The Journey Has Begun

We’re sitting at the Atlanta airport, waiting for our next flight. We’re exhausted, and Mikey is sick. Most of us know what it’s like to travel while under the weather—and it’s not fun. Here’s what’s happened over the last 26 hours.

Yesterday, we woke up to a surprise: notice that there would be two showings of the house after five. Shit! We spent the entire day clearing out the house (yes, still doing that) and packing the suitcases. All of our possessions now fit into six large suitcases, two carry-ons, two backpacks, a violin, and one CPAP machine. It was surreal to look at all that and realize—that’s everything we own.

During the showings, we hung out at our neighbors’ house. While chatting, we got a call from World Pet Travel: the dogs were on their first flight to Germany! However, there was a hiccup. Tyson was too large for the crate we had for him, and customs wouldn’t clear him as-is. We had to upgrade to the next size—the largest crate available—which increased the travel cost by another $2,000. Please be on the lookout for our GoFundMe request to cover their travel expenses.

Once we returned to the house, we finished packing and clearing out the last rooms. Somehow, everything we wanted to take fit into our suitcases. Our neighbor Steven kindly drove us to the hotel, and we arrived around 17:30 hours. That’s when we realized we’d left behind the photos, the dogs’ medicine, and some of our own. There wasn’t much we could do about it at that point.

This morning, we arrived at the Hartford airport around 6:00. The woman who checked us in was wonderfully helpful and patient as she tagged each bag. However, her first expression said, “Please, not at my terminal.” We made it through TSA smoothly—except for our Spanish flashcards, which triggered a luggage search. The flight departed and landed on time.

In a few hours, the pups will leave Germany for Montevideo. They’ll land around 9:30 a.m., though they may not be delivered to the apartment until after 19:00 hours due to customs clearance. :( I really wanted to buy lederhosen for them and have them come out of their crates wearing them since they spent time in Germany. You know someone out there sells lederhosen for dogs—that would have been adorable.

Now, here we are at the Atlanta airport, waiting for our next flight. From here, we go to Lima, Peru—a seven-hour journey from departure to landing. This next flight is the long one.

COUNTDOWN: Dogs 0; Humans 0