NJ Trip Recap

Thursday before we left we went shopping to get a few last minute items for the trip. Journey went with me and was beyond amazing. On the way to check out a box of ziplocks fell from the cart and Journey picked them up for me.

At the checkout the cashier dropped a pack clean wipes and I asked him to get them and he looked at me, and I laughed and called him a jerk for not picking it up, as I turned to get something else from the cart. The cashier laughed and said that as soon as I said that, he turned around and picked it up. When I turned back he held it for me and got lots of praise.



The trip to JFK in NY went very smoothly. Neither of the dogs were very phased by any of it. Getting through security was pretty painless. I let them know the dogs had metal on their collars and vests and would set off the detector, which they did. They did a physical search and we waited for stuff to go through the x-ray. One of the security people was afraid of dogs, and she was staying far back as she could laughing the whole time. She said "They're beautiful but I am terrified of 'em!" Which the other security people thought was hilarious.

Waiting at the gate we had lots of people curious about the dogs being there. We were among the first to board and were in the first row. Got the dogs settled and got comfy, had a brief delay before we took off. Only time the dogs were remotely concerned was during takeoff and landing, but that was more because of the incline and angle change when the "floor tilted" even though we were just sitting still. They quickly relaxed and were perfect during the entire flight. Once we landed at JFK, we got a ton of compliments from everyone as they departed the plane, saying how calm and amazingly well behaved and quiet they'd been for their first flight, even for  working dogs.


While there, I had a chance to see some good friends I hadn't seen in years. Went out to Long Island to see Naryu and had sushi and ice creams and visited. Then headed back across the island to meet up with my friend Sherry and her husband and visited and did a lot of catching up. I got a chance to give her a gift I had been waiting a long time to give; a painting of her beloved dog who had passed away many years ago.

Back when I did a commission for her of her mother's dog, I had asked for an image of hers too. She had totally forgotten about it and got all teary eyed when she realized what it was.  After that, we went to another part of Long Island to meet with my friend Sharon and her guy. It was a blast catching up with them because they are a lot like Mike and I, and we all used to work together. We had dinner and sat and talked. During the visit I learned a few new photography tricks for low light situations which made me happy squeeee. I really wish we would have had longer to visit with everyone, and it wasn't all crammed into one day.

The following day we went into NJ metro area down by the river, to visit with my friend Jen, who kept Ash ( the cat she was fostering for me ) when we left New York. It was so wonderful to see her again, and nice to meet her boyfriend, who was really nice. I brought Ash a plethora of toys and good catnip. She was delighted in the way only Ash can be delighted and she wallered and did silly things. I gave her tons of love ( as much as she'd tolerate, she's a one person cat ). She's looking great and the love between her and Jen is very obvious. I really wish we would have had more time and not been so far away driving wise so we could have visited multiple times.

During the visit we had a chance to go to the winery that makes Carroll's Mead or the Renn Faire. I was only originally going to buy two bottles ( as that's all I thought I could safely make it home with in luggage ), but thanks to change in travel plans I lucked out and got a whole case of honey heaven. I'm not a drinker by any means, but that stuff is soooooo good and so wonderful to cook with.


A few things happened during the trip that made things a bit meh, but overall everything was good. We had a great time and it was nice to see everyone up there, most of all getting to spend time with Mike.  I brought him his birthday gift, and at the same time surprised his mother and step father and little brother with gifts of their own. I painted portraits of their dogs Starr and CJ, who passed away a few years ago from old age. They had those dogs as long as Mike and I have been together, they were both awesome. I wanted to give the in-laws something nice to remember them by, and they were very touched by the paintings.  His little brother got an Oriental Dragon figure and some goodies to play and bond with his cat, and later I got him a Grumpy Cat stuffed figure. Because, Grumpy Cat!

I was originally only supposed to be in NJ for 2 weeks. Unfortunately what ended up happening is Mike getting forced from part-time to full time on very little notice and his entire shift changed, including days off. When we planned the trip, he was only part time and expected to stay that way till after I went home.  Needless to say, come time for me to return, we had only had 4 total days to spend together that he hadn't been working. Everything worked out by my family wishing me to have more time to spend with him, and my aunt was okay watching the cats longer. So we changed my return flight and I ended up staying through till the end of the month.  Originally I was supposed to fly home, but health concerns determined otherwise. So instead, I had to cancel the flight and book a rental car to drive home.  There was some mild drama with the car rental, but that was overcome.

The drive home wasn't bad at all. I found nice hotels along the way where people were very nice, including staying at one in Roanoke/Salem Virginia. I couldn't help giggling at the names despite them not being related to either.  About halfway through we started to hit some inclement weather. We found out that a winter blast storm was coming down fast and had we changed anything about the travel, we would have gotten stuck in icy and possibly snow conditions. Somehow we managed to stay juuust ahead of the storm front and got far enough south of the effected area just in time to where it was too warm to freeze by nightfall.

It was really nice to finally get back to New Orleans. The cats were surprised at first, then elated and extra cuddly. They got lots of love and treats.

I really enjoyed the trip. and now that I have a jetBlue credit I have to use within a year, I am looking forward to a chance to go back very soon!