The Journey Continues...

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack...

After a long nine months, I have made it back to St. Kitts to join Matthew while he attends Ross University. As a bonus, our dogs—Milo and Trooper—have come along too. 

The journey began on January 15th, 2011. My Dad and I loaded up his truck at about 1:00 a.m. and left my parents' home shortly afterwards. My first flight was scheduled for 6:05 a.m. out of Grand Rapids, MI. The roads were in less-than-ideal-condition, and it took us about three hours or so to get to the airport. Since we were leaving so early, the roads weren't plowed, and it was snowing like crazy. The blizzard was not quite welcome in my eyes. I kept thinking, "How convenient." A) I didn't need to be late for my flight, and B) I did not want to deal with a delay.

Once we arrived at the airport, my Dad and I unloaded the luggage and my two dogs. Milo and Trooper went into their kennels with ease, but they were quite hesitant. Little did they know that in about an hour, we'd be on a plane leaving the snowy Mitten and headed towards a sunshine-filled destination.

At the Delta counter I had to fill out a few extra forms for the dogs and attach stickers that read 'LIVE ANIMALS' onto their kennels. Here's my question: Are there people who ship 'DEAD ANIMALS?' Whatevs. Anyway, the Delta rep was very helpful, and she seemed well-versed on the airline's regulations when flying pets. I felt confident that Milo and Trooper would be in good hands. After the dogs were all set, the representative checked my baggage. Surprise, surprise—one of my bags was over the weight limit. Thankfully, it was only over by 2 small lbs., and she let me through anyway. Whew. I really thought she was going to insist that I remove some items. After the dogs went through security and after their kennels were searched for crack and other illegal items, I gave my Dad a hug, blew a kiss to my doggies, and bid adieu. 

The first stop was in Atlanta, GA, where I would catch my connecting flight to St. Kitts. Once I arrived in the ATL, I went to my gate, which was of course, on the opposite end of the airport. Thank goodness for inner-airport transportation! As soon as I arrived at my gate, I checked to see if my dogs had been accounted for, and thankfully they were. I had about an hour or so before my flight to St. Kitts was going to board, so I went to the ladies' room and tried to make myself look less crazy. I hadn't slept since Friday at 10:00 a.m., and I was looking a little grubby. After very little improvement of controlling my crazy hair and smeared make-up, I gave up. I opted to sit around and pass time on my cell phone instead. I texted my contacts to notify them that my current number would be turned off indefinitely once I arrived in St Kitts. After a few sad good-bye texts, I shut off my phone, boarded my flight, and fell asleep.

I later woke up to a flight attendant handing me a Customs form. St. Kitts requires you to fill this out before heading to Immigration at their airport. SKB is fairly strict about visitors filling out all the necessary information on this little form because they want to make sure that every tourist arriving is accounted for, and has a return ticket. Thankfully, I had experience with filling one out before, having been to the island in April 2010. 

About half an hour later, the plane was approaching St. Kitts. As soon as I saw the island, I was grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't have been happier to see my new home. In my head I kept thinking, "My island, my home," over and over again. I took this as a good sign. As we circled the island, I was able to re-familiarize myself with the different areas. I recognized the Marriott Resort, Ross University, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and I thought that I had even recognized Matthew's apartment. 

When we landed, I was a bit too warm—but not at severe heat stroke status or anything. I had dressed myself in yoga capris, a t-shirt, sneakers, and my GVSU sweatshirt. I knew I was going to be a little too hot when I arrived, but I wasn't willing to freeze while still in the US. I mean—what was I suppose to wear? I was not about to leave snowy Michigan in my bikini!

Inside the airport, there were about six long lines for Immigration. After about half an hour, I finally reached the counter, handed over my passport and explained to the lady why I was in St. Kitts. After a few more questions, she stamped my passport, told me she was giving me a 'month,' and sent me on my way. What she had implied, was that I only had a month until I would be deported, so I had better apply for my 'extended stay' VISA right away.

Once I was through Immigration, I headed downstairs towards Baggage Claim. When I arrived on the bottom level, I hurriedly looked around for Milo and Trooper. After a quick scan, I found them in the far back corner of the airport, still in their kennels, with their ears and eyes perked up and waiting for me. They were quite happy to see me—as I them—and I was so thankful that they arrived safely.

Soon after I located the pups, Dr. Henry, a veterinarian on the island, waved me over for a meet-and-greet. Matty called him ahead of time, so he was expecting me. I brought the doggies over to him so he could collect my paperwork, fees, and to check their overall well being. He was really nice and quite helpful. The dogs behaved really well for Dr. Henry, even after being in their kennels for about ten hours, but I figured it was because they were probably exhausted. 

Next stop was Customs. Now—this can be tricky. They will often go through your bags, question you about your items, charge you duty on items they feel are valuable, etc. And of course, I had all sorts of goodies in my luggage. Dvds, my sewing machine, fabric, crafting tools, my portable iPod player, dog hair clippers, etc. When Matthew shipped his bike down with him in April 2010, they charged us $100 US to get it through Customs. I was livid about that...and I did NOT want something similar to happen again. However, I knew I was going to get away with them not checking my bags because they'd be so distracted with my dogs. Also, I had a local help me load my bags onto a cart to be taken outside right away. Usually the loading guys push you through Customs quickly so they can get you out and loaded into your car. The sooner you're in your car, the sooner you tip them, and the sooner they can head back inside to help other customers. 

Once outside the airport, Matthew flagged me down and pulled his car up to the curb. After all of this time, the three of us made it, and we were very excited to begin our new island lives. Enjoy the photos.

My luggage and my loves. :)

What is this weather?! Wasn't it just snowing a few hours ago??

Matty's new ride...

Once we arrived at the apartment, we let Mizz & Trizz out so they could check out their new home and surroundings.

The large dog pictured is Pumba. He is owned by Matthew's landlords, who live above us.

To celebrate me and and the dogs finally getting to the island, we cracked open two Caribs—the beer of the Caribbean.