Started the day by placing our clips on our chairs to save the chairs while we ate breakfast. Allan noticed the umbrella was broken so we moved our clips down to the next two vacant chairs.
We come back from breakfast only to find two people sitting in our chairs and they had moved our clips to the broken umbrella chairs. They looked sheepish and Allan loudly said that someone had moved our clips. I was done and didn’t want to confront them so we just left. As we left Allan heard the girl say to the guy… they know it was us. Unbelievable. This is the third time people have taken liberty with our chairs. We mentioned it to the hospitality people and they said to tell them and the pool people will always secure a chair for us since we are club level. Wish we had known that from day 1.
We walked the beach and had a lovely morning and then picked up our photo from the photo shoot. Afterwards we went to the loyalty center and booked another vacation for next year since we were able to get perks and also change the booking into 2028 if we wanted to.
We had lunch at a restaurant right at the ocean and I enjoyed mahi mahi.
We chatted with our tour guide from yesterday and he will be giving us a $100 refund for the tour we took yesterday since it definitely wasn’t what was depicted in the description.
We went to the Martini tasting and I had my first Cosmo. Too sweet. Give me a dirty martini any day. We chatted with the couple that we met a few nights ago and had a fun time.
Then it was off to the Japanese restaurant for dinner. It was like Benihana and we had a lot of fun. Two couples were celebrating their honeymoon and we enjoyed talking with them. The one girl told me she wished I was her mother in law. Awww…. And one couple who had their kids with them…turns out the guy was from Queens so it was fun talking about NY pizza and bagels. We drank saki and wine and it was a good thing the shuttle came to take us back to our room. (Hiccup!)
My margarita for lunch overlooking the ocean.
Our free photo from the photo shoot.
Kimonos restaurant. He actually set off the fire alarm.
Interesting day. We had booked a tour thru Viator…””Rum tasting and Caribbean food”. What a disappointment. And it was a pricey tour!
We started out being picked up in a van at around 9 am and another couple was already in the van. We all went for the included breakfast and had a nice light meal of salted cod in homemade buns. We also had a very thick drink made with spices and tea leaves. I had to add a lot of sugar because it was rather bitter, and I still didn’t finish it. It was very thick almost like hot cocoa but tasted terrible.
After breakfast we visited a rum distillery and took a short tour and then did a tasting of as many rums as we wanted to taste, of which there must have been 20 choices. Most of them were very good, especially the spice ones.
We stopped at another area where we sampled homemade flavored rums. They were really delicious…pineapple, herb, rosemary, garlic, ginger, papaya, and so many more. They were all infused with fruit or herbs and were very tasty.
We went to a road side store and sampled small tastes of different condiments and from there we went to lunch at someone’s home which consisted of….(wait for it…) salted cod. Again!
We traveled to a farm and had to cross a stream barefoot to get there. No one told us until the day before to bring water shoes. It wasn’t in the tour description when I booked the tour.
While I was trying to navigate the stream in bare feet over the rocks, our driver marched across wearing heavy boots. I raised my voice from the middle of the stream and said “Hello??? A little help here would be nice!” He reluctantly came back over and offered his arm. Geesh!!
Once across the stream, we sampled some fruits, cocoa seeds, and drank coconut water. The cocoa seeds you just suck on and you don’t actually bite into them. They have to be dried first to taste like chocolate. The coconut water was much better than yesterday and I enjoyed drinking it.
Then some man on the farm roasted cashews for us. Apparently, raw cashews contain urushiol, a resin that is toxic if ingested. To remove this substance, cashews must go through a rigorous roasting process to ensure they are safe to eat. This is why you will always see cashews shelled at the grocery store. Who knew!
The man roasted the cashews and since the resin is flammable, he has to stay at the cauldron, stirring it constantly to keep the fire that lunges up, at bay.
Then we crossed back over the stream, barefoot, and our driver drove us back to the resort, while pounding Caribbean music played on his radio. Usually that music is restful and mild. Not so with what he was playing. I thought I’d blow my brains out!
