Rainbolt Travel Diary

When we last updated our blog we were headed back to scenic Tacoma for holiday festivities. Getting home was an adventure in patience. It was a 56-hour trip from the front door of our flat to the front door of our home in Tacoma. If you have some time for extended reading here is the time for the trip home.

Friday Dec. 18th 4pm Lagos Time: The Rainbolt family exits Flat 6 with four large suitcases and four overly stuffed carryon bags. A majority of the compound was taking the first flight out of town, which meant that one of the coasters was piled with luggage and the other piled with people. The loading was accomplished with speed and precision and soon we were face to face with the first challenge in getting to Tacoma: The infamous Lagos traffic. As we have earlier reported Lagos traffic is a mysterious entity that ebbs and flows with the whims of goats, okoda’s, busses, horses, and toilet seat salesmen. We have made the trip home from the airport in as little as 25 minutes. Today we would spend close to 2 ½ hours to make the same trip. Some of the obstacles would include a dump truck changing a flat in the middle of the road, a car practicing perpendicular parking, and a camel.



Friday Dec 18th 6:30 pm Lagos Time: The Rainbolt family encounters Nigerian Customs. It seems that many of the Christmas gifts we purchased at the local market were indeed Nigerian treasures, and because of their cultural significance, we would need to have receipts for them. Of course we didn’t have any receipts for them so there was going to be a slight problem. At this point the “expediter” stepped into “help”. It was an interesting way to help. His strategy seemed to be to annoy the customs official so much that the official sent us on our way so he could fully concentrate on yelling at the expeditor. We quickly zipped up our suitcases and hurried to the check-in counter while the two men continued to yell at each other. We then hurried through immigration while the yelled at each other some more.

Friday Dec 18th 8:30 pm Lagos Time: The Rainbolt family has now walked through every duty free shop in the Lagos airport as well as checked out the menu at both restaurants as well as spilled two bottles of pop.

Friday Dec 18th 10:30 pm Lagos Time: The Rainbolt family has cleared the second security checkpoint and eagerly waits boarding the plane in 10 minutes.

Friday Dec 18th 10:40 pm Lagos Time: See above

Friday Dec 18th 10:50 pm Lagos Time: See above

Friday Dec 18th 11:00 pm Lagos Time: See above

Friday Dec 18th 11:10 pm Lagos Time: See above

Friday Dec 18th 11:20 pm Lagos Time: We are on the plane! We have seats! We have in seat entertainment systems. We are on our way!

Saturday Dec 19th 6:30 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family exits the plane to a blast of cold air: something we have not felt for several months. Jacob and I do have to make a quick trip back to the plane to retrieve his lion watch. That sounds like an easy task but there are a lot of people on one those planes, and those jet ways are very narrow, and it was like swimming upstream. It is a successful mission and we stored our carry-ons and decide to head into the city to kill a few hours of a layover. We also got to stop at a cash machine, another simple pleasure that we have missed, but another adventure in itself. Did you know that if you don’t use a pin code for a period of time that you are likely to forget the pin code?



Saturday Dec19th 7:30 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family is freezing his or her respective hiney off. It is dark, cold, and there is not a restaurant open anywhere. We eventually find a bakery that is open and we crowd in with Maria, the Slater’s, and DeeDee Davis to warm ourselves over a cup of hot chocolate and quietly celebrate our return to civilization. After breakfast we help out the Dutch economy. Souvenir stands magically open as we pass by and things we have not needed to buy for months begin to appear to us. Stocking caps, gloves, soccer jerseys, obscene T-shirts, chocolate bars, and small cute purses join are ever increasing luggage collection. Knowing that we will face another round with Customs, we insist on getting receipts.



Saturday Dec 19th 10:00 am Amsterdam Time: The still freezing Rainbolt family and one sizzling hot debit card board the train to head back to the airport. Schipol Airport is unlike anything we have experienced in awhile. There is a train station, orderly lines, fast food, slow food, bookstores, clothing stores, French fries with garlic sauce, and as far as Emily and Jacob are concerned: a gift from above….A McDonald’s Restaurant. Marie makes her traditional pilgrimage to Burger King. Kara and Gina find an espresso stand. I myself manage to down some French fries before the next round of airline food. Properly prepared to face another 8-hour flight we head into the terminal to collect our bags, stop at McDonald’s and get on the plane to Seattle.

