Author: Alan

Dog on a Plane

| Alan

“How are you flying to Europe with Kiara?”  “Is there a quarantine on arrival?” “Can she fly in the cabin or does she have to go in the hold?”

Getting ready to fly to Europe with Kiara the Chihuahua has been a challenge.  Lots of research to find the right way to bring a pet to Europe.

First, there are a limited number of international airlines that allow pets to fly in the cabin.  We want Kiara to fly in the cabin with us.  Flying is stressful enough for dogs and there are all sort of horror stories about pets flying in the cargo holds of aircrafts.  Over Saint Patrick’s Day this year, a dog that was enroute from Newark to Phoenix was accidentally shipped to Ireland.  We decided on Delta as our airline choice for this trip.

In order to be allowed in the cabin, pets are limited to a maximum weight of 9 to 20 pounds depending on the airline.  Kiara is only 2 and a half pounds so we had lots of leeway.  Pug-nosed (brachycephalic) cats and dogs are not allowed to fly because of their high incident of in-flight deaths.

There are a limited number of pets allowed in the cabin depending on the aircraft.  Most commonly the limit is two pets in first class, two pets in business class, and a maximum of four in economy.  Delta no longer allows pets in first or business class on international flights.  We had to make a reservation for Kiara early to ensure a spot for her.  We pay an extra $200 fare for Kiara to fly in the cabin.

The dog carrier must be an approved model that is leak-proof, ventilated, and able to fit under the seat.  Tracy loses her carry-on “personal item” to bring Kiara’s in-cabin carrier.

Kiara has a seizure disorder and takes two anticonvulsant medications every twelve hours.  We have a TSA approved cooler pouch for her meds.  We will have to give a her a dose of medicine while enroute.

Finally, there is all the required paperwork to take a pet abroad.  In order to avoid having Kiara quarantined on arrival in the European Union, there is a specific process to get a United States Interstate and International Certificate of Health Examination for Small Animals” from the US Department of Agriculture.  (Seriously, exporting dogs internationally comes under the jurisdiction of the US Department of Agriculture.)  The airlines requires a final health clearance be performed no more than ten days before arrive in Europe.

So last Friday Kiara had a complete veterinary exam from her own veterinarian (who must be USDA accredited) with boosters for all vaccinations and a rabies inoculation “at least 30 days before travel but not more than 12 months” with a rabies certificate issued. The doctor completed the forms in both English and French and faxed the paperwork to the USDA office for preliminary review.  Our nearest USDA office is in Sacramento, California.  We then waited until our veterinarian telephoned us back Friday afternoon to tell us the paperwork looked good to the USDA and we can pick up the original forms from Kiara’s vet’s office.

Today we took a four-hour road trip to Sacramento and back to visit the USDA to get Kiara’s health paperwork certified.  USDA-Sacramento was friendly, helpful, and it only took the USDA’s veterinarian about 20 minutes sign off, stamp, and certify the paperwork.  We believe we are now ready for Kiara to join us on the airplane on Sunday.

Fingers crossed that all the research and work pays off on Sunday.

We Are Pedestrians And A Granddaughter Visit

| Alan

We are rushing toward our departure date and frantically working on our final minimizing with 29 days to go.

We needed to sell our last remaining car.  We really wanted to have that major “loose end” completed with the car sold with registration and insurance cancelled before we leave.  In addition to listing the car on Cars.com and Craigslist, the Mercedes-Benz/Smart Car  dealership’s very helpful representative, Emily, had previously sent an e-mail about their Buy-Back program.  Apparently it is difficult to maintain Smart cars in their used car inventory since the owners hate to part with them.  A road trip to the Mercedes dealership in Sacramento resulted in a sold car.

For the first time since 1973, I am without a vehicle.  I really enjoyed the Smart car over the last four years.  The weather over the last week was pleasant enough to have the ragtop down.  I so understand now how Tracy felt after she sold her convertible.  After years of used minivans, station wagons, and SUVs, it was a real pleasure to have cars we enjoyed driving every day.  Tracy and I are now totally pedestrians.  We will sparingly rent a car or use the bus for our remaining transportation needs.