All in all, even though we drank rum, the tour definitely wasn’t what was promised in the description. So, I decided to tell them and ask for some remuneration.
This is what I wrote to the person who runs the tour:
“This tour was overpriced since we definitely didn’t experience most of what was in the tour description. No grilled pork, no blood pudding, no local sides, and no local beverages. We were offered water during the drive.. we thought a tropical rum drink might be offered. We never stopped at a banana plantation and only tasted half of a banana at the farm at the end of the tour. We never tasted fish fritters or stewed pork, plantain chips, ginger fudge, or tamarind balls, all of which again was in the tour description . At Tony’s place we never toured the farm as promised, just tasted a few pieces of fruit, and to get there we had to cross over a river. That was mentioned in the description, but nowhere did it say to bring water shoes. We weren’t told to bring water shoes until the morning of the tour and we had not brought water shoes with us from home. Crossing over rocks in bare feet was not what we were expecting. We tasted the same salt cod fish for both breakfast AND lunch and an American salad was served with lunch along with a small glass of local beverage. No Caribbean sides as again promised in the tour description. Disappointing. I wish we could get part of our money back since so many things in the tour description on your site were not experienced. We didn’t have any guide we were expecting to have, who would have told us about St. Lucia, and instead, had a driver who was not interested in talking at all.”
We got back to our resort in time to shower and go to a wine tasting. We again met a couple we had met last night at the pub and enjoyed tasting wine with them. We met a young couple as well and offered them our bottle of champagne from yesterday which they were very happy to receive.
Then we went to La Toc for dinner and sat next to a lovely young couple from Norway. We had the best time chatting with them and they gave us some useful information on Norway for when we go there.
While we were in the restaurant, the tour person in charge of booking our tour today, wrote me back and said he was willing to give me $80 back through PayPal because we were so dissatisfied with the tour. He also said that the restaurant that served most of the Caribbean foods we were to enjoy, closed last year. I wrote back and said…Then update your site!!! How would we ever know that… and had we known, we would not have booked the tour if most of the Caribbean foods were not being offered!!
Unbelievable!
We saw Ray again tonight at dinner and she made a big fuss over us. She said she was thrilled I ran up to her at last night’s party to hug her. (Meanwhile, after thinking about it, I’m thankful no one tackled me when I ran up to her… thinking I had a gun or something!). 😂😳🤪
We had a nice breakfast and then went to the pool. We had put huge clips on the chairs to stake out our chairs and we clipped our towels to them before we went to eat and they were there when we returned. We sat at the pool for a while and it started to rain so we left the towels and clips and went back to the room.
When the rain stopped we went back to our chairs and we see someone’s bag with shoes and a pocketbook under our towel. WTH??? Again?????
I sat down while Allan got us a drink and the people came back. I said… ummm…didn’t you see the brightly colored clips attached to the towels which means…these are our chairs!!???? They didn’t say anything. Just took their stuff and left.
I find it unbelievable that people just don’t care. They hope you won’t be back for a while and in the meantime, they’ll use the chairs. One of the staff told Allan, people do it all the time even though it isn’t right.
“ We’re gonna need a bigger ‘clip’!” (Jaws quote. Sorta!)😂😂😂
We had lunch and sat by the pool until it was time for our photo shoot. Ray came over to chat for a while with us and she asked if we were going to the manager’s party. We said of course and she said they are mentioning the head staff at the party and she said to me… when they mention my name, come up and give me a hug. I said I’ll do better than that. And I did my two finger whistle for her. She was impressed.
Our photographer Kwame was adorable and he did a great job posing us. The staff do not accept tips. When we told him how old we are he couldn’t believe it. He kept saying you both look so much younger. It was nice to know he really meant it since there was no tip involved.
When we came back to our room to get ready for the party we were invited to, there was a bucket of champagne on ice waiting for us. We’re not sure who sent it. It might have been Ray or maybe they sent it to all returning guests who were invited to the party.
The party was really wonderful! You can see from the picture of the menu that they went all out. They introduced the staff and when Ray’s name was mentioned, of course, I ran up and hugged her.