Saturday Dec 19th 11:00 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family is in crisis. The flight to Seattle, which was to leave at 2 pm, has been delayed. Delayed until 9 am Sunday morning, so is that a delay or is that a cancellation? We check at the info desk and they send us to the ticketing desk, the ticketing desk says there is no way to get to Seattle today so the send us to the Customer Service desk. At that desk, we become “stranded passengers” and we receive our coupons for a hotel, food, and the “stranded passenger” toiletry kit. We grabbed our carry-ons, got Emily her chicken nuggets that she had been asking for the last hour and a half and boarded the bus to a typical airport hotel. After battling camels, Customs Officials, and 6 hours of a late night plane ride, we were demoralized at the thought of not getting home Saturday Night.

Saturday Dec 19th 12:00 pm Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family discovers that dorm food can be served all over the world, including airport hotels in the Netherlands. Gina decides to head into Amsterdam with DeDe, Kara, and Maria. Emily, Jacob, and I chose the nap option.

Saturday Dec 19th 1:00 pm Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family minus one sleeps.

Saturday Dec 19th 3:30 pm Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family discovers that we remember how to watch TV. We also find out that 24 hours in the same clothes become bearable if you can take a shower at hour 19. Although we had hoped to be on the way home at this time, it has worked out to have a longer break. We feel rested and energized.


Saturday Dec 19th 9:00 pm Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family stretches out in beds that seem quite luxurious and in a room that is not wired for Mosque music.

Sunday Dec 20th 7:00 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family waits patiently in the lobby as an entire hotel attempts to exit through a single revolving door. We all flashback to a Lagos go-slow. We make it to the shuttle and to the airport one more time. Our flight is still listed as delayed so there is another moment of panic, but we recover when we see that the departure time has not changed.

Sunday Dec 20th 8:30 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family has cleared the second security checkpoint and eagerly waits boarding the plane in 10 minutes. (Sound familiar?)

Sunday Dec 20th 8:40 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family is on the plane.

Sunday Dec 20th 12:00 pm Amsterdam Time (we think): The Rainbolt family quote of the day: “For a an International flight that was delayed 19 hours there is certainly a distinct lack of free alcohol.” (Original source of this quote wishes to remain anonymous so her reputation as a caring mother and excellent teacher is not tarnished)

Sunday Dec 20th 10:00 am Seattle Time: The Rainbolt family is back on home turf.

Sunday Dec 20th 10:40 pm Seattle Time: The Rainbolt family learns that bags carrying excessive bags of plantain chips must be x-rayed before leaving the airport. We also learn that arriving in Seattle from an international departure point means you get to pick up your luggage not once but twice. Now how cool is that? At the second luggage carousel, we meet up with Lynn, Scott, and Sean.

Sunday Dec 20th 11:30 pm Seattle Time: I’m driving again! There are no horses on the freeway! I have barely controllable urge to honk the horn. I have even seen street signs. The differences between 1st world and 3rd world are becoming increasingly evident.

Sunday Dec. 20th 12:10 pm Seattle Time: We have been in Tacoma for all of 15 minutes and we are already are on our third drive-thru: Starbucks, Taco Bell, and McDonalds. Can’t say enough for commercialization and capitalism.

Sunday Dec 20th 12:35 pm Seattle Time: The Rainbolt family enters 5713 with four large suitcases and four overly stuffed carryon bags. The adventure in patience ends and we spend a wonderful evening with friends and family. Jana, Greg, Daly and Sam show up with a wonderful Mexican Dinner. (Way better than Taco Bell). Fred and Joyce have a Christmas tree waiting for us to decorate. My parents, Jackie and David, arrive not much later with the cats, Cortez and Zola. We are truly at home.