There and back again...

Believe it or not, we made it all the way to Saint Louis and back last night... in one piece!

I was very hesitant to follow hand written directions all the way into the city, but I was able to make every turn, merge and overpass without a hinge! Of course, I couldn't have done so without my trusty co-pilot reading everything off to me. She's a lifesaver and I wouldn't have made it out alive without her!

The worst part of the drive was dealing with rush hour traffic. We got into the city right around 4, so everyone was out and about. Traffic has never bothered me, 6 lane highways never bothered me. It's the getting stuck between two semi's and not being able to get right that bothers me. Luckily, that never happened, not once!

Okay, enough driving talk.

We made it to the cargo building with no problems and actually managed to even go in the right door! If you've every been to the cargo area of the airport, then you know how confusing it is. There are like 4 buildings scattered around - it's confusing to say the least! We went in, told them what we were there to get and they handed him over. All I had to do was show them my license and sign a piece of paper. Easy as pie!

We could barely contain ourselves when we got back to the car. We tore into his carrier like a lion into a gazelle. We gently pulled the top off of his Kritter Keeper and peeked in at him. As soon as he saw two strange, giant faces, he started crabbing. We nabbed a couple pictures of him, stuffed some treats in his pouch and let him be. We didn't want to stress him too much on his first day.

After that, we decided to tour the cargo area and walk over to the fence line where all the airplanes were. During this time, we were being slammed with 30 mile per hour winds and show! By the time we made it over the the fence, my face was so cold I could hardly breathe! No joke, it was painful! LaVaughn had to tuck and run, but, of course, I stayed behind for a couple pictures. I swear I think I felt ice busting off of my face as I made my way back to the car.

After that, we sat and waited about 40 minutes of Taylor to arrive. She and Payton found the place with no problems, luckily. I handed over the girls and then spent a few minutes with her chunky money, Kalani. Omg, that is the cutest, sweetest and chubbiest glider I've ever met! She even tried to crawl down my shirt. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't steal her, cause I would. I also got to see little Lilah and Odin while they were there.

After a few minutes out in the blistering cold, we all went our separate ways and headed home. Luckily, the drive back was just as easy - if not easier - as the drive there.

We didn't mess with Cas too much last night - he was too worked up - so we left him be in his cage. Now today is a completely different story. He's rested, been in a quiet room with other gliders and fed a nice, wholesome meal. It's on today, lol.

I'd also like to mention that Taylor shipped the girls with no problems. They're currently on a flight to Seattle. They should arrive in about 5 hours (7:30 my time, 5:30 Tracy's). I'll be so glad to hear that they've arrived safe and sound. I miss them so much already.

Okay, I have some serious glider poking and cage set sewing to do before it gets any later. And rest assured, I'll have LOADS of Cas pictures to share later on...

Love & Peace

-Megan
Pictures from the drive there:



 Rush hour traffic, fun!


Picking Cas up:



 Cas in his shipping crate.






 He's he not the prettiest Platinum Mosaic Sugar Glider in the world!?



The airplanes:






A look around the cargo area if the airport:













And lastly, the last pictures we'll ever take of Emma and Eliza: :(





Going through the motions...

As time goes by, I'm becoming more and more nervous about this drive into the city tomorrow. I mean, more than likely, everything will be fine. It's just me, going into super worry mode about every little thing! I think I'm making it out to be so much worse than it actually is.

Luckily, I figured out a new route to take. Instead of going from 55 to 70, we're going to go from 55 to 270 which will take us around Saint Louis instead of driving right through it. We're still going to have to hit 70, regardless, but at least we'll be outside the city!

I seriously have to stop thinking about this.

We finally got the rats' cage set in their cage. The long hammocks aren't exactly snug - they were measured for their larger cage - so they kind of sag in the center. Their Bucket looks really cute and they LOVE it. They've been curled up in it all evening.

Okay, my nerves are getting the best of me. I need to go for now. Wish us luck tomorrow!

Love & Peace

-Megan







A pouch we made for the girls to be shipped in:



Zoe in the rats' cage last night:






Who said shipping a sugar glider was easy...

After several long conversations with several different people, we've finally figured out a good, working solution for all our sugar glider shipping problems! I know I haven't discussed shipping lately, that's mainly because we never really knew exactly what we were going to do!

Shipping a sugar glider has to be done with a large airline, like; Delta, Continental, etc. As I'm sure all of you know, places like these are in large cities. In our case, it's in Saint Louis at Lambert International Airport. I'm sure I've probably complained about driving in the city before - which I suck at - so you probably now know why shipping has been such a big issue.

After asking a couple people if they could help out -- which they couldn't -- I finally just decided that I would get my uncle to drive me. This would have been fine if we were just going once, but we had to make not one trip, but two. The first to pick up Cas and a second to drop the girls off. Not necessarily in that order. My uncle was more than fine with driving us to STL Monday evening to drop the girls off. Unfortunately, he could only make the trip once!

He's a truck driver and only makes it home one to two days every few weeks, max! So there was no way I could ask him to make two trips within 24 hours.

Tracy messaged me last night and asked if we could pick Cas up this coming Tuesday. As much as I wanted to shout from the rooftop, "Yes, yes, of course we can!" I knew deep down that it wouldn't be right if we got Cas before she got her girls. I told her to hold off so that I could see what I could get worked out with shipping the girls.

Tracy also mentioned that she didn't want the girls to have to stay overnight in the cargo area of the airport, so shipping the girls Monday evening was out. This was a big bummer, considering Monday was the only day my uncle could drive us. Tracy can't pick the girls up on Tuesday and my uncle has to leave out before Wednesday. We could never win!

I finally swallowed my pride and decided that I would ask Taylor, the lovely lady that lives in Highland, IL. I messaged her and asked if she would mind meeting me in STL on Tuesday evening, keep the girls overnight and drive them over to the airport the next day. I knew how much I was asking of her, but I was out of options. Believe it or not, she said yes! I told her everything that she would have to do - which isn't much - and she was more than okay with it!

If all goes as planned, we'll pick Cas up at the airport Tuesday, meet with Taylor shortly after and she'll ship the girls the next morning. They'll arrive at 5PM Seattle time - much better than the dreaded midnight! Taylor was okay with a morning flight, Tracy is trilled with their evening arrival and we'll be beating the shit out of two birds with one stone!

We sweetened the pot by telling Taylor that the first Platinum sugar glider born here is all hers. We had planned on giving her out first plat anyways, but wanted to go ahead and let her know. I think it's safe to say that she was just a tad excited. :)

Believe it or not, there is a downside to all this excitement. My uncle found out that he wont get to stay in until Tuesday, he has to turn around and leave the same damn day!! Grrr. So... it looks like I'll be driving in the city, whether I like it or not. Kind of makes you wonder if I'm just meant to drive myself. Hopefully it's not going to play out like a Final Destination movie! O.o

Okay, enough shipping talk!

LaVaughn and I got the ratties' cage set sewn up today. All together, there are 3 long hammock/bridges and 1 Glider Bucket. We had originally planned on putting these items in their large cage that we got from Stacie, but after analyzing the cage and seeing how things looked inside of it, we've decided to leave them in the cage that they're in now.

There's just something about that cage that seems cold and homely. It's almost like a prison cell, or some type of abandoned warehouse. The two large doors on the front make it nearly impossible to hang anything, which sucks. So, for now, they're staying in the cage they're in. As soon as we get everything put inside it, I'll post what it looks like.

My fingers are officially bleeding. I need to go now.

Love & Peace

-Megan

Here's the ratties' cage set.