We sat with two other couples and also a staff member, Pat, who works at the loyalty area to book future trips. We had great conversations all night and really enjoyed the food. We are seriously thinking of meeting with Pat to book another Sandals vacation for the future.
We were given a bottle of rum as a gift and all in all, it was a lovely evening.
We see the cruise ships coming and going from our balcony.
We’re gonna need a bigger clip!!
Our clips are much bigger than they look in the pic.
We saw two huge cruise ships sail into the harbor this morning and I could watch them sail by as I showered. It’s a pretty neat idea to have the window in the shower looking out over the water.
We went down to the pool area that overlooks the ocean and staked out two chairs. The chairs are plentiful but it seems people grab them early and keep them for the day. The chairs we took faced the crashing waves of the ocean with the pool behind us, so a rather perfect spot.
We had breakfast and then spent the morning reading and lounging at the ocean. It’s a perfect day… Warm with a beautiful breeze.
We went back to the room to call the photo place to arrange for our free photo shoot and from our balcony, Allan spotted someone in the chair we had staked out. (The staff at the resort told us if you find a chair, put something on it and it’s yours for the day. Of course we wouldn’t keep it for the whole day, but if you want to go to lunch or get a drink, you should be able to save your chair.)We had clothes-pinned our towels with big bright clips to our chairs, so we were surprised someone would sit in one. We made our phone call, and went back down to the pool. The girl was sitting there and I said “I think you’re in my chair”!
My mind went back to our Panama canal trip when I got up early in the morning to save chairs for Allan, myself, and our friends, so that we had front row seats going through the canal. Hours later, but still early morning, a Canadian woman comes and starts arguing and telling me I couldn’t save chairs. (She didn’t know I was a Queens NYC girl and was already fantasizing about her being tossed overboard… By me, because she was now annoying me!) I told her “I can save chairs… and I did!” Now she’s yelling at me and pulling my chairs away. I’m holding on to them for dear life…when suddenly, all the other people who got up at 5 with me to save chairs for friends and family started telling the lady… “Leave her chairs alone. If you wanted chairs… You should have gotten up early like we did!” YES!! Victory!! The lady hung her head and slunk away. So I was hoping not to have to toss this girl, who was sitting in my chair, into the ocean for taking a chair that obviously belonged to someone else. But she meekly stood up and said sorry and walked away. Nice try sweetie…but no dice!
We stayed at the pool and had a drink and then went back to our room to get ready for lunch. Allan spotted from our balcony, a guy cutting and serving coconuts, so we went down to check it out. He wielded the machete like a pirate, cut the coconut top off, shaved the bottom, stuck a straw in and we added the rum. The coconuts are green and have not ripened yet, so the water inside is not sweet. It was okay… but not very tasty. I prefer the ripened coconuts. They say the coconut water is healthy so I guess I got my vitamins… along with the rum. (Does the rum cancel out the vitamins??? Who knows! )
We decided to have pizza for lunch. We ordered Margherita pizzas and they said it would be about 15 minutes and to take a seat at one of the tables and they’d bring the pizzas to us. We waited for quite a long time and finally Allan went up to see where the pizzas were. They were in the warming oven. No one brought them to us. We opened the box and saw that the pizzas were not the margherita ones we are used to. I don’t think they know about basil. I took one slice and thought it was pretty awful so I didn’t eat it. Allan didn’t think his was that bad. Since I was still hungry, we went over to the main restaurant and I had a delicious salad.
We went to the quiet pool for an hour and then went to the bar for a drink. Allan went to get cookies and came back and said there was an event going on at the pool so off we went to check it out. They were giving out drinks and also tickets to win prizes. One of the guys gave me a ticket and lo and behold… my ticket number was the first called.
I won a saucer and kind of urn with a lid from the gift shop. It probably is used for bath salts that could be put by a tub, but could be used for anything I guess. Allan happened to go by the gift shop and he saw another one on the shelf. The cost: About $100 if you were to purchase the whole ensemble – saucer and urn.
While we were there, Ray from yesterday went by and hugged me and insisted I take a photo with her. She says if we need anything, just let her know. She’s so sweet and it’s nice to have a staff member looking out for you.
