And the cat came back...

Okay, so the cat had to wear a collar she didn't like. We just didn't realize how bad she didn't like that.... We had brought her home on Monday evening from the vet, and she was wearing her new collar. On Wednesday I needed to go out for an hour or two and had checked the cat before leaving. You already KNOW where this is going, right????? Riiiighhhht..... when I came home she was proudly awaiting me with a look on her face "look what I got off!! Isn't that great?!" oooohhhhhh noooo, she had managed to get rid of the collar and got the stitches out again too!!! aaaarrrghhh!!
Back to the vet with her!!! She figured she needed to take drastic measures with a cat like that, and gave her a white netted stocking with holes to put her legs and tail through. Now that's a fashionable cat!!! White net stocking on black fur, and white legs!! I know it wasn't funny for the cat, but boy, that sure was a sight to see!!! Right before taking her to the cat hotel on Thursday we had her checked up on again by the vet on Wednesday evening, and thank goodness, she could take off that stocking. Happy cat, if it weren't for the collar that she still had to wear....
On Thursday evening we dropped off both our cats at the cat hotel they have been going to for the past 9 years and finished our packing for our big trip to the US.
The vet will check up on the cat at the cat hotel (it's actually the vet they always work with so that's no problem) and will hopefully remove the stitches on Monday (that's today!! I hope it went alright!).

We had made arrangements for an airport service to pick us up at home at 7:30am. So I put away my last minute things and poured myself a nice cup of coffee. The doorbell rang. Airport service?? It was only 6:50am?? Yep, airport service, we needed to leave as soon as possible coz there was a big fire at Brussels airport and who knows how busy it was gonna be. The road to the airport had been blocked for a few hours coz the building on fire was too close to the road and it was a maintenance place for airplanes. There were 4 planes in the building and because of the kerosine there was danger of explosion. By the time we got there the road was open again, the fires were out but the building had collapsed. Phew!!! Lucky our flight wasn't scheduled any sooner!!
Since 9/11 airport security has gotten a lot tighter, and especially for flights to the US. I don't mind, better be safe than sorry. They just do what needs to be done.
So when we went to check in we already got a bunch of security questions to answer.
One of them being what the address is of your first night's stay. Man, I can't believe how many times I had to give that address!! On the plane we got several forms to fill out, and don't make any mistakes coz you gotta start over!! Of course, I scratched out something, and that was no good, so "here's a new form to fill out, please". Thank you. I'll do that. LOL
At least the plane wasn't full, so I had some extra space to lay down for a nap. I could pick a better spot to watch the movie if I wanted that. Except where the US marshal was with his prisoner. Chains on his feet, and handcuffed. Creepy guy, btw.
When we arrived at JFK ariport in NYC we had to give the address again, have our picture taken and fingerprints too. Electronically, not the old fashioned way with ink. No, this was a tiny scanner, just big enough for your fingertips. Impressive.
We were all waiting in line to get this done, and out comes the US marshal, his prisoner and the marshal's deputy (?). They bypass the whole line, get yelled at by the guy at the counter to stay behind the yellow line and wait their turn. HUH?? That's a prisoner!! Surely you don't want a guy like that hanging around at a big airport any longer than strictly necessary??? And wouldn't they have known that he was coming? The crew was informed, so why wasn't there someone waiting to escort him off the airport?? I thought security was so important? That struck me as odd, to say the least.
By the time we got through customs and claimed our bags I wanted something to drink, a soda, or some water. But no such luck, not in that part of that large airport. Not even a vending machine. So we took the airtrain (never thought something like that would exist!! An airtrain!! How funny!) that took us to the other side of the airport where the rental car companies were located. We were all excited coz we had booked an "all american car", a Chevrolet Blazer (or equal), to travel in true US style. And we got the "or equal", and they gave us a Suzuki. Duh!!! Our dream of driving in US style shattered!! It's still a nice car though and it won't spoil our holiday one bit. It may even have added to the fun, coz now when we see a Blazer, we point at it and go "that's our car!!" and laugh.... LOLOL
The staff at the rental company was so kind to let me buy some water from their vending machine in the back for the employees, coz there was no other way to get something to drink. And off we were!!! Our 3 week trip in a car had started!!
Wooohooo!!
It's getting late now, and I'll have to catch up with the past few days and our experiences some other time. Hope you all enjoy reading it though!

Hugs,
Wezz