Admiral, independent as he is, isn't allowed on the plane alone and we all know Izzy is too scared to do anything (including go outside to potty) by herself, so it's not her. I got assigned doggie duty, and am now scheduled to leave March 3. The travel office somehow had trouble getting the dogs a spot on the plane, so we (dogs and I) got pushed back ten days. Huge bummer. I offered to have the dogs sit in our laps but they said NOPE! Who's the boss around here? Not me, apparently. Unfortunately, we did not find this out until the day before our planned travel to Jacksonville, so it was a bit of a shock which makes it even more irritating. But, such is military life.
Jim left for Jacksonville on Wednesday as planned and spent Thursday doing a little prep work like checking in at the airport and putting my car on a barge to float on down to GTMO. He told me about a sticker he saw at the shipping place that said "My car fell off the barge on the way to Guantanamo Bay" so that's comforting. All of our other household goods will also come through the same shipping port at some point. It's a little strange to think of almost every physical possession we own being ohhh I don't know...anywhere between San Diego and Cuba right now. Hoping I don't end up with that sticker...
Yesterday Jim arrived in Guantanamo Bay and I have heard from him a few times. He got to do some tours of the base and start the friendmaking at happy hour at the officers club, which sounds like a pretty happening spot. I'm going to save all the juicy travel details for when I actually do it, but it does sound like his trip went very smoothly. Hopefully we can soon say the same for me, but little ol' me with 2 big suitcases, 2 big dog crates, and 2 big dogs that do NOT want to go in any crates might end up looking a little more like a circus.
Our drive from California to Georgia was....not the most fun. As soon as we left Southern California, we were greeted with MUCH colder temperatures than our little southern souls were prepared for. Our first gas station break made it clear that flip flops were a bad traveling footwear choice for me. It also was gloomy and drizzling if not full on raining the entire trip. We hadn't seen rain in literally months in San Diego, so you can imagine our annoyance. It was especially fun when we got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, Texas. Seriously, there was nothing for miles. My darling husband unpacked the carefully Tetris-stacked trunk to get the the spare, leaving everything except the dogs and I on the side of the road in the rain until he got the tires switched out. God bless hard plastic suitcases. We made to a shed that was actually a "tire shop" and a nice man gave us a tire 2 sizes too small to get us back on the road. Once Jim calmed me down with a McFlurry, we decided to drive through the night and just get to his moms in Georgia. I really couldn't take another night at a sketchy dog friendly hotel. We made it around 4am and I've never been so happy to settle down somewhere for even just a couple of days!
The next couple of weeks were spent hopping around Georgia, then Florida, catching up with family and friends. It was really great to see everyone and Jim and I enjoyed being in our hometowns for a little while (although I am getting a little more than I bargained for with my two week addition to my PC time 😊) Speaking of hometowns, our schedule change allows me to keep watching The Bachelor for two more weeks. Always a bright side!
So as of now, I am scheduled to be flying out of Jax March 3, and will be posting as soon as I can about our new little home...I am dying to see it! Jim sent me a few pictures of our new house and I've seen some of the island, but I know it will be very different to see with my own eyes. I'll probably wait to show off the new digs until I've had some time to put a little Ashley decor in place because you know...military housing. But don't you worry, I will share a banana rat picture as soon as I see my first one! (Banana rats are large, tree dwelling, cat sized, rat things that are apparently very common in GTMO. Yay!) other common critters include iguanas, and a very large toad Jim said lives in our driveway. The pups are going to have a blast! Until then, I am making the most of fast wifi and On Demand cable at Mom and Dads house and counting down the days until we all are reunited in our new home!
Next post will be from Cuba!