Had dinner at the English pub. They have Guinness which I enjoyed and Allan had a Shiraz. Allan ordered the fish and chips and the fish was trout so I passed on that thinking it might be fishy, but Allan said it wasn’t. I had a really good burger.
We chatted with another couple who said that someone told them that the Sandals in Grenada is really good. Might be something to investigate for the future.
It’s Carnival night and the steel drums are playing. Love listening to them. Then, while the music played, finished off the day with a nice warm soak in the soaking tub on the balcony. So glad we opted for that extra.
You can see the ocean thru the shower window in this pic.
Before going to bed last night, had a lovely soak in the tub on the balcony. It is spacious and very relaxing and nice after a full day of travel.
We slept great and took a shower in the walk-in shower which is really very nice and roomy. There is a window that looks out into the room and you can see the ocean as you shower.
And then it was off for a bite to eat, but before we did, we got towels at the pool and clipped them to a lounge chair to stake out a place to sit. We went to the buffet which had all the usual offerings and after breakfast, Allan went back to the room to get his kindle and I walked over to sit in the lounge chair. That lasted two seconds!!! My entire bottom was soaked!! Apparently, the pads on the chairs don’t drain and since it poured yesterday, they were filled with water. I’m not sure why they use those kinds of pads on the chairs. They are very comfy since they are padded, but not the best after a rain. I went back to the room to change and hang my wet shorts and undies on the rack and since we have a balcony, I’m sure they will dry quickly. As I was standing on the balcony, one of the Sandals employees was walking by and waved and I waved back. More to come on that.
We took the orientation tour and found out a few new things we didn’t know and we found out where all the restaurants, etc. were located. The guide gave us all a choice of drinks to enjoy while we walked. Allan is very happy that they have single malt scotch at most of the bars, but he opted for a red wine. I’m just happy with the margaritas. Before we knew it, it was lunchtime.
Everyday the theme changes for lunch at the buffet and today it was British food. Allan was hoping for bangers and mash, but no luck. He tried a few other options and he said they were good, especially the Welsh meatballs. I had a huge and delicious salad.
We went to the quiet pool and did some reading and I took a dip in the water. It was nice and warm once you got in. The ocean was off limits because the water was a bit rough so they flew the red flag. We had a drink and then went back to the room to shower to get ready to go to the wine tasting event.
Unfortunately, we received a phone call that the wine tasting was postponed till Wednesday, so Allan and I went for a glass of wine on our own and then took the shuttle to the Italian restaurant Armando’s. The shuttles come very frequently and it’s a great way to get around.
While we were waiting for the shuttle, a Sandals employee came over to talk to us. While we were talking she said I saw you today on the balcony. I remember your beautiful white hair and those eyes. Don’t know how she saw my eyes from a floor below but it was sweet of her. Her name is Ray.
Dinner was stellar. We sat outside and watched the sunset. I had a delicious appetizer and lamb chops for the main course. Allan had bolognese but he’s picky about his bolognese and he didn’t think it was the best he’s ever had. We were sitting talking and happened to mention Ray and how she had seen me on the balcony. Lo and behold… Ray walks by just as we were talking about her. So freaky! We had another nice chat and hopefully will see her tomorrow.
We went back to the main area to listen to some music and then it was to bed. They were playing 60’s and 70’s at the pool. Perfect way to end the evening.
Sunset at Armando’s
You can look out thru the window in the shower…over the bed …and to the balcony, and see the ocean while you’re showering.
We were up bright and early as the car to take us to the Philly airport arrived at 4:30 am. Our driver Tim was wonderful and he charges significantly less than other car services we’ve used. He will be waiting for us when we return to Philly at midnight in 8 days.
We usually fly from Newark airport and have never flown out of Philly. It was an adventure. Getting our luggage tagged and onto the conveyor belt went fairly quickly and then we had to go through security. They didn’t care if you had TSA pre-check or not so the line was very long. Suddenly a worker came over to us and said to follow him to go to another area that had no long lines. So off we went…following him like little ducks. We walked and walked… and then had to go thru the parking garage. We were like… where the heck is he taking us???? But true to his word, we finally got to where he told us to go and the line was indeed small…mainly because this line DID accept those who had TSA Pre-check. Going through security was great. We didn’t have to take out phones, Kindles, or liquids. Just had to take off our coats so that was wonderful.
