The Multifaceted Journey

It’s not often leaving for a journey of 33 hours of active travel time plus layovers is letting your foot off the gas. After a ten-day period that included my father’s memorial, Ailyn’s birthday, Sennen’s birthday, end-of-school-year activities including a play, Ailyn’s elementary graduation, a small claims appearance, Sennen’s Bar Mitzvah (!) – all with the ever-present backdrop of work. Oh, and Ailyn was sick for two days causing not only an urgent care visit and caretaking, but to ensure Sennen wouldn’t be sick on his Bar Mitzvah, Emily and I split the kids – one at each house. I mostly had Sennen.

The week was an emotional rollercoaster and a logistical slalom course with feelings ranging from profound loss to soul-filling joy and contentment. There was fun, meaning, connection, sadness, catharsis and solemnity – sometimes all within an hour. I spent time with people I deeply love whom I rarely see. I schlepped, made a lot of arrangements, washed laundry, packed, read Torah, eulogized, transported a lot of kids, watched my son become Bar Mitzvah and hosted a sleepover party.

There’s a lot I could say about so many of these events, but this is a travel blog, not a “week before travel” blog. That said, the Bar Mitzvah was meaningful, profound, heart-warming, sublime and many other intense adjectives. Sennen was his most amazing self and there was so much joy and warmth throughout Friday and Saturday. As my cousin Amy put it, the day was like a big, warm hug. And more.

Beyond the Bar Mitzvah itself, the kiddush lunch reception afterwards and the evening progressive international dinner with party bus transportation (which included a dance pole the kids made shocking use of) for fifteen 13-year-olds and a crew of chaperones – there was what became an 18-hour-long after-party. Two of Sennen’s besties slept over, while more friends joined for swimming and hanging out on Sunday afternoon. Hence, Sunday at 3pm I had six 13-year-olds plus Ailyn laughing and horsing around in my living room, occasionally inhaling leftover desserts.

Notably, not everything was a big warm hug. My best friend Mazyar’s wife unexpectedly lost her mom – during Sennen’s Bar Mitzvah. It was a reminder of how mixed life can be and how the world really is everything everywhere all at once. In a week when I eulogized my father and celebrated my son – Mahkameh’s experience of losing her mother while attending our simcha seemed especially relatable.

As my father used to say, “Life – it’s the only game in town.”

Then, after all these things, with what really amounted to a preceding four-hour nap, Sennen, Ailyn, Ethan ( who was officially remanded to my custody between the Bar Mitzvah and party on Saturday and is now a part of our family) and I left for LAX at 3 am. All three kids slept in the shuttle van.

Thanks to my United/Star Alliance Gold status and Clear membership, we breezed through the airport with plenty of time for the kids to sleep with their heads on the table of the Terminal 6 Wolfgang Puck Express. Ethan, whose father is a Navy Captain and was born while his family was stationed in Japan, lives off miso soup – often carrying it around in a thermos or insulated bottle. We brought an insulated tumbler so he could use miso powder packets to keep himself properly miso’d along the journey and learned Starbucks is quite generous with providing free hot water.

Thankfully, our flight to Toronto was easy to board and left five minutes early. We experienced no complications along the journey – at any point. The Toronto Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge ranked well with my kids (which is not easy) and Ethan who is more used to USO lounges adapted happily to airline lounge life. Not only did the buffet feature Asian BBQ chicken, rice and adobo tofu – all in his culinary pocket – but the large TV lounge had the World Cup playing. Once he discovered the nice restrooms, Ethan seemed ready to move-in and Sennen was right there with him.

I strongly encouraged the kids to sleep on the Toronto to Athens flight. Ailyn took my words to heart and didn’t even have a meal, sleeping practically the entire 9.75 hours. Sennen slept none of it. And Ethan took the Goldlocks approach, sleeping about half the time and being just enough rested.

This was important because Thursday I woke up to a text saying our ferry departure was changed from 3pm to 9pm today – meaning we have six more hours to kill today than I had expected. Having reasonably rested kids helps – because it’s going to be a long first day. We landed at 11 am. I shifted our shuttle van to take us to the ferry at 7 so we arrive an hour before departure.

The kids DO NOT want to go into the city, so my best plan is to hang out here at the Athens Airport Sofitel – our shelter and savior on many occasions – for the afternoon. The ground floor cafe is a nice place to be and with our bags being held for us, we can also walk around the airport terminal if need be. Thankfully, Greek establishments don’t try to turn over tables and so long as we have an occasional beverage, we can sit for as long as we want.

I also prepared for our new schedule by upgrading us from airplane-style seats to a four-bedded cabin on the ferry. We can comfortably sleep our way to Patmos and even shower if anyone wants. We now arrive on Patmos at 5am instead of the original 10 pm. Not ideal – but ferry cabin sleep is actually good sleep and we might be good to start our Patmos day.

The one truly new twist will be our bicycles. Amazingly, on Facebook Marketplace I was able to find a seller in Piraeus – where the ferry departs – with three used bikes just the right sizes for the three kids. The kind seller is willing to deliver to the ferry dock. So if all goes well, we will take out first-ever stab at transporting bikes by ferry – which is supposed to be free and as easy as storing our luggage in the cargo hold. Coordinating all our bags and the bikes will be interesting, but I think it can be done – and the results will be worth it.

For now, we’ll bide our time from the comfort of the Sofitel. Ethan has been an amazing traveler and fun addition to our crew. We’re all tired but happy. And a ferry berth has never sounded better. But that’s the journey.

“We’re in actual Greece, Ethan!” Sennen said when we landed. Yes, we are. And by tomorrow, it will really feel like it.