A Dream Come True: Up in the Air

 I actually have flown before. When I was maybe 5 I flew to Florida. And around 10 my dad somehow won us a round-trip on a little 4 seater airplane that took us to Put-in-Bay, probably a 20 minute ride each way. As I recall, we got off on the island, had a Coke, and flew home.

Things were much less complicated at 5 and 10 years old!

At 33, life is definitely more complex! Thankfully, I have an incredible support team of family and friends who go above and beyond so that I can do things I only dreamed I would do. Without them, I would not have boarded a plane to Phoenix a few days ago. 

So, with enough luggage to look like we were going to live abroad until Cleveland thawed, my mom, sister, aunt, Dash and I began our big adventure!

We arrived at Cleveland Hopkins Airport early enough that we had to wait to check our bags. Once that was done we advanced to TSA. While I got the pat down service Julie and Dash passed through the metal detectors. Julie put Dash in a down, took off his collar, and walked herself through. She then called Dash through separately. Onlookers were in awe and the TSA worker said he did better than most humans! I was so proud of my prince. 

Our flight went extremely well and I was much more comfortable than I ever expected to be! I was so proud of Dash as he almost never moved a muscle from our very scrunched seats - about 5 hours total!

It wasn't until about the last 20 minutes that the man in the row ahead of us laughed when he looked down to find something rather unexpected: 

Even the man in the row directly across from us who had a clear view of Dash had no idea he was there until we had landed! He represented Canine Companions for Independence extremely well!

The only thing more exciting than not seeing even a hint of snow on the ground upon landing was that my wheelchair was returned to me in perfect condition.

With a sigh of relief from each member of our party, we worked our way toward baggage claim and my awesome uncle who was waiting to escort us to his and my aunt's home, where we are staying. 

More on that and much more tomorrow!