It occurred to me last night that I didn’t blog about the trip down to Costa Rica from Seattle/Tacoma.  I want to do that now.

 

As you know, I gave Charli gabapentin the night before we flew, and then at about noon on September 3rd, the day we flew.

 

By the time the second dose was due, Lisa was with me. We witnessed Charli getting a little unstable and goofy, but it was so minor a change that I wasn’t sure she’d be sedated enough to weather the ride to the airport without becoming stressed.

 

And indeed, as we began the trip to the airport, she didn’t appear sufficiently sedated. She emitted little sounds of alarm, but they weren’t banshee-level by any means (her usual response to riding in a vehicle).  So, I felt pretty sure that if she remained that sedated, the airline would have no problem accepting her as a cabin passenger.

 

Well!  By the time we got to the airport, Charli was well and truly “gone-goes.” She was so well sedated that Lisa grew a little concerned that the dose had been too big.  Charli’s eyes were open but she wasn’t blinking at all!

 

So, after I checked luggage in and got our ticket to ride, we went to find some place where we could run a little wellness check on mi gatito dulce (my sweet little kitty).  I reached in from the top of her carrier and checked her heart rate and temperature. Those all checked out okay.

 

Lisa and I took turns watching the carry on and Charli while the other used the restroom at Sea-Tac.  Then we looked regretfully at the security checkpoint and  realized that it was beginning to get crowded, and decided that Charli and I should be on our way, even though Lisa wasn’t allowed beyond that point. (We asked.  We were denied.)

 

So, we had to quickly hug and say our goodbyes. There wasn’t even time  to cry. But it broke our hearts. Lisa is my best friend in the  entire world — family included. And I am hers.

 

As she headed back to her vehicle and I headed through security, my eyes welled up. I could barely see my hands or Charli’s carrier. It will be five months before I see her and can hug her again. An eternity.

 

But I console myself knowing that when she flies down, every second will be quality time: we won’t just be shopping together briefly once a week and chasing other moments to meet and snatch a meal or conversations. We will have at least a week — hopefully more! — to spend together without her crammed to-do list interfering. (Lisa works two jobs, brutal hours, in addition to developing an ecommerce site which she hopes will allow her to establish a less-frantic way to make a decent living. I will tell you about it when it launches so you can help her do that. Her offerings are hysterically funny and you will love them!)

 

I got through security okay except that the screener insisted that I remove all electronic devices from my precisely-packed carry-on. That took at least ten minutes to dig through and extract my Kindle, portable charger, translation devices, laptop speakers, and more so I could place them in a separate bin to go through the screener.

 

Then, they insisted that I remove Charli from her  carrier and carry her through the body scanner with me so they could scan her carrier separately. In a way, that was good because I was able to determine that she was super calm; she nestled against my shoulder and didn’t offer even a peep.

 

After we got through the screening and I put Charli back in her carrier, I had to re-pack the carry-on again in such a way as to make sure it would fit into the space allowed by the airline, which was quite the task. It had to be 9″ wide laid on its side, and there seemed to be only one packing configuration that would pass muster in that regard.

 

So, I spent another fifteen minutes repacking the carry-on.  And not once did anyone question its size. Crazy!

 

Charli and I spent the next 2-plus hours just vegging at our gate. Fortunately, our gate wasn’t very far past the screening place, or I would have died trying to carry the carry on great distances.  But I did walk past our gate quite a way before I realized that it was as close as it was, so I had quite the workout anyway at Sea-Tac. The carry-on weighed at least 35 pounds! Add Charli to that on the other arm, and I was probably packing close to 45 pounds around the airport!

 

After I settled into a chair and placed Charli’s carrier on the seat next to me, I looked around at fellow travelers and first responder-type airport personnel, trying to ascertain which ones looked likeliest to be willing to watch my cat and carry-on while I put water in my thermos and visited the bathroom again just ahead of the first flight we would be taking.

 

I struck up a conversation with a black man who was waiting for a friend to arrive from Thailand. He happily watched while I filled up my thermos with water. Not long after, he headed out, so I looked around for another another amenable, friendly face. I found a young lady and the first  responder dudes, so I knew I’d be okay when I needed to visit the bathroom again. And I was!

 

When it was time to board, Charli and I were in Group 2, so we boarded almost right away.

 

I found myself with an empty seat next to me, so I placed Charli under that seat so I would have legroom during the flight.

 

The flight from Sea-Tac to San Francisco took ten minutes less time than scheduled, so I had a full two hours in SF to get from where  we disembarked to the international travel gate where we needed to end up.  It would have taken every minute of that two hours had I not come up with a plan to get my anvil-weighted carry-on from hither to yon.

 

There were no luggage carts within either of the security areas of the airports, so passengers were expected to carry their carry-on from gate to gate. Since the walk from where I was to where we needed to be was slated to take 12 minutes (by an unencumbered passenger!), I knew I’d never make it packing 45 pounds.  So I asked an airline attendant if I could get a wheelchair. I figured  I’d put my luggage and Charli in the seat and push it to the next gate. Problem solved!

