We made it to Belgium!

 Good morning from Belgium! 🌞

I usually blog on the weekends with updates, but I wanted to blog today and fill you in on the trip while it's still fresh in my memory. I might update the blog more during the week now that I'm here and have so much to talk about. 

Now, onto the trip! We planned to go to sleep at a decent time the night before, but it ended up being 10 pm before we finished all we needed to do before bed. We had the bags ready on luggage carts and clothes laid out, ready for the alarm set for 4 am. The moment we were in bed, my mind started racing. I finally fell asleep around 1:00 am, and we woke with the alarm at 4:00, feeling like we just went to bed. 

We were 10 minutes late going down for our airport ride. It took a minivan for our luggage and then the dogs and the 3 of us in another car. We arrived at the airport 3 hours before our flights, thinking it would take a long time to check all the luggage, plus have the dogs taken care of before TSA. It only took one hour. 

One of my worries the night before was if they would have luggage carts at the departures, which they did. It took 3 luggage carts for all of our things, and we pulled the dogs in their bags. I took a quick photo as we entered the airport. 

Once we got to the counter, which I had worried would be open so early, they quickly got us and all our bags checked in, no problems! Only two of our bags were over 50 lbs. by 5 lbs. We were allowed 100 lbs, but it seems we didn't need it! They took the dog's health certificates and tagged their bags as carry-on pets. None of their bags were weighed, and the pets weren't measured for their bags. I did buy United-compliant airline pet carriers, and it all went smoothly for check-in. 

Once we got rid of the luggage, it was just the 3 of us with our 3 backpacks, each pulling a dog. 

We got to the TSA Pre-Check, and once it was our turn, they had us take the dogs out of the bags and carry them through. All 3 dogs were calm and had no issues. :)  The dogs have never gone on an airplane before and will whine when in the car, so I was worried the trip would be a rough one with all three dogs. It turns out they were the best little travelers! 

At the gate, we were able to pre-board with the dogs, and since we were in the last row of the plane, it worked out well to get on board first and get everyone settled. We sat together for the almost 5-hour flight from Seattle to Washington D.C. After such little sleep the night before, I fell asleep for about an hour and half on the plane, which I needed. 

When we landed in D.C. we were changing planes in the same terminal. We stopped at a pet relief area, and we got two of the pups to pee, but there were so many strong smells in the pet room it was overwhelming. 

Once that was taken care of, we walked to our gate, and it was time to board the next plane. We pre-boarded again. This time the seating was different and for my under seat area, it didn't leave much room for the woman sitting next to me. She was not happy with how little room there would be for her things, so I called the flight attendant, who moved her to a different seat. Now there was no one next to me, and I was able to expand the cage for more room. 

Other than that, the flight was uneventful. Snacks, one meal, watched some tv and slept another hour. Once we landed, people noticed the dogs. People around us said they had no idea there were 3 dogs on the plane. This all changed once we exited the plane. The dogs had now been in their bags for 18 hours, and they were over it. We tried to find a pet relief area, but it isn't a thing here. 

We had to go through customs, and the line was LONG. I decided to take us on the Diplomat line, which was empty. This is where our government passports came in handy. We used those, plus a copy of Arturo's orders, and we were through customs in no time! 

Now came the one and only stressful time of the trip. We had to get our luggage, which was waiting for us, load it up, and then find our sponsor. We had three full luggage carts, the dogs' bags, our backpacks, and we were lost. Taking an elevator with all those things proved to be a pain. We were tired and in a new place, and I almost cried. I then thought that I needed an attitude adjustment because this adventure was going to go the way my attitude did. We made it outside to the relief of the dogs, and they were able to come out of their bags for a few minutes before our Sponsor arrived. 

It turns out that our sponsor is from where we lived in Washington. Small world! He helped us with our things, which we loaded in the government van, and finally got to relax and see our new city! I found myself smiling so big, taking in our new country and hometown. It is SO quaint and quiet! VERY country and just what we hoped for. 

We got to the hotel and checked into our room, which is a one-bedroom suite in a very nice building right next to the commissary, PX, gym, and .........the lot where our car is!

We left Liam and the dogs in the hotel, and our sponsor took us to the housing office. They took our orders and sent us over to the other base, 30 minutes away, to that housing office that takes care of off-post housing, which we apparently qualify for! We will find out for sure today. The guy who took care of us there was also from Washington. Super small world!

We were so tired at this point. My eyes were burning, and I was hungry. We stopped at a Greek food truck and picked up lunch/dinner. Once we ate and took the dogs out to potty, we decided we had to sleep. We ended up sleeping from 4 pm to 10pm feeling much better. We took the dogs for a nice long walk, checked in with family in the states, and caught up on some tv shows before going back to bed at 2:30 until the dogs woke us at 5:30. They say it takes 1 day for every hour of time zone for your body to adjust. For this, it means 9 days, but we are hoping it won't take that long to adjust. 

It's an overcast day here in Belgium, and a bit on the cool side this morning, but I am forecasting a perfect day! 🌞