We had a small bite to eat in the lounge and then left to go to our gate. The plane was already boarding and as we were going through, the agent noticed we had not signed our passports, so we had to get off the line and take care of that. In our defense, our passports are brand new… first time being used…and we didn’t notice the place for signatures.
We had received an alert from American Airlines that our flight might be delayed because of weather, but the plane arrived on time and the sun was beaming down just as we were getting ready to board the plane.
We arrived in St Lucia and our luggage came quickly. We had already filled out the immigration papers before we left, so we breezed through immigration and went in search of our driver to take us to the resort. Someone right away tried to take our bags saying he was from Sandals, but we said no thanks… just need to find our driver. When he realized he wasn’t going to be tipped for handling our bags, he told us to go through these two doors with “Sandals” in big letters above the frame, but it really looked sketchy. (Been reading and watching too many murder mysteries.). We went through anyway and Viola! We were greeted warmly by the real Sandal’s representatives and they took our bags and we boarded the van to take the 90 minute drive up and down the mountain roads with hairpin turns the whole way. Many times the van was at the edge of the road with a sheer drop. Yikes! Our driver was excellent and we arrived at the resort and checked in. Everything was awaiting us and since we are return guests, we received a lot of perks. Free photo shoot, cocktail and dinner party one evening, wine tasting another night, $50 towards the spa, and a martini night.
The grounds are still decorated for Christmas and everything looks very festive.
Our room is nice and overlooks the ocean. It’s so soothing hearing the waves crashing onto the shore. The room is not as large as the room we had in Antigua at Veranda Resort, but it has plenty of storage and closet space. It has a nice spacious bath with walk-in shower as well. The balcony has a soaking tub with privacy curtains and a table and chairs to enjoy watching the ocean.
We had signed up when booking the room to take advantage of the “Club” category which entitles us to concierge service, so we were able to book the three restaurants that you have to make reservations for without any problems using the concierge.
We were very hungry since we had traveled all day, so we got in the courtesy van to take us to the restaurant Soy. It’s sashimi, sushi, as well as other offerings and it was delicious. We really enjoyed everything and then…we ordered seconds. After dinner, Allan had dessert and I had….another order of traditional rolls. They were that good!
It started to pour but fortunately we were inside the over-hang so we stayed dry.
The courtesy van took us back to the main lobby. Our room isn’t far from the lobby and we are very close to one of the restaurants where breakfast will be served each day.
We had an after dinner drink in the pub and went back to the room to just relax. Tomorrow we’ll go on the tour of the resort.
sunrise in Philly airport
View of pool and ocean from our balcony
The club lounge for a welcome drink
Soaking tub
Our room
A rainbow greeted us
Soy restaurant.
Delicious!
Allan’s dessert
The Christmas lights that are shining all over the resort.
A few years ago, a friend emailed me a poignant story about a man who was playing his violin in the Washington Metro on January 12, 2007. Everyone passed him by as they rushed on to work and went about their business. A few passerbys tossed some coins into the till but kept on walking. Children lingered to hear the music, but they were prodded to move along by their parents and even though they would look back to try to capture the music in their heads, soon they too disappeared out of sight.
As it happens, the violinist was Joshua Bell, and he played in that L’Enfant Plaza Station for 45 minutes. He played six classical pieces on his handcrafted Stradivarius – the same pieces that he had played three days earlier in Boston Symphony Hall, where the tickets were pricey and where folks dressed to the nines to hear a concert by such an icon.
That day in the subway, he collected a mere pittance for his talent. The people didn’t know who he was nor did they care.
Are we also walking through the subways of life not really seeing or hearing? What better way to start this new year then to take the time to truly savor life and the beauty that surrounds us. In doing so, we too might find virtuosos in the most unlikely of places.