 

BUT!  They couldn’t turn me loose with one of their wheelchairs. They could, however, get me a wheelchair-assigned airport helper as long as I agreed to sit in the chair while he wheeled me and my luggage across the vast gulf between where we were and where we needed to be.

 

So, I got into the wheelchair, feeling like a compete fraud, and a kind gentleman wheeled me down endless corridors to our next gate. I paid him $20 for his service. He earned it!  It took more than 12 minutes because of other traffic in the corridors, and because he wasn’t in any hurry. (He was middle aged or older.) He said he does this all day long and usually puts in well over twenty miles every day! GADS!

 

We got to the departing gate about 55 minutes before boarding time and another wheelchair attendant took over. (Because see, now I’m officially “disabled” in their vernacular and I have to play the part all the way to the plane!) When pre-boarding was called for travelers with children and people with physical challenges, I was wheeled to the door of the plane, where I got out of my wheelchair and carried the carry-on and Charli to our assigned seat.

 

The airline, recognizing how few people were going to be on the flight, decided to give me all three seats so Charli could be under any of the three  seats during takeoff and landing and then sit in her carrier on a seat next to me during the flight. That gave me all kinds of leeway to get very comfortable and even catch some shut-eye on the way down during the 6.5 hour flight.

 

When the stewards came by to offer dinner, I chose a beef option. Charli sat up then and mewed, looking very interested in my meal, so I offered her a taste but she declined, so I thought maybe it was the chicken meals that were piquing her interest so I asked if they would be able to bring me some leftovers of chicken after the passengers had eaten their fill.  The steward smiled and disappeared, then came back with a full chicken meal (cookies, salad and all!) for Charli! I was floored!!!

 

Well, Charli still wasn’t taking any, so I ended up eating two meals, salads and desserts because I had opened it and felt bad that the steward had gone out of his way for a kitty who decided she really wasn’t that all-fired hungry after all! (Hey, the meals were small. Don’t judge! LOL!)

 

Our flight to CR from SF was uneventful. A little bumpy in places, so the seatbelt signs were on some of the way but not enough to concern me, even though I had eaten two portions of their inflight meals!

 

When we  landed in Costa Rica and disembarked, getting through the customs line was easy enough. Although the regulations stated that I had to show a return ticket from CR to the States and I didn’t have one, as the  airline doesn’t issue them until the return flight happens, the screener there stamped my passport allowing me 180 days in the country and let me pass through. That was a relief!

 

A wonderful Tico gentleman who was more than middle-aged hauled my two big bags of luggage off the conveyor belt and loaded them and my carryon and Charli onto a large cart. He then escorted me through Charli’s customs.  I had to leave Charli’s paperwork with them, but that was all.  After that, we were free and clear to navigate.

 

As we proceeded down the corridor toward the exit to the airport, I was on the lookout for the driver who was slated to fetch me, but I didn’t see anyone carrying a sign with my name on it.  (Heavy traffic delayed his arrival.)

 

I tried calling Laurie Barron from my phone, but because I didn’t have a CR SIM card or for some other reason, I couldn’t get through to her.  I asked a nearby airport attendant in Spanish if he spoke  English and he shook his head no but then said, “Un momento!” and he fetched another gentleman who did.

 

I explained my dilemma, so he used his phone to call Laurie and she called the driver, who let her know he had just arrived at the airport and that he would look for me.  We connected soon thereafter.

 

His name was/is Jonathan Hidalgo. He’s bilingual so we chatted all the way to Villas Escondidas.  He told me about the best places to see sights and I asked if he was available to drive people around to see the ones he recommended most.  He is, so I got his information on WhatsApp and have been staying in touch ever since. When Lisa flies down perhaps we will take him up on his kind offer to drive us to La Fortuna and other wonderful places in CR.

 

Jonathan told me he lives in the El Cajon area of Grecia so I asked him about it, since two of the rentals I want to look at are located there.  He says it’s a wonderful neighborhood with both ticos and expats who will welcome me with open arms.  That was immensely reassuring! He also said he will keep an eye open for additional rentals and tell me about any he hears of that are within my frugal budget. What a guy!

 

When we got to Villas Escondidas, I was welcomed by Laurie Barron with open arms, followed later by her wife Melaney Phillips, who was away when I got in. And you know all the rest.

 

I joined them for dinner in the cabana that evening and met several other wonderful people that first night: Gayle from Utah;  Ms. Morgan from Ashland Oregon, and Charlotte from who knows where (I will find out!). I felt immediately welcome and included.

 

And now  you’re caught up with my ENTIRE journey from Tacoma WA to this very day. Thank you again for following my adventures via this blog. I enjoy keeping you in the loop and greatly appreciate the many kind words and emojis you’ve posted whenever I post these to my Facebook page.

 

You’re the best!