Airport Check-in

We arrived at the Edmonton Airport with plenty of time to spare, thank god!  We find our way to the Delta counter, two people, two dogs, two suitcases, two carry-on  bags and one giant chiropractic table. You couldn't really miss us as we were dressed in Team Canada jackets and the box the chiro table was packed in looked like we were transporting a dead body.  After the past few days of checking and re-checking to make sure that the dogs were indeed confirmed low and behold that is the first issue we encounter at the counter.  It seemed to be a system error on their part not what we had already been told through confirmation.  Non the less that took the better part of an hour to sort out.  At this point, all we know is that we are getting to Amsterdam with the dogs but maybe not to Venice.  That will be on the agenda for tomorrown to figure out.  

Next issue at the counter was getting the dead body box checked in for the flight. Jennifer was well aware that she was going to be paying about $300 for the box but they were going to charge her almost double that.  Luckily, her man Dave was still with us and he took the box to ship by UPS way cheaper. Sadly the dead body box will be joining  us in Amsterdam on Wednesday.  I was looking forward to seeing how we were going to get that in the car in Europe.

Remember the three pound over suitcase in the last post?  We get all our issues sorted out, boarding pass in hand when Jennifer pipes up "Did you get your suitcase weighed?"  loud enough for the whole airport to hear!  I quickly tell her to shut up as my bag didn't even get weighed, I was good as gold! Really compared to the dead body she was trying to ship my suitcase looked like a handbag.  The guy at the counter just picked up my bag and said "it's good".  Phew!!!  Probably the funniest part of the day so far.  We have chuckled about it a few times.

After all that it has been smooth sailing.  The customs officials were very pleasant with us and we even met our pilot in the security line, he thought Slice was pretty cute.  As always the dogs are a hit wherever we go and have been popping their heads out of their bags whenever someone asks to see them.

We had 15 minutes to grab a quick bite before boarding and now we are up in the air flying to Minneapolis.  Now it is time to sit back and enjoy the trip.

And we are off!

Bags are packed (three pounds over) and we are off to the airport.  Now starts the 24 hours off travel. By this time tomorrow I'll be standing in a field of tulips. 

Trying not to panic

As the time keeps ticking away and I am now into 24 hours before leaving slight panic is starting to set in as I still have so much to do!

My suitcase has been packed and repacked and packed yet again but I finally think I have it mastered. I have three pounds of room to spare and a couple things to add. Fingers crossed that I won't be over weight. 

Slice and Pint had their baths this morning followed by a blow dry and they are ready to go. Lucky for them I pack their bags too. 

There have been a few hiccups along the way but I think we have everything organized and dealt with. Honestly, I don't think I will relax until I park my but on the plane.

Thank you to all for your continues support of my world team aspirations and journeys.  Without the support of such wonderful friends I would not have had such incredible opportunities or achieved such great success.
I am not only stepping to the line with my best canine partner but with a country of friends standing behind me.  It is amazing how strong you are when you know you aren't alone.

9 sleeps and counting...

Where does the time go?  It seems only a few months ago that I had so many weeks and months ahead of me to get ready and suddenly I am in the single digit count down.  Yikes!

We are ready to go.  All of the fundraising is done, our bags are almost packed, list on top of list is made, a couple more appointments to get our "official" papers signed but that is it.  Both Slice and Pint are in great shape and ready to get on the plane and show the world what they've got.

As excited as I am to get this journey off the ground, I am leaving with mixed emotions as I leave my old boy at home.  Porter is not getting any younger and every day is a treasure.  However, if it wasn't for Porter, I certainly wouldn't be on this journey to begin with.  So even though he will be in good hands with my husband, parents and Amanda, I will still be worried about him every day.  At the other end of the spectrum, our little baby boy Sniper will be changing so much over the two weeks I am gone.  I will leave a 12 week old puppy and come home to a new puppy that has learned so much while I have been gone.