After months of counting down days, the time had finally come. Last Sunday evening was filled with emotion and tears as we said good-bye to my in-laws. And though we know it’s only for a short time, it felt so final. We had packed our few remaining items as well as the cats and were driven to the airport by my brother in laws and father in law.
Upon arriving at the airport I was sure our cats (especially Sheikha) would be screaming ‘meows’ in her loudest voice. Fortunately they were both quite calm and overall did really well on the flight. We did end up putting them in one travel bag to share as it seemed to provide them a bit of comfort.
When bringing pets on board the United direct flight from Kuwait to DC, Business and First class seating are not an option. So, there we were, in economy (we did upgrade to Economy Plus). The flight itself was uneventful… like totally and completely uneventful. My husband managed to sleep a solid 8-9 hours, though I wasn’t so fortunate. I seriously doubt I slept 45 minutes. I found myself with no interest in television or movies and just staring at the ‘map’ the entire flight. Talk about making 14 hours feel like an eternity. Huge mistake.
We arrived in DC right on time to freezing rain and very cold weather. Passport control, Immigration, and Baggage re-check were efficient and ensured we made our connecting flight. Considering we only had an hour and 20 minute layover, they really did a fantastic job.
Our flight leaving DC was slightly delayed as the plane was ‘de-iced’ on the runway but we made it to North Carolina only a few minutes later than expected. By this time I was completely exhausted while my husband was wide awake and ready to collect our bags. We had 4 enormous checked bags, 2 carry-on bags, and 2 cat carry-on bags. My husband even managed to pack his 27 inch IMac into a checked suitcase (bubble wrapped and secured of course). Everything arrived safe and sound, no lost bags, no damaged IMac.
My family met us at the airport and brought us directly to our new home. We purchased this home without ever seeing it, only having access to a few photos, and knowing little about the demographics of the town. Over the past few months we’ve invested a great deal of time and money into turning this house into a dream home and hadn’t seen any photos of the renovations; we really had no idea what to expect. As we approached the house we were happy to know it wasn’t as far away from the ‘big city’ as we previously thought. The outside of the home is amazing, the land is massive with a sizable pond (we heard ducks on it last night), and the interior is more beautiful than I was prepared for. I’ll do another post in the future about the home ‘before and after’.
Though leaving family was very difficult, technology definitely bridges the distance. It’s almost as if we’re still in the same timezone. A part of me misses Kuwait and it will always be home on some level, but for now we’re definitely enjoying life in America.
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It sounds like a really smooth trip…I’m so glad! My husband is the same; he passes out after the meal and I’m left sitting there bored for hours on end!
(Can you take the cats out of the carrier at all on the flight? I’ve always wondered how people with animals handle bathroom breaks and having them cooped up for so long.)