McLeish Family Adventures: Back to the USA

We just got back from Brazil last week after an adventurous couple weeks in Brazil by myself with Alec. We were supposed to meet my parents in Atlanta to take the same flight to Brazil, but Alec and I never made it to Atlanta that first day after waiting standby for 7 hrs in the Oklahoma City airport. Next morning my parents called and said they slept in Atlanta as their plan had mechanical problems and only left that next morning. Then Steve drove Alec and I 2 hours to the airport in Wichita, KS, and we finally made it to Atlanta that morning. I must say I came to know that airport pretty well. We had 6 hours to spare before our flight to Rio, and my parents had left that morning so it was up to me to keep Alec entertained. We went up and down elevators and rode the train a few hundred times (at least that's what it seemed like). But Alec did amazing...such a happy boy! When we got to Rio, our bags weren't there. After going through the whole process of reporting the lost bags, immigration, customs, etc, we were finally able to leave the airport about two and a half hours after we arrived, by then Alec was ready to get out of the stroller and eat some breakfast...poor boy. He's been such a trooper. He slept on every plane ride for pretty much the duration of each flight. My parents rented a car in Rio, and it made me realize I'll never rent one there! It's soooo crazy. We thought we were going to get hit a few times. A friend told us that if we put the blinker on, then no one will let us switch lanes...so we kind of have to just go for it. We had a great welcoming party in Rio from my dad's side of the family, with lots of food and a live singer who kept everyone dancing. It was great! Then we got to visit friends, family and the neighborhood my parents grew up in. I really enjoyed spending time with my grandparents, ages 91 and 81. They loved Alec and admired his Portuguese speaking ability :) We also loved the beach there, it's sooo pretty. After a few days there we missed our early morning flight to Sao Paulo due to stopped traffic in Rio...but thank goodness Alec was already a pro at waiting in airports, plus my parents were there to help me. In Sao Paulo, we visited my mom's side of the family and friends from when I was about 4 yrs old. We had lots of fun seeing everyone and eating such good Brazilian food. We were busy most days there, waking up early and staying up late, and were kind of ready to get back to our comfortable beds here in the US. We had a great flight back to Atlanta, and found out then that we wouldn't make it to Denver on standby cause the flights that day got overbooked all of the sudden. So we purchased our tickets that morning, and it was such a relief to make it to Denver. Now we're just missing Steve, who will be driving here from Oklahoma tonight. I can't say that everything went perfectly as planned, cause it definitely didn't, but with a good attitude and a happy 18 month old, this trip was unforgettable.

Next week...Alaska!

Arrived in Rio!