It wasn't easy though... let me tell you. From the start.... this has been a rough trip.
For starters, my hometown in South Dakota has been declared a disaster zone by President Obama. Due to more rain and snow melt than anticipated, several dams along the Missouri River have filled passed their max capacity and the dams have been in danger of breaking causing a flash flood and devastation of anything in their path. To avoid this, the same short sided engineers who decided not to let the dams drain a little at a time of the last year decided to drain the dams a LOT at a time. Every few days for the last two weeks they have been opening the flood gates until it reached it max of 150,000 cubic feet per second, on the 8th... the day I left. This is over 4,000 tons of water being released every second. The Missouri River is flooding on both sides, the only thing saving homes from being totally destroyed are a few sand bags the people of Sioux land have been filling night and day. Ground water is still seeping into basements, and houses that are right on the river, there is nothing that could be done. On the plus side, people had warning enough to evacuate and no one need be in danger of drowning. Sadly, one man did die of exhaustion after filling sandbags for 5 days straight. I don't say this lightly, as I really feel awful for this man's family. He was only 38, with two small children. His home and his family weren't in danger, so he helped those whose homes were in danger, and his kindness was repaid in this manner. It's horrible, and my heart goes out to his family.
This definitely puts things into perspective for you, but never the less, my own parents home is in danger of flooding. Being 8 months pregnant there wasn't much I could do to help, but I went for moral support to help my parents evacuate from their home. Seeing our family home completely empty expecting it to be flooded, expecting mold damage, expecting the house to have to be torn down and rebuilt... brought me to tears many many times, and leaving my family in this state has made this particular journey here a difficult one. It has really set in the reality of just how far away I am and that when tragedy strikes.... It's not just as easy as a plane ride away...
With all that hanging on my mind, I realized two days before we were supposed to leave that Isaac had not yet received his plane tickets yet. Lap children are free when flying domestically. With international travel you have to pay 10% of the ticket cost, and then they send you a paper ticket as e-tickets are not good enough for some reason. I called Delta, and told them his tickets hadn't come yet, and the woman put me on hold to check the problem. When she came back she informed me that Delta had neglected to send them out, she was sorry, but that she would make a note of it on my itinerary and I would be good to go. I told her that I had seen another mother show up to the counter with no ticket for her child, and it hadn't turned out very well for her, and that I needed something from delta, an email, or something that would verify that due to Delta's mistake, I had not received my tickets.
She said there was a problem with the network and she couldn't email me anything, but that the notes on my itinerary would be sufficient enough and any delta rep who looked at it would see that I had booked a lap child for the flight.
.....
and I believed her...
I really am the true definition of an idiot.
When Isaac, and my brother Eli, who was travelling with me to help out with Isaac on the flight over, and I arrived at the airport in Sioux Falls, we had arrived with enough time to check in, maybe grab a snack to eat, leisurely go through security, and sit bored at our gate for another hour before boarding... or so we thought. We went to check in our luggage... 6 bags between the three of us (5 of which were mine... plus a few things stuck in Eli's bag) not to mention our 6 carry ons. I knew things might be a little hectic keeping everything straight, but it was more than that. the computer wouldn't let us check in. First their was a problem with my passport. I got a new one in February, so the number didn't match the one they had on file. After they fixed this, it still wouldn't let us check in. They said it might be because the flight was being delayed... this didn't make sense... flights are always delayed and they let you check in. Then they said our return tickets weren't confirmed. I don't even know how that happens. I paid for everything all at the same time, round trip, so if our tickets to the UK are confirmed, our tickets back should be. I didn't mention at this point that I would not even be using the return part of the ticket... it was just a better deal to get round trip instead of one way. When they finally got this taken care of and began checking our luggage, I then asked about the tickets for Isaac. They said it wouldn't be a problem, and they were printing his boarding pass with Eli's. Once we finally arrived at security, I presented Isaac and my Passport to the officer. She looked at my tickets and said... "What's your name?" I said " Timbrel Elayne Bilbrey" she said " It;s not on your ticket anywhere." The woman at the counter had printed Eli's tickets and my tickets in Eli's name. I had to go back up to the counter, wait in line and then have her fix them. Going through security was a nightmare. Every carry on had a bottle, or baby food or some sort of liquid to find and get out. I had to take Isaac out of his car seat, then I had to try to put him back IN which he hated, it just seemed to take forever. By the time we reached our gate, Isaac walked around for about 5 minutes before it was time to board the flight. I sat a few rows behind Eli who held Isaac and they both took a nap on the way to Minneapolis. I did too. When we landed, we went straight to the next gate so I could request bassinet seating on the flight over to Amsterdam. The extra room at your feet is always appreciated when carrying a baby, and since they book these seats in doubles, often times there is an extra seat for the car seat so you don't have to hold Isaac the whole time. He's a sweet kid but holding him for 9 hours on a plane is torture... The woman was really great about moving our seats but then asked for Isaac's ticket. I told her the whole story and she said, "I'm really sorry, but I can't let him on without a ticket." she checked the itinerary on her computer and it didn't show anything at all about delta not sending the tickets. She did say that it showed I had requested a lap child, but that no payment had been made... Holy fricking cow... I'm angry right now just thinking about it.
