Our Third Trip

OUR THIRD TRIP – June/July 2009

DAY ONE – Sunday/Monday, June 28/29
Finally it was time for our last trip to Moscow. We were already so tired of airports and long flights. We flew from Los Angeles to Houston, and from there to Moscow. The second leg of our trip was on Singapore Airlines, which was very luxurious. We used our hotel points to stay at the Courtyard Marriott near Red Square, and this was also a step up from the apartments where we had stayed on the last two trips. Unfortunately, Continental never loaded our luggage on the plane in Los Angeles. We had not taken a small carry-on suitcase, so we had practically nothing with us. We spent our free time Monday night at the underground mall, “Manege”, buying some clothes. Everything was very expensive.

As it was light until 11:00 p.m., we took a few minutes to walk around outside, taking in the elaborate fountains and statuary depicting well-known fairy tales. Since our last trip even more flowers had been planted around the city, and there were huge flowerbeds, bright with color.

DAY TWO – Tuesday, June 30
Pasha, our driver, took us to the orphanage to pick up Ilya. On the way we stopped at a government office for a couple of hours and got Ilya’s Russian passport. At the orphanage, Pasha explained to them about our luggage, and they loaned us some clothes, food, and a baby bottle. One of Ilya’s main caretakers, Olga, gave us more information and instructions on his care, as well as his cross and clothing from his baptism. She and Anna, another main caretaker, had bought a Matryoshka doll for him as a keepsake. On the bottom they had written him a message in Russian, meaning "good luck and God bless". Olga was very sad to see him go.

We left the orphanage for what might have been the second car ride of Ilya’s life (the first would have been the ride from the maternity hospital to the orphanage). He didn’t care for it much, but fortunately he fell asleep eventually.

We spent the rest of the day in the hotel, trying to keep Ilya entertained and tracking down our luggage. Our friend Kathy, in L.A., helped out a lot with the luggage, and we eventually got the good news that it would arrive on Wednesday afternoon.

DAY THREE – Wednesday, July 1
First thing in the morning a Russian doctor came to our hotel room to take a look at Ilya and fill out some paperwork.

Afterwards we went to Red Square to visit St. Basil’s. This was quite an expedition with the stroller, as we had to use stairways and underpasses to cross the major streets. The inside of the church was spectacular, with icons, painted decoration, and lighting dating from throughout the centuries since it was built. A small group of singers performed traditional church music in the main hall, Red Square was full of people and we could hear the sound of the priest chanting and the choir singing, from a Russian Orthodox service in one of the old churches there.

We were worried that Ilya would be upset by all the sights and sounds of the city, but he was fine. He kept looking around, wanting to take it all in, and was eager to touch everything he could get his hands on.

In the afternoon, Art went to the airport to retrieve our luggage. We were very happy to finally get our things!

DAY FOUR – Thursday, July 2
In the morning we walked to Gogolovsky Park. Between the heat, humidity, and lugging the stroller up and down multiple stairways, this was not a very enjoyable outing.

In the afternoon we went to the U.S. Embassy to get Ilya’s visa, and learned that he would have dual Russian / American citizenship for life. We waited in a room full of other American parents with their adoptive children, and chatted with some of them about their experiences. Many of them had spent a lot of time in remote areas of the Russia, and some had experienced long delays in country. We felt lucky that our adoption went so smoothly. It was exciting to see all of the families bringing their children home!

In front of the U.S. embassy people had created a memorial to Michael Jackson, who had died on June 25. There were many flowers, photos, and hand-written signs.

In the evening we met up with Lilia again and took a walk in the Alexander Garden, a public park along the Kremlin wall. The weather was warm and the area was busy with pedestrians. There were many carts selling souvenirs, snacks, and ice cream. We also saw the eternal flame at the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier”, with its ceremonial guardsmen standing by.

DAY FIVE – Friday, July 3
Since our luggage was delayed, we were not able to bring our thank-you gifts to the orphanage on Tuesday, when we picked up Ilya. Pasha drove us back there to deliver the gifts, and there was a lot of traffic, with everyone on their way to spend time at their dachas (summer homes) for the weekend. It took two hours to get there and three hours to get back. It was hot, the car’s air conditioning didn’t work well, and the sun was shining through the windows. We were all miserable and cranky. Ilya was crying. Art and I felt like crying. At the orphanage, we met with the Director, who obviously cared very much about the children. She wished us well and said that she was happy that Ilya would have a good home with us. We did not bring Ilya back into the orphanage with us, as we were afraid it would upset him. Instead, we took turns playing with him outside.

At the end of the day, Pasha took us to the Ministry of Education to thank them for our wonderful referral of Ilya and offer some gifts of fruit and cakes. They were happy to see us together with Ilya.

In the evening Art walked to the Old Arbat to do some last minute shopping, and I strolled with Ilya near our hotel, through a city park with a long walking path and to a small farmers’ market.

DAY SIX – Saturday, July 4
Finally it was time for the big trip home! When we checked in for our American Airlines flight at the airport, they were passing out pieces “Fourth of July” cake. They had people dressed up as colonials, Uncle Sam, and even cowboys and indians! Ilya was a handful on the plane. He did not sleep much, cried, and was hard to keep entertained. We did a lot of walks up and down the aisles. There were two other American couples with newly adopted children on our flight. When we landed in Chicago, Ilya became an American citizen on the Fourth of July! We made it through Customs and Immigration in record time and flew to Los Angeles, the last leg of our journey. Our friends Jeff and Jeanette met us at the curb and took us to our house. We have never been so happy to arrive home! It didn’t seem real – we were finally home with our new son.