystical forest, basking in the warm golden glow of a savanna at sunset, or perhaps you'll find yourself submerged in the depths of a majestic cerulean sea or journeying through unknown galaxies.
Next up, we walked through all the Aurora streets which had such amazing and ever changing ceilings!
But guess what? Brian won me the one I wanted!
Because a giant stuffed animal was excactly what we needed to lug around at this point in our life!
We didn't have much Korean currency left, but it was enough to take a few chances on the tricky claw machine.
Next up- some arcade time!
Such fun ambiance.
Our table sat over the water!
Will miss the variety of "banchan," which are all the small bowl side dishes!
We KNEW there was no other choice than Korean!
The food options at Inspire were endless and so visually fascinating!
We stayed at the Nest Hotel, but had heard so much about the amazing Inspire Hotel that we wanted to go there for dinner. So after lugging all the suitcases into our rooms, off we went in a taxi for our last night in South Korea.
We had NO idea that the Inspire was a Mohegan property- the only other Mohegan I knew of was the Mohegan Sun Connecticut. What a wild connection with SK and CT for our last night choice!
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