In between working and running errands this week we had the pleasure of granddaughter Lorelei visiting from Utah.  Although Lorelei was fighting an illness we did get some time for games and trip to the park.

Second Packing Trial Run, Carmel, and San Martin

| Alan

As our countdown gets below 40 days until we depart, we keep finding there is still more and more tasks to get done.  We made a quick drive over to San Martin, California to see Tracy’s Aunt Debbie and Uncle Gerry.

We delivered some family heirlooms Tracy received from her grandfather, Deb’s father.  With our efforts with minimizing possessions, we have been distributing keepsakes to family members before we go.  Tracy brought photos, papers, memorabilia  collector money, and a family Bible from her grandfather that she thought should go back to her Aunt Deb.  We also asked Deb to keep a three-inch binder of legal documents for us:  certified birth certificates, marriage and divorce paperwork, baptismal certificates, etc.  We are bringing a smaller zippered binder with us to Europe with our essential legal documents.  Debbie is kind enough to hold our extended paperwork collection should we need any additional documents while abroad. Deb would be able to send needed documents by DHL when and if the need occurs.

We were able to squeeze in a hike in at Uvas Canyon County Park and Waterfalls.  Deb and Mac the dog guided Tracy, Kiara, and me through the green, lush park.  Great hiking trail with scenic bridges, flowing streams, multiple waterfalls, and quiet pools.  One of those amazing “pocket parks” tucked away unexpectedly at the end of a county road.

The next day we drove to Carmel-by-the-Sea.  Carmel is a favorite locale of ours and the visit let “California Girl” Tracy see the Pacific Ocean a final time before we relocate.  It was a beautiful day walking along the beach, watching the waves, looking up at Pebble Beach golf course, and a picnic lunch.  Dog-friendly Carmel welcomed Kiara to have her first visit to the ocean and opportunity to walk along the beach.

On our way back home we discussed the logistics of travelling with eight bags and whether or not we needed to rent a car in Toulouse in order to transport it all to Carcassonne.  We decided we could minimize our luggage still further from our first practice run packing our luggage.  We believe we could lighten the load from a three bedroom house to luggage still more.

We repacked our bags using our first packing list.  We started this time with eight bags weighing a total of 270 pounds.  We then unpacked and split the contents into “must have,” “maybe,” and “eliminate” piles.  It wasn’t just the idea that extra bags cost progressively more, it was the realization of the work and potential frustration trying to move eight bags with only two arms each.  We considered the cost of replacement versus the cost for items compared to re-buying the item in France, the necessity of having the item in the first place, and the frequency of use for the item. Could we justify a $100 for an extra bag, $285 for a third or fourth bag?  Could we justify having rent a vehicle to transport luggage rather than just using public transportation?  Would the replacement of an item be difficult or extremely costly in France?

Immediately we reconsidered the books we slated to bring. We are “book people” and wanted art, history, and language references to come with us, but you just don’t realize the weight of a stack of books.  We had already gone digital with Kindles for our recreational reading, so we reduced the number of physical books to just a few art books.   We decided to scan and digitize the remaining books into PDF files we could upload to our computers and Kindles.

We further eliminated packing materials, a few clothing items, some carry bags, decorator items, and an additional “back-up” camera.  We decided to pass some additional keepsake items on to the kids. I replaced my previous carry-on bag with the maximum size possible carry-on bag.  We re-shuffled and re-organized the contents from eight bags down to six bags weighing 200 pounds total:  a single checked bag and a carry-on bag each, with a camera bag for me, and Kiara’s carrier for Tracy.

The final results was that we eliminated two checked duffel bags and 70 pounds from our initial packing practice.  Tracy is already talking about a third trial run to maybe eliminate still more.

Super Bowl And A Trial Run With Luggage

| Alan

In our family, Super Bowl is a non-traditional holiday that combines football, food, funny TV commercials, good-natured “smack talking” between team fans, and general family fun.  Even the kids that didn’t like football liked the annual Super Bowl party.  This year we hosted our last family Super Bowl event and were lucky to have at least some of the adult kids and their significant others join us, Nick, Adam and his fiance’ Liz, and Casey with his girlfriend Nicole.  Sarah had another commitment and Danielle, Tyler, Dirk, and Dallas are all out-of-state.  It was a great time with kids that could make it and those participating via text messages.  We had former University of Nevada – Reno quarterback Colin Kaepernick starting for the 49ers so he and his team as our hometown favorite had all of us (a first for our family) cheering for the 49ers. The kids followed Kaepernick from his first start to his last with UNR with season tickets and/or UNR v. UNLV games.

