Our travels to Italy!

Welcome Welcome to the family blog, we hope that this will be an easy place for our friends and family to stay up to date on our lives. This first post is one of a three part blog, about our travels to Italy. I to over the next few days give you the details of what it was like for us to make this wonderful adventure and new chapter of our lives. So without further ado…..

Part One:
Day One Travels: Charleston SC to Washington/Dulles
Saying farewell to friends and family is always hard, even when you do it over and over as we military families get accustom. Many thanks to our family for allowing us to stay with you as we made the transition from the U.S. to Italy. We will miss you so much, but we promise to stay in touch, send tons of pictures, and maybe an Italian gift every so often.
Many thanks to my dad and sister for getting us off to the Charleston Airport safely, we couldn't have made it without you. While our initial journey started four months earlier in Kansas, our real travel to Italy started with that drive to the airport. All of that luggage (18 bags, plus a huge kennel for Jax) would have been a bit much for just me and DH, but thanks to you we were able to get to the airport with no stress. The skycap of course was a huge help for downloading and helping lug all that into the airport so that we can check in. I wish I would have gotten their name.

It doesn’t seem like we left Monday, since it's already Wednesday but when you lose 6 hours of your day in transit, it seems to confuse your body a bit.
Monday Morning:
Check-in was a bit scary at first, as the woman at the counter, began our process by telling us Jax wouldn’t be able to fit on the plane. (Back story: Okay so anyone who knows me, knows that I and a stickler for detail, I called almost every month, and as the day got closer at least once a week, to confirm our flights to travel with a pet, knowing that if they needed space on the plane Jax would be the first to get bumped and we would need to make arrangements accordingly. So over and over I checked to ensure that kennel size and regulations were being met so that there was no issue on our end.) Well we arrive with Jax in his kennel and the woman says that the kennel is too large. Now me being me, I immediately recite to her the airline regulations and size policy for traveling with a dog the size of Jax. So she gets on the phone, to see what can be done, I took Jax outside to stretch and things, while Larry handled matters with this woman. Thankfully, I was right and Jax was able to come, but I tell you what I was getting a bit stressed that this would be the way our trip would go. After checking all our luggage and things, the woman was able to also get us on an earlier flight, which I was very excited about, as it gave us more time in between flights at Washington. So we got everything settled, made our way through security, and sat waiting patiently for our flight to arrive.

Once loaded I think that’s when it really hit everyone that we were going to Italy. I mean hey we are on a plane there is no going back now. This was also the girls’ first plane trip as well. (Technically DD-C has been on a plane before the she was just a baby and has no memory of it, so we are pretty much counting this as her first plane ride.) The girls did so well, they each got a window seat so that they could look out and really experience the trip. They loved the idea of "being higher than the clouds" as they put it. There was no crying or scary thought, they were both troopers. They enjoyed their pretzels and drinks, and took turns telling each other what they saw in the clouds. Of course as all passengers do, (not this woman, because I'm a rebel, and well DH has been on more planes then he can count) they were diligent in following along the safety procedures on the pamphlet as the flight attendant instructed us to do in case of emergency. All in all the first leg our trip was very smooth and aside from the minor setback with Jax, went without incident. Well that is until we landed. When de-boarding the plane, there was no ramp that took us directly into the airport terminals, we got off on stairs and walked in through a tarmac entrance. Well upon reaching that very last step, DD-I took a bit of a tumble (I believe it was excitement and her trying to maneuver her small carryon bag that caused her to miss the last step and tumble onto the ground) She cried for only the slightest of moments before she was good to continue on with the journey.

Part Two
Day One/Two Travels: Washington/Dulles to Frankfort Germany