Years ago, Allan and I visited the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Marcelle’s mom, Althea who worked there at the time, gave us complimentary tickets to see the collections and the exhibitions. Tim Burton was exhibiting the amazing sketches he did for the movies Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, and Batman. ..to name a few. He is dark and his characters are scary…but his vision and creativity cannot be denied.
We visited the William Kentridge exhibit – displaying the South African’s works on apartheid and politics. The charcoal drawings that he animated for film were thought provoking, but at times, the point escaped me.
But these exhibits paled dramatically in comparison to performance artist Marina Abramovic’s exhibition “The Artist Is Present” and I do mean EXHIBITION!!!
The exhibit begins with Marina sitting at a table in the atrium of the museum – staring straight ahead for hours on end. Visitors are encouraged, one at a time, to sit across from her at the table and mediate as well. After taking this all in for a few minutes, we ascended to the sixth floor to view the rest of the exhibit.
In order to get in, you had two choices:
1. Walk through a large entrance way.
2. Walk through a smaller doorway where a man and a woman, both naked, are standing face to face, staring at each other and you have to pass sideways between them.
Of course, we all opted for door number two. The male and the female were both well endowed and so brushing up against protruding parts was unavoidable. As I started to embark on my entrance, I turned to face the male and began my sidestep to go through the doorway. Too late did I realize that the entrance was narrower then I anticipated, but on the bright side, I would have had a place to hold my tote bag.
Once inside, the presentations were even more bizarre. One exhibit had two men sitting on chairs back to back with their long hair entwined. They do not speak but just stare straight ahead. I did wonder if they had some sort of “heads up” notification (no pun intended) for each other if one was about to sneeze. I mean really…during a gesundheit, their heads could be snapped backwards with such velocity it would cause whiplash!
Further into the exhibit were films that Marina created from her other live performance art exhibits. We stood and watched in horror as she carved a six inch star into her abdomen with a razor blade. (I mean, not for anything, but most people who cut themselves with a razor blade wind up on a psych unit). Another film being displayed was of women dancing outside in the pouring rain with long skirts on. They were naked underneath their gauzy attire and would periodically lift their skirts high in the air as they danced and twirled and showed all, ostensibly to ward off the rain. This is good to know in case heavy rains are predicted. I could cavort naked in my backyard and possibly thwarted that torrential downpour! (But in the community we live in now, I’d probably need a variance!)
There was a girl, also naked (yes…naked seemed to be the theme throughout. I think Marina has a few Freudian issues…) suspended on a white wall…sitting on a bicycle seat. She had a gorgeous body, but I was concerned that the blood that was pooling in her lower extremities from sitting there for so long could cause a blood clot. (Always the nurse!)
It was quite a show. I didn’t get it at all.
I wonder how they went about finding the people to pose naked for this performance art. Did they advertise in the New York Times employment opportunity section? All the women were pretty buxom, so I guess the ad read “34A’s NEED NOT APPLY”. (I won’t go into what the ad might have suggested for the males.)
I always wanted to be a teacher and back in the 70’s, I pursued a college degree in Elementary Education. After graduation, I accepted what I thought would be my dream job in a parochial elementary school.
Things didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped. My classroom was comprised of thirty-four kindergartners, most of whom, for reasons beyond my comprehension, insisted on calling me Mrs. Nestle. Five of them didn’t speak English and the father of one of my charges kept pleading that I teach his son to hold the crayon in his right hand instead of his left. I was with the same children from eight am to four pm with no break and I also ate lunch with them. The desks in the classroom were nailed to the floor and I soon realized that childhood games like Duck Duck Goose would probably culminate in black and blue knees and law suits. The principal was a proponent of self-directed student learning. I confessed I wasn’t trained in that technique but she replied, “Not a problem. Just let the children play all day”. And for good measure, she threw in a student teacher who would ostensibly learn invaluable “teaching” expertise from me. Days are endless when teaching isn’t an option and I began to have fantasies of overdosing on paste and finger paint. My dream job was becoming a nightmare.