Tracy and I had made up a buffet of meats, cheeses, veggies, soft drinks, and craft beers. Lots of visiting, laughs, cheering, and Kiara received lots of attention. Kiara, however, is not a fan of football or Super Bowl. We loved the pre-game performance with Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keyes and made fun of Beyonce’s fetish outfits at half time.  Though a dramatic and close game right to the end, the Ravens won 34 – 31, a bittersweet ending to our last Super Bowl party, but we really enjoyed it all the same. Special thanks to Dallas for being our official Ref [as in reference for rules of play] there was a bit of discussion about a play involving a player falling with the ball, getting up and running it again that ended with a text message to Dallas for the official ruling.

The following Tuesday (which continued into Wednesday) we held our “pre-flight” check. A trial run of the luggage/items moving abroad with us.  We have minimized from a three bedroom house into a one bedroom apartment and now into eight bags.  We will be carrying one carry-one bag each, one personal item each (a camera bag for me and Kiara’s carrier for Tracy). Our checked baggage will be one suitcase and one duffel bag each.  We are limited to 50 pounds per checked bag.  The first checked bag is free, a second bag is an additional $100, a third checked bag and any subsequent bag is $285.  A bag over 50 pounds has an additional $100 penalty with a maximum limit of 70 pounds per bag. We opted for a second bag each (at the $100 rate) and to limit our bags to 45 pounds or as close to it as possible. It was surprisingly difficult to equally distribute the weight to be at our prescribed limits. Most of which entailed packing the bag, securing its contents, weighing the bag, unpacking the bag, repacking the bag and weighing it again, and again, and again. What we thought would be a few hours turned into most of the day and part of the next. After several hours of lifting and checking the weight of the bags the decisions to discard some items became easier and easier and easier.

To make certain that our actual packing day runs smoothly, we created a database, cataloged and photographed not only each piece of luggage but each packing cube contained within the luggage so that we know exactly how each bag was packed and where each item was inside the bag. Approximately 50 percent of each of the bags are still packed and our database notes which items have been removed for use through the end of March. The idea was to know exactly what had to go back into each bag so that the next time around it is done easily and quickly.

Tracy and I previously made  a decision to travel with only two checked bag.  Our plan is to move and live in a different city every year or so.  We want to be able to travel light, especially with our intention to use public transportation and not own a car. Our packing trial run forced us to make some final decisions to lighten our load.  We each packed a week and a day of clothes; eight complete wardrobe selections, two pairs of shoes, jackets, scarfs, and hats.  Since we decided to make use of furnished apartments we packed very few household, picnic, and home office items.  We have Kiara’s flight carrier, playpen, bed, chest carrier, harness and leash, and her wardrobe and blankets (hairless micro-dogs get cold easily.)  We packed a few essential hard copy books, but for the most part we have gone digital for reading and reference.

Our biggest indulgence is technology.  MacBooks for each of us, a PC netbook for me and a iPad for Tracy, multiple external hard drives, a principle camera and a compact waterproof camera for both of us, GPS unit, a Doxi portable scanner, Kindles for each of us, and finally personal iPods.  Photography is our principle recreation and method of sharing our travels, we need the computers to communicate with family back home and to keep learning languages, the GPS with a pedestrian option to help us find our way despite lack of language skills, and iPods and Kindles for recreation and language studies.

Our luggage is meant to nest and store inside one another for compact storage after arrival and for use on future road trips around Europe.  Amazingly, over the last 18 months we have managed to reduce our personal possessions from filling a 3-bedroom house to two large and two small bags each with a total weight of 270 pounds.