When I call a reputable company and request a service from them that I pay for, I expect them to do their job. So when I gave the woman my credit card details, I expect it to go through. If there is a problem, I expect them to contact me. Now I don't really know what happened since only two nights before I had spoken with a representative and she said that the baby ticket was booked. Why that had changed... I don't know... but in the end, I had to purchase a whole new ticket for Isaac. I'm sure my normally dark brown eyes were blood red and shooting darts when I handed over my debit card, but I was trying really hard not to throw a tantrum and cry, so this was the best I could do.
A man took over to help us out... aka... run my card and take my money, and I said "I almost always fly delta if possible, and I almost always have a smooth trip, but this time, it has just been a nightmare from the get go with all the mistakes that delta has made on their behalf. I will probably continue to fly delta (as Eli inserted that he probably wouldn't) but some free frequent flier miles or an upgrade in class would really improve my opinion of delta at that moment." The guy laughed, but he did end up booking Isaac an actual seat on the plane to ensure that we could bring his car seat on. He also gave Eli and I both $100 vouchers for our next flight, to be used up within a year. I can assure you Delta will get an earful on how helpful this man was, and how he really saved my mood.
When we got to Amsterdam we had to go through security again... more hassle. Then, for some reason I hadn't been able to check in all the way to Edinburgh. They could check Eli in, but not me. So I had to stop at the counter and ask for a boarding pass. Not sure what the problem was there, because the reps were all speaking Dutch, but in the end, they fixed the problem more efficiently than anyone else had done and said "I'm so sorry for the delay. Delta has made a complete mess of your reservations, so I had to fix "this" and "that" and "the other thing" but you are good to go now.
This flight Isaac was a little more fussy... I think he was just done with the whole plane thing. He was awake and on the slightly fussy side until about 5 minutes before we landed and he fell asleep.
When going through customs, Eli went before me, got a stamp in his passport and when on his way, when I went up I didn't know what to expect... I figured a few questions about my visa and a stamp and I would be on my way...I was not prepared for this...
Where is the visa for your son?
He is a British citizen, so I was told he didn't need one.
Your son is travelling on an American Passport though. Does he have a British one?
No, not yet. That was something his dad and I planned to get him once we got over here.
But he needs a British passport or a visa. Why would you get yourself one and not your son?
This is my first time having to get a visa. I didn't really know what I was doing, so I hired a company who did know. When I asked them if I needed to get a visa for my son they said "No. He is a British Citizen."
Well I still don't understand why you wouldn't have gotten him a passport when you were here before.
We got the paperwork to get one, but it was very confusing, and we just ran out of time before we had to leave to come back to the states.
Well I cannot let him in, without a visa or a British Passport, and if he can't come in, I can't let you in.
Listen, I have been working for almost two years to legally be able to come into this country so that I can marry my fiance, and we can be a family, living in the same country. Because I have had problems in trusting wrong information found online before, I wanted to be SURE that everything was done correctly and legally. I have paid a lot of money for this. My son's father is waiting to see him just on the other side of that door. How can you tell me that you're not going to let my son, who has duel citizenship, not see his father, who is a British Citizen. Please don't keep my family torn apart.
Well let me go talk to my supervisor.
I texted Paul to let him know that they wouldn't be letting Isaac in without a visa or British passport. I told him if Isaac couldn't get in, neither could I, and that if they sent us back to the united states then... I was done with this...I'm not getting denied entry into the UK a third time...
I know that seems a little rash... but finally I have to just admit defeat... We have overcome so many obstacles in our way... we have gone through a lot, with nothing but hope as our light at the end of the tunnel... If after everything we have gone through, and everything we have spent financially to make this happen... and it's STILL not good enough... nothing will ever be...
When Paul got my message he marched up to the information desk and demanded that they put immigration on the phone. When they called he talked to the same woman who had stopped me at customs. When the woman finally came back she stamped Isaac's passport and said we had six months to get him a British Passport, and she let me through.
I don't know what Paul said, but he did say that if they hadn't cooperated with him he probably would have been arrested for making a huge scene and throwing things.
I'm glad it didn't come to that.
Thankfully all our luggage arrived, and after a short drive from the airport we arrived at my new home. Isaac was simply shattered and fell asleep like he had been drugged. There was no waking him even when I tried. Which is unfortunate because he was then up until 3am.
The last two nights have gone a little better. He is so excited to be with his dad and his sister, although I think he misses grandma. He's doing very well adjusting.
Yesterday we all went into Edinburgh, and saw that castle, then went to Paul's parents house where they treated us to a chippy dinner, and wonderful conversation.
Today, Paul is doing a tour to St. Andrews so Eli went along. I hope they're having a good time. I'm hoping to get as much unpacking done today as possible, as having all your things in various bags around the house is aggravating.
I'm getting used to having to turn the plugs on before I use them, the sun setting at 10pm and rising at 4am, getting into the passenger side of the car on the left, and dealing with Celsius temperatures on the oven, but I now have a dish washer, which I couldn't be more excited about!!! Oh the things we take for granted.
I think I'm gonna like it here!
