The Beginning of Our Journey

Our journey from Alaska began on April 2nd, 2012. We had packed as frugally as we could, our household goods narrowed down to 5 large packing boxes (18 x18 x24 inches), two suitcases each, and our dog, two cats and parrot. Our goal that day was to leave in time to have two ours at the Anchorage airport, but as these things often go, we were running late and managed to arrive with one hour to spare. That was just enough to get everything checked in. It is no small thing to have 4 animals checked in at the airport. Each one had their own kennel and health certificates. A paper had to be completed about each one regarding age, breed, instructions, etc. Then each one had to be removed from the kennel so that it could go through security check, and then put back in the kennel. Our hour flew by, and we were so busy neither Charles nor I thought to check in his 22 rifle. BIG MISTAKE! As we started to board, security came up and asked if we knew we had a rifle in our luggage...Charles said yes....off he went with security, and Lisa and I had no choice but to board, as the animals were already on board and the plane was taking off in 10 minutes. Off we flew to Phoenix, without Charles! We had bought a new cell phone, one of the pay-as-you-go types, but hadn't even had time to activate it yet. Luckily, we still each had our iPhones...not active, but they would still work with the airport wifi, so we were able to email each other. Turns out he just had to answer a few questions, and if our plane had taken off 20 minutes later, he would have been able to board! As it was, the next flight available for him was 10:00 am the next day, which would put him in Phoenix around 1pm. So Lisa and I were going to land at the Phoenix airport with 4 animals, 5 large boxes, and no place to go. It was going to be a long night.... We arrived at the Phoenix airport around 7:00pm that evening. I will say, for anyone curious about flying with animals, that Alaska Airlines totally rocks in that department. Upon boarding, I noticed that the cabin was much warmer than I had ever experienced, and I am convinced that it was because of a certain parrot on board...and as soon as we sat down and the cabin door closure announcement was made, a stewardess arrived with four slips of paper, each one saying "I am on board!" What a piece of mind when traveling with a pet! Once we landed in Phoenix, we immediately went to baggage claim and I told the customer service rep our dilemma, that my husband was delayed, we were moving, and we had all these boxes plus 4 vari-kennels of animals...she immediately called for assistance, and all of our "cargo" was unloaded for us, and we were invited to use the nearby chairs for the night. Yes, it was a long night...but we were secure, warm, and safe. Phoenix even has a sanded dog park at the airport! All of our babies behaved so well, only Kego, our tuxedo cat, was traumatized at all, and he spent most of the evening in my lap covered by a light blanket (new meaning for security blanket). Lucy dog got to sleep out on the floor, and Snowflake(cat), and Jessie (parrot), slept covered in their kennels for the most part. The next morning I had everyone covered in their kennel, except Lucy. A lady walked by, and said, "Oh, you have three cats!!). About that time the third "cat" said "Hello!!" quite loudly..talk about someone doing a double-take! Charles arrived at 1:30pm that afternoon and went and got our rental truck. After some very creative packing, we were on our way to our KOA camping cabin, and our first real look at Phoenix.