Still More Minimizing and More Milestones

| Alan

First milestone:  Wow.  Over the last 18 months we downsized, minimized, donated, gave away, and trashed in order to move from the house into our current one bedroom apartment.  Over the next 60 days we will be minimizing still further from the apartment eventually into two suitcases each.  Over the last two weeks Tracy has scanned, edited, and uploaded about 7,000 hard-copy photos; snap shots, wallet-sized, Polaroids, 3X5’s, 4X6’s, 5X7’s, 8X10’s, and 10X13’s.  I’ve uploaded dozens and dozens of digital photo files from CD’s and DVD’s onto a one terabyte external hard drive.  Add to that work scanning all the legal documents that we may need that doesn’t require the actual “hard copies”.  The scanning ended up being a huge project to complete.  We loved taking photos of the kids when they were growing up.  Now we are delivering and mailing the photos and other family memorabilia to the adult kids.

Second milestone:  The semester started today at the college today.  For the first time in twenty-three years I’m not teaching either full-time or part-time at TMCC.

Third milestone:  My first pension check from the Nevada Public Employees Retirement System (NV PERS) arrived today.  After 32 years of public service in law enforcement and teaching I am retired.

Tracy scanning and editing family photos.
Tracy scanning and editing family photos.

Christmas And Unexpected Delay

| Alan

We had a fun Christmas at home, the last we expect to have in the US for quite a while.

For Christmas brunch we had ravioli, tortellini, wine, Christmas ale, gifts, and fun conversation with the kids that are still in Reno –  Sarah, Nick, Casey, Adam, and Adam’s fiancee’ Liz – made it a great day.  Kiki the micro-dog enjoyed all the special attention.  Through the day we also had “Merry Christmas”  telephone calls with Danielle, Tyler, Dirk, and Dallas, the “out-of-town” kids.  We have been enjoying the time with all the adult kids over the last few months and holidays, we know we are going to miss them all.  After brunch with the kids we visited with more family at Tracy’s mom’s house.  Nana, Tracy’s sisters Tammy and Trina, nieces, nephews, and even a great-niece.  Once Tracy and I made it back home she finally got her wish for a “white Christmas.”  Snow was finally falling in the valley and we had a romantic nighttime walk through the falling snow to finish Christmas night.

We just learned that we have an unexpected delay in our departure date moving it from January to late March.  We have to resolve a couple of paperwork issues with the consulate.  Rather that leaving the first week of January, we will be making a road trip to the consulate.  We are now processing yet more paperwork and re-scheduling flight tickets and apartment reservations.

Oh well, if there is not a few “bumps in the road” you don’t appreciate the final outcome.  We are a bit disappointed with the delay, but in the whole scheme of things an 11 week delay isn’t that big of an upset.

Alan’s Last Day At the College – Retired

| Alan

December 14th 2012 was my last day teaching at Truckee Meadows Community College.  I am officially retired as of January 7th, 2013 after 32 years of public service in law enforcement and higher education.

TMCC President Sheehan kindly granted me Professor Emeritus status upon my retirement.  I greatly appreciated the honor and recognition.

It was a very bittersweet moment to walk out my former and now emptied office then leave the college for the last time.  I loved teaching and loved working with the students through the years.  The best day of the year for me at the college was always commencement day .  I always thrilled watching the graduates cross the stage to receive their diplomas while their family and friends cheered their accomplishment.  It was also the greatest pleasure to see former students become successful in their careers and know I contributed to their success in some small ways.

I am proud of my both of my professional careers, police work and teaching.  I am incredibly lucky and can say I’ve had two dream careers. But now I’m anxious to move on to the next step in our lives.  Our “Forever Honeymoon” starts soon.

Thanksgiving, Final Good Byes, and Final Notices

| Alan

As we race toward our rapidly approaching departure date for Italy (which is now just 38 days away) we are trying to spent extra time with family and friends to say our good-byes.  As much as their work and college schedules will allow, we have had lunches and dinners with the local adult children, Sarah, Nick, Casey, Adam, and Adam’s girlfriend Liz. We’ve spent time with friends Kelly, Kathy, Cindy, (another) Kelly, and Echo and Dan.  We realize that in the very near future visiting won’t be so convenient and intercontinental flights back to the States will not be frequent.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving with Tracy’s Aunt Debbie and Uncle Gerry in San Martin, (outside Gilroy) California.  Nineteen people, two Chihuahuas, two Pit Bulls, and one very large and tasty turkey. Along with Tracy’s mom, sister, brother-in-law, aunt, uncle, nieces, and nephews we got to spend time with daughter Danielle, her husband Joe, and granddaughters Lorelei and Lily.  We also visited with son Dirk, his boyfriend Trey, and their “fur baby” Milo the chihuahua.  There was a great traditional Thanksgiving feast, great conversation, and all around fun.

