Our travel from Nashville, TN through Detroit, MI and on to Incheon International Airport in South Korea
We were told to arrive at 4:30 am so the dogs could be checked in. Originally, the airlines planned for the puppies to take an earlier flight to make transitioning easier for them in Detroit. So we left my parents' house around 1:30 am. After 3 hours of driving, we were pretty tired before we even started, but we were all in good spirits! I had accomplished packing everything I wanted!!
We double checked all the bags' weight using a bathroom scale the night before. My husband weighed himself and then picked up each bag. We marked each bag's weight so we would know which bags we could put heavier stuff in if we needed to shuffle stuff.
The scale at the airport became our best friend to ensure our bags didn't weigh more than 70 pounds each. The Army authorized us to bring 4 bags weighing up to 70 pounds for each of us, so we had 8 bags with us! That is a lot of stuff! But somehow having more stuff makes me feel more prepared ;)
I do not recommend using this mentality, but I definitely am glad I packed things like laundry power packs and dryer sheets, since we were able to do laundry at the hotel. Small things add up if you have to pay the convenience prices.
Note: Make sure you spread out items between suitcases, so if any of them take a detour or get lost in transit, you will still have all the necessities.
Then we checked in the dogs and were told that it might not be warm enough in Detroit, MI for them to fly our dogs with us that day. For more information about traveling with our dogs, see the post labeled "Traveling with Furbabies"
So we waited...
And waited...
Thankfully, we were able to keep checking on them and reassuring them throughout the wait.
And came up with a backup plan - parents would take dogs home, I would fly back in a month or two to visit and fly the dogs with me to Korea then.
(Since it costs about $800 per dog to fly them by themselves, it made more sense for me to get an extra visit back to the States if the dogs couldn't fly right then.
It took them a long time to decide it would be warm enough to take the dogs, but finally they did and we were able to check our bags! Delta did everything they could to make it possible for us to take our dogs. We just pestered a little ;)
Note: We asked friends and neighbors for old suitcases they could get rid of by posting on facebook our need for them. We needed 8 suitcases, which is a lot to purchase when we won't need them again for 2 years! Our friends and family came through, so we only had to purchase 1 cheap suitcase (course, that suitcase arrived without one wheel, so you get what you pay for). Also, we tied a matching piece of ribbon on each bag so we'd remember which bags were ours and attached laminated cards with our end-address and our sponsor's phone number to help our bags arrive in the right place! Worked great! All our bags arrived together!
And definitely use bags with wheels! Makes life so much easier!
So we moved on to the Starbucks coffee lounge and enjoyed chatting and relaxing until it was about an hour and a half from our flight time.
My husband was definitely enjoying himself...can't you tell?
Finally it was close enough to our flight time for us to go ahead through security. We waved goodbye to my parents and went on through. I traveled in boat shoes (like Sperrys) so I could slip my shoes off for security and still wear socks! It was cold! Also, the amount of fluids you can take has increased so check how much the airports say soon before you fly. Last thing, make sure your laptop is accessible as it will have to be taken out of your bag to be sent through security. Tablets and eReaders do not have to be taken out.
So we got through security and found our gate with plenty of time to spare, so we had a bite to eat before our flight from Nashville to Detroit. Delta gave me a slip of paper saying both dogs were on board! I didn't expect that, but I was really relieved to know they were definitely on board!
The flight was less than two hours long with drinks and pretzels or peanuts. Pretty standard...no complaints!
We barely had time to run through the Detroit Airport and make it to our next flight. We ended up having time to spare. I definitely worried about whether the dogs would make it onto our flight!
We also taped our information - where we were headed - on each of the dog's crates.
I would definitely suggest packing as lightly as possible to make it easier to move between flights and be able to put your things under the seat. Our international flight was maxed out on cabin storage, so many people with bigger bags/backpacks had to check their bags at the ramp. And then they had to wait for them when they disembarked before going to baggage claim.
They had so little time between flights that they had to de-ice the plain with all the passengers already on-board.
Flying out of Detroit was cold, but sunny!
The curvature of the earth looks so amazing from up here!!
Here was our flight path!
We flew Delta, who now owns/manages Korean Air.
The meal was actually really good! Pasta, bread, salad, crackers and cheese, and cinnamon cookies.
And drinks were complementary and offered often throughout the flight - including alcoholic beverages!
I definitely enjoyed some wine during the flight.
Also, there were a ton of movies available to watch throughout the flight. I packed movies and my laptop in my carryon, thinking I would have to entertain myself throughout the flight, but I didn't even need them!
We would arrive in Korea around 7 pm so I knew I didn't want to sleep the whole flight and arrive unable to get to sleep that night.
Didn't need to worry about that, since it was very difficult for me to get to sleep even though the seats reclined some! I definitely should have brought that pillow I had that wraps around your neck -- yeah I took that out of my bag in favor of other things...sad. Oh well! Lesson learned!
Note: Personally, I enjoyed wearing soft, flexible pants (like workout pants) versus jeans on this long flight. I tried both during the flight. Get up and move around a lot too! This plane even had an upstairs! It was sooo cool to see that! There was more first class seating up there. I was so jealous...they have seats that lay all the way down and are angled so you have privacy and plenty of legroom. Not sure I could ever actually spend that much on flights though ;)
Each seat had a tv screen that could be used to watch movies, listen to music, or even track our flight.
Finally, the flight indicator showed us coming into Incheon!! 13 hours and 30 minutes later!
Incheon International Airport
We had no idea where we were going, so we just followed the crowd and that turned out perfect!
A couple escalators, moving sidewalks and a train later, and we arrived at baggage claim.
Customs was super easy! I had to show them my passport - they said I would have to change my visa status to be able to stay in the country past 90 days. Apparently, I need to get a SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) stamp and everything will be fine! Husband had to show military paperwork.
I will warn you - each cart at this airport can only hold about 3 suitcases and is difficult to push with one hand - there is a lever you must hold down for the cart to move. Carts are free to use though!
You can imagine how we looked trying to get around with 8 suitcases, 2 dog crates, 2 backpacks and my purse! I'm sure we were amusing to watch! A lot of people enjoyed meeting our puppies.
After picking up the puppies, we only had to turn in a sheet of paper for declarations and head to the Army desk near the exit. They arranged for a bus to take us to Yongsan and the Dragon Hill Lodge.
Overall, it was a test from start to finish, but husband and I stayed in good humor and relied on God's strength to weather the storms!
