I left Springfield mid-May and traveled to Omaha to spend some time with some friends and had the honor to witness a very dear friend marry her dream man. It was a great time of seeing friends I hadn't seen in years, and gave me a break from responsibility for a few days before the craziness started.
After getting up at 4:30am, we made it to the airport on time. We, as in: Gibbs, a huge kennel, a even bigger suitcase, a roll-on carry-on, and myself. We get to the airline and there are NO carts outside. None inside. I start to freak out. Well the shuttle guy unloads me and takes off. Because I have Gibbs, I can't do the curb-side check-in. So I had to wait several minutes before someone from the airline could come get a huge cart and take me inside. Once inside, there is a huge line and everyone is grumpy. I was getting worried we would miss the 1 hour mark to check-in, but we barely made it. After Gibbs got checked over by TSA, they carted him away and I felt like a mom who had just dropped her kid off at a new daycare: free but worried. I got to my gate to see the flight had been moved but no signs had changed. They were boarding by the time I got there. But then we were delayed because of fog in Dallas (my connection). All I could think of was it was more time for Gibbs to be locked up in a loud scary area. Well, due to the delay, by the time I got to Dallas, I had to run for my connection which was in another terminal. When I say run, i mean run. They were at least half boarded by the time I got there and I was freaking out that it wasn't enough time for Gibbs to get on the plane. And because I had to run for my flight, I didn't get to stop for anything to eat. Thankfully some of Gabe's habits have rubbed off on me and I had some snacks.
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| My lap: Purse, Laptop, Snacks, Water bottle, Kindle, Book, and blanket from airline |
The flight was pretty uneventful. I spent my time updating our adoption profiles, reading a book, and watching the on-flight movie. I was just too on edge to sleep, then I was too tired to sleep. After we landed, I found baggage, and got a shuttle to my rental car. After a quick check-out with the car, I proceeded to try to locate the building where I was to pick Gibbs up. That took awhile and was frustrating. But once I found it, I was in and out in 10 minutes with Gibbs, who did not smell all that pleasant. The airport has strict rules about not allowing animals outside their kennels until you are off their property so the kennel was loaded straight into the car and all I could think about was finding a gas station to get him out and take out the nasty puppy pads taped on the bottom of the kennel. So, to do that, I had to get off the interstate and drive around a bit. I've heard stories about avoiding certain areas, but it was hard to tell if it was a bad area or not because everything just looks different...a bit older and worn. I found a place, got Gibbs out, and cleaned up a bit. But the tiredness and the situation stressed me out alot. I had been so worried about Gibbs having another panic attack (he had one when our house was emptied), but he did awesome. The whole trip, he listened better than he usually does, which is saying alot.
So after our detour, I had no idea where I was and my GPS took me on some side roads. It was a pretty view, but by that point I was hating the island and hating the move, and hating Gabe for picking Hawaii. So I got the base, found my hotel, and was a grump. They wouldn't allow me to wash Gibbs in the tub, I couldn't get an appointment to get him washed, and my tiredness made the whole issue of Gibbs being dirty a million times worse than it really was. So I ran to the store and got cleaner to clean the crate (at least get rid of that smell), and some refreshing spray for Gibbs. I was in the store, about to pass out (remember, I hadn't had a meal, just snacks), glaring at every person in uniform. Got back to my room and decided I would run someone over if I drove out for food, so I ordered a pizza. Guess what? They brought the wrong pizza. But I ate it and went to bed after being up for 20 hours. So that way my "welcome to the island".
After I got some sleep, the next day was better. I was up reaaaaallllly early (5 hours behind), so I made some calls early and got Gibbs a grooming appointment right away. So I took him down to a town close to the base, dropped him off, then traveled back to base to go to the housing office to get the keys to our house. That didn't take long. I really do like our house. We have a grassy area right in front of us, with a golf course, restaurant, and mini golf right across the road. Behind us, is a block of grassy areas and a playground. So lots of places to walk with Gibbs right close to the house. We are also a 2 minute drive from a dog park, the shopping areas and the beach. And we are close enough to the gym and Gabe's work that he can run or ride his bike to either. The house is set up like a townhouse and it is a good size for what we need.
Unfortunately, our household goods weren't going to arrive on time, but the housing office offered loaner furniture. BUT they didn't have time to deliver it before Tuesday (this was Thursday). This means no pots and pans, no basic cooking supplies. No bed or blankets. Just a stove, fridge, and microwave. I did some shopping for paper products, a pillow and blanket, and freezer meals. I picked up a clean Gibbs, and we started to settle in. The first thing we did was try to get cable and internet because we had NOTHING. But that didn't come for a few days. So it was a really really boring first few days. We drove around, checked out the library and shopping areas, but there wasn't much to do and I didn't want to explore too far away from home without Gabe.
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| My set up for the first night: frozen lasagna, movie on the computer, and my "bed" |
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| Upgrade! |
So I spent a week of nothingness. I went to the library to print off documents for our home study, I registered Gibbs with the city/county of Honolulu and on base, and did small errands like that. But there was only so much I could do without Gabe.
I got a call our furniture was here, but they couldn't deliver for a week, which put it the day after Gabe got home. I was bummed but my mom helped me see that it could be fun to set up our home together. Well, I got a call a few days later saying they could deliver the day before Gabe got home and I jumped at the chance! As far as he knew, he was coming home to an empty home with the movers coming the next morning. So I was excited to surprise him. They came and got everything unloaded in 3 hours. There was an issue with the bed frames: they stripped some screws so the mattresses couldn't go on the bed until we got replacements. But thankfully our bedroom is ginormous and had the space for a queen sized frame and a mattresses on the floor.
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| Our bedroom is big enough for 2 beds...I'm spoiled! |