After the Thanksgiving celebration, Tracy headed to Long Beach with her mom, sister, aunt, to meet two Northern California cousins, and one more sister for a farewell “Girls’ Cruise” to Catalina Island and Ensenada on Carnival Cruise Line.  It was a chance for Tracy to spend some final one-on-one time with her family.

I drove back to Reno, with Kiara the microdog in the passenger seat (“Dog is my co-pilot”), to finish out teaching my final semester and to take care of some additional departure details.  I cancelled our post office box which has been my primary mailing address for the last twenty years.  I also gave final notice to our apartment manager to advise her that we will be vacating our apartment New Years Eve.  Our remaining car is listed “for sale” on Craig’s List and we are waiting for an agreeable offer.  Those are a couple more small steps toward cutting loose our remaining ties in the US.

I’m somewhat apprehensive as we continue to cut our domestic links since our visas from the Italian Consulate still haven’t arrived, but we are being bold and proceeding on faith since people request and are granted visas all the time and we believe the documents’ arrival is just a matter of time and patience.

Thanksgiving 2012
Thanksgiving 2012

Fifty Days To Go – Bankers And Final Minimizing

| Alan

During our October appointment to the Italian Consulate General in Los Angeles, Tracy and I signed our visa application in front of a consular officer who also endorsed the application.  However we were also required by the Consulate to submit three additional documents before they would process the application.  The Consulate wanted a copy of our marriage certificate, a notarized letter of why we wanted to live in Italy, and a letter of financial solvency from our banker.  The last request seemed very old fashioned since we had already submitted pension statements and account balance print-outs.  I had an image out of  the film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and the Consulate wanting us to go visit Jimmy Stewart down at the Bedford Falls’ Building and Loan office and asking him for a personal letter of reference.  We, like most the people we know, don’t have our very own “Banker.”

We followed-up with an appointment with the manager at our Bank of America branch.  We were surprised to learn that we actually did have our own banker.  Cherye, the branch manager, recognized us as long time patrons of the bank.  She was extremely helpful with getting us the document we needed.  She requested the financial letter from the Bank of America corporate office for us and co-signed the letter when it arrived at the bank branch five days later.  We added the bank letter to the other documents with our previously endorsed visa application and “FedEx’ed” the whole package along with our passports  back to the Consulate for their review.  We are now anxiously waiting for a return FedEx package from the Consulate with our final approval, visas, and passports.  We are in “hurry up and wait,” mode.  Although we can only apply for the formal visa a maximum of  90 days prior to scheduled departure, the Consulate does not provide a time estimate for processing and final decision.

Our efforts on minimizing “stuff” is going well.  Tracy and my goal is to downsize our personal possessions and move to Italy with only two suitcases and a carry-on bag each that contain all our clothing, computers, Kindles (in place of books), and cameras. (The dog has her own carry-on bag to ride in.)  We went through our wardrobes and reduced our clothing to just 10 outfits each, coat, and shoes.  Our son Nicholas, who is a similar height and build as me, made off with several suits, shirts, slacks, ties, and jackets from my closet.  Tracy has been copying our legal and financial records along with family photographs by scanning them into digital files while saving them to external hard drives.  She has already “ripped” all of our DVD movies into digital files so we can have some English language entertainment while abroad.

We put the Smart Car Cabriolet, our last vehicle, up for sale on Craig’s List. We wanted to get the car on the market before the upcoming holiday season diminishes the cash flow of potential buyers. The Smart car is our last “big” possession that we need to divest ourselves from.  After owning minivans, station wagons, and family sedans because of raising eight kids, I really enjoyed the last few years of having a “ragtop” two-seater and driving with the wind and sun in my face.  But getting rid of the car is a final step for making the move and transitioning on to the next big step in our lives.

Alan driving Smart car