My day always began with a boy named George arriving at my desk and saying “Mrs. Nestle. I don’t feel well”. I would think to myself “I’m not feeling so hot myself George”, but instead I would happily chirp “Oh, George you’ll be fine. Just sit down and play with the Cuisenaire rods”. This went on for weeks until one day George came to my desk with the usual pronouncement and instead of my cheery response, I knelt down, gave a low growl and said “George. You’re fine. Sit down!”
It wasn’t two minutes later, little Madeleine cautiously approached my desk and whispered “Mrs. Nestle. George just thew up in his lunch pail”. And as I mopped up George’s breakfast, I knew the next day I would be handing in my resignation.
Sometimes what we think will be the path to a lifetime career turns out to be merely a stepping stone along the way. I never went back to teaching. I studied to get another Bachelor’s degree and became a registered nurse, had four little ones of my own and worked as a substitute nurse for the local elementary schools. Ironically, as a nurse, I didn’t mind taking care of the upset tummies of kindergartners.
But I often wonder what ever happened to that student teacher. She probably quit school and entered a nunnery.
I don’t know whether you have heard the news, but you can now fly your pet across the country and not have to worry about them suffocating or freezing to death in the cargo hold. PetAirways will fly your pet cross country in the luxury of the cabin of the plane, where attendants will check on them every fifteen minutes and also take them for potty breaks along the way.
Our cat Checkers, God love her, was a terrible traveler. We would take her back and forth from up north to North Carolina on a regular basis in the car and she would howl the entire way. Sixteen hours is a very long time to be in a closed environment with an unhappy cat in a cage and had PetAirways been up and running, we probably would have employed their services just for our sanity.
So even though we no longer have any pets, this Pet airline intrigues me and I have many questions that need to be answered. For example, are the animals fastened into their seats? Does the attendant stand in the aisle like on a people flight and demonstrate the ease of opening and closing the seat belt clasps? I can just hear the animals now…”Geez…if I only had a thumb!”
And what animal gets to sit at the emergency exit? The person on a people flight who sits at the emergency door has to be capable of functioning should the worst case scenario play out, so I definitely wouldn’t put the Golden Retrievers there. Their tails would be wagging and they would be giddy with the excitement of playing with the oxygen masks that have just dropped from the ceiling rather than concentrating on getting the freakin’ emergency door open.
What do they offer for the entrees when dinnertime comes? “Fancy feast” would be appropriate for the first class felines and of course, it would be served in Waterford crystal bowls. Dogs are not as discerning when it comes to food and will eat anything, as evidenced by our Golden Retriever Sandy who ate 7 corncobs, 10 spareribs and a ball of string at one seating, resulting in a visit to the all night emergency vet. If Sandy were on the Pet Plane, I would be concerned that he would be eating the seat cushions and happily munching on the carpet. And what are the selections on the drink cart? Do the attendants offer toilet water for the dogs in fancy glasses with wide rims so they can lap it up as they cruise through the clouds?
People flights usually have the armed security officers on board in case there is a terrorist attack. I imagine PetAirways will be interviewing the Blood Hounds and the Police Dogs for that position.
How do they handle the potty breaks? On the website it states that the animals are taken on a “regular basis” to a “confined area” for their nature calls. I’m picturing a huge red fire hydrant bolted to the middle of the confined area for the dogs and an oversize sand box for the cats.
What kind of on board entertainment is provided? I would venture to say that they take “car chase” scene clips for the canine spectators and excerpts from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds for the viewing pleasure of the felines.
Another interesting fact is that just like on people flights, each “pawssenger” is only allowed to bring on board “anything that can fit into a one gallon zip lock bag including food, medicine and a small toy.” Guess the Homeland Security was consulted for the traveling animals too.
Well it all is pretty amazing. But I have to wonder what kind of person would sign on for the job of taking care of animals in midair. The site has a FAQ format and one of the questions was “Should I give my pet a sedative before travel?” The answer was “Absolutely not! Common tranquilizers have very serious consequences for traveling pets”.
And I would add…”Better to leave the tranquilizers for the attendants!!! They’re going to need them!!!”
