Baltimore to Italy

October 8-9, 2013

Dustin showed true brilliance when he booked our flights to Italy with an overnight lay-over in Baltimore. We left Biloxi at 9am and arrived in Baltimore at about 2:30 in the afternoon. We had to take care of ALL our stuff and the dog, which was a huge undertaking, but the break was worth every penny. We relaxed in the hotel, went swimming, visited the outlet mall, and enjoyed a quintessential American meal of burgers, fries, and chocolate shakes. At 6:00 in the evening on the 8th we reported to the military airport gate in Baltimore. We got in line and when we got the front, the guy at the counter told us we didn't have the right type of orders. WHAT?!! So we spent the next two hours trying to get people back to work in Biloxi to help us fix the problem. After lots and lots of anxiety and anger we figured out on our own that we DID have the right paperwork. The TSGT behind the desk was WRONG. Of course he wouldn't admit it even as we were printed our boarding passes with minutes to spare. Oh,  it's a good thing I have a strong heart and Dustin has loads of patience! We traveled all night, to Ramstein Air Force Base where we unloaded and met up with Missy who we took outside for some potty time. Then we were on the plane again and headed to Italy. It was just an hour flight and we arrived at Aviano on October 9th. In keeping with the pattern of difficulty this move has given us, no one was there to meet us. It was the icing on the cake to arrive extremely tired in a foreign country with no car, no help, no food, and no where to sleep. Someone from another squadron saw us wandering around and helped us get in contact with someone from the squadron. Someone finally came, well after dark, and got us to the TLF, made sure they had room for us, then took Dustin to the shoppette for some food. After we ate, we hit the sack ready to wake up to our new life in Italy!