The Move...

So moving to the beautiful island of Dominica is definitely easier said than done. I moved from North Carolina down to the island in August. So...it's hot as heck. I ran into issues, mainly because I was moving three of my cats down with me (I'm not the crazy cat lady, so do not judge!). Now within the US, they allow seven animals on a flight in-cabin, however... once you land in Puerto Rico, the flight to Dominica only allows two in-cabin. So way back in June (yes, you should definitely book at least this far in advance) it took me over an hour on the phone with an American Airlines representative to figure out how to get me, my parents, and three cats from RDU to Dominica (FYI, this cannot be done with US Airlines/LIAT), going back and forth from one day to the next, just to book us. But it was finally accomplished. Carrying your animals as a carry-on is the cheapest way to go ($100 per animal as a carry-on as opposed to $3000-6000 total with a private pet moving agency).

The big day finally arrives. I'm so stressed out as to how my poor babies are going to handle an airplane (when they usually stroke in a car!) and the whole move, I'm the one needing a valium!! Luckily for the kitties, they got some (Thank God!). After driving to Raleigh in such a bad rainstorm that we actually had to pull over onto the shoulder of the road (as did about 10 cars around us, one of which got stuck in the mud), we arrived at RDU. Check-in went smooth and we went over to security. I was not aware that when you travel with pets as a carry-on, they actually have to be taken out of their carriers and walked through the metal detectors (while the carrier is put through the x-ray machine). Thankfully, the drugs had kicked in by then and the cats didn't try to bolt out of my arms. We arrived in Miami at 9:30pm and had to go to our hotel (about 10-15 min drive away). We had an interesting night in the hotel (another new experience for the kitties) and I didn't sleep a wink! This was essentially repeated in Miami all the way until landing in Dominica. However, I had to take an earlier flight than my parents since only two animals were allowed on the last flight.

Needless to say, we all arrived safely and after 38hrs of being awake, I finally got some sleep! Now the adventure will begin. :)