Early tomorrow morning, January 6, 2020, I head to O’Hare for a flight to Newark International Airport. There I’ll meet up with guide dog users from all over North America to catch a ride together to Morristown, New Jersey for three weeks training with our new Seeing Eye dogs. This short post will clue you in on some of the details involved in coordinating24 people who have visual impairments so that we all arrive at Newark International Airport on the same day and at (relatively) the same time.
A few of the 24 of us will be training with their first ever Seeing Eye dogs, but a majority will be like me: people who retired a guide dog recently and are returning to train with a new dog.
Translation: we are not very skilled with our white canes! To help you understand a bit about how this all works, I give you an excerpt of the official itinerary sent to me by the Seeing Eye.
Here is your confirmation for your flight on JANUARY 06, 2020. Please make sure that you arrive at the airport with your Government issued photo ID and go directly to the ticket counter for your boarding pass. We recommend you checking with the airline for the current baggage fee policy. You will be responsible for any baggage fee so packing lightly will be to your advantage.
Upon your arrival at Newark Airport you will be escorted by an airline representative to your baggage claim area, where a Seeing Eye Instructor will meet you and drive you to campus. Airline representatives who provide assistance often have wheelchairs with them, but remember you do not have to ride in a wheelchair unless you want to.
We ask that you turn on your cell phone and use the facilities prior to getting to the baggage carousel. There usually is some waiting time while collecting everyone.
Lori will be sending you a Seeing Eye luggage tag via USPS. Please attach that to your checked bag so it will be easily identifiable by the instructor that meets you.
Wish us luck!
All my good wishes travel with you. Can’t wait to hear the stories of your adventures. Hugs till then!
What a nice way of saying that — feels good to think your good wishes will be traveling with me tomorrow, Pat. Thank you.
Safe travels, and best of luck.
Love the sign off: ‘Wish us luck’. Ha!
Sending good vibes to all involved. This will surely take a village. Can’t wait for updates.
A village for sure! From the cab driver who gets me to O’Hare to the curbside check-in guy who takes my very heavy duffel bag to the red cap who gets me through security and to the gate to the flight attendant who guies me to my seat and then all of that in reverse at Newark International, I do rely heavily on the kindness of strangers and I am rarely, rarely rarely disappointed. Thanks for the good wishes, Bev.
Best of luck training with your new partner!
Safe travels Beth. I will be thinking of you every day during the next 3 weeks! Zooks
Oh, this makes me feel so good. Thank you, Jenny. And hey, you can take the weekends off: no outings then, we have time for visitors “from the outside” on weekend afternoons and can get laundry done and just play/bond with our dogs. If I remember correctly, on Sundays we get to sleep in until 6 a.m., too (other days we’r up and at ’em at 5 in the morning….)
Good luck, Beth. Hope you love your new dog from the first minute. Can’t wait to learn their name and meet them. Keep us posted!
The first minute is pretty overwhelming. Love at first sound?
Beth,
My wonderful and vivacious Aunt Dorothy Raddatz is someone you know in your apartment building. A couple of years ago Aunt Dorothy was talking to me about a woman with a guide dog living in her building. It didn’t take long before I had you narrowed down to being connected to The Seeing Eye.
I live in New Jersey and have been a puppy raiser for The Seeing Eye for 10 years. I am also one of the Puppy Development Educators for our Seeing Eye Puppy Club. I follow your blog, particularly when you write about anything guide dog related. I’ve recently been talking to another member of our club who has followed you longer than I have about using some of your experiences as our club’s monthly meeting “Training Topic”. I find it so interesting to be on the same, but opposite, or the before and after, sides of these phenomenal dogs.
I know you have visiting hours on the second weekend while you are in class. I am a short drive from Morristown in South Jersey. If you don’t have any connections from this area who would be coming to visit with you I would like to extend an offer to you to come up for a visit with some fellow puppy raisers from our club.
Thank you so much for even considering my offer!
Lorna McGeorge
Would love to have you come visit me and my new dog at the Seeing Eye, and of course you may bring fellow puppy raisers, too. Is it only the second weekend we can have visitors? I *think* when training with previous dogs visitors could come either weekend, but maybe that has changed.
I am taking my laptop computer along with me to the Seeing Eye. Email might be the best way to contact me –while we are training it’s a lot of “hurry up and wait” and hard to respond to phone text messages or answer the phone. In fact, I’ll email you directly after I hit the “reply” button on this comment, and we can take it from there. What a coincidence that your Aunt Dorothy lives in our building!
I hope you have a safe journey and return with an amazing dog to help you. Here’s to much success out there!
Thanks, Laura. If it’s a female, who knows? Maybe she’ll be named Gigi.
Safe travels, Beth!! Anxious to read about your adventures with your new dog!
Ha! I’m telling myself not to be anxious. Be eager! Thanks for the good wishes, Maureen.
When I woke up this morning you were the first person I thought of- wondering how you were doing – knowing this trip was coming up. Thank you for including all of us in your preparations. You must have so much to think about and plan and then you think about us. I know that you will be very busy as soon as you arrive tomorrow. Sending you love and can’t wait to hear the next first chapter!
Oh,Marilee, you are generous to assume I was thinking of all of my blog readers when composing this post. If you want to know the truth, writing this short post distracted me from what I really should have been doing: figuring out how to pack efficiently for three weeks away in what might, or might not, be a cold climate! Writing the post also confirmed what I often say about memoir writing and taking memoir-writing classes: it’s therapeutic!
Opened up my email hoping to hear some word from your blog so thanks for the update and for letting us sort of “be there with you” – Can’t wait to see pics of your new friend! Love, Jenny and Dennis
Funny you should mention photos. Last night with Mike I practiced taking a photo with an iPhone and sending it to someone via text or email…fingers crossed!
Bon voyage and good luck! Hope to meet your new companion in early 2020. Thinking of you.
Merci, mon amie.
Wishing you safe travels, Beth. You’re a pro at flying solo. I know you’ll be fine. Hope your new Seeing Eye Dog is as special as your others. I look forward to reading your posts. Sending love and hugs! xxxooo
Hugs back to you on Long Island, my friend.
Beth, wishing you the best of luck on your adventure. We are all anxious to meet your new “baby.” Thought you might like to know, Lorna’s Aunt Dorothy actually lives in my building, not yours, but she is a big fan and attended your 901 Book Club visit with Al Hippensteel and others in our building. We are all rooting for your success at The Seeing Eye. Don’t forget, I owe you a Moscow Mule when you get back. And, we’ll add cheese to the menu. LOL
Cheese? I’m in! And thanks for straightening this out, I remember my visit to Al’s visit so fondly, of course Dorothy was there. I just couldn’t think of anyone in our “Transportation Building” named Dorothy. Looking forward to our Moscow Mule. Who knows? Maybe my next dog will be named Dmitri!
Good luck Beth!! Won’t you be surprised when they match you up with a dachshund! Can’t wait to meet your new pal.
Love your dachshunds. Too ban I’m over 12 inches tall….
Beth–As we Quakers say, I’ll be “Holding you in the Light”. Will look forward to your return and trying out the new coffee spot. Travelling mercies, Suzanne
Wow…so many responses. Just want to put my two cents in and wish you a safe journey. Don’t even need to say “enjoy yourself” because i know you will.
Best of luck Beth to you and your new dog! Safe travels! Brian
Thanks to you all for so many good wishes — about to head downstairs for my cab to O’Hare with a ridiculously heavy duffel bag –looking forward to introducing you all to Speedo when I return — bye for now!
I’m thinking of you as you’re heading off into a new/old adventure. As the song says:
“You’ve done it before…and…you can do it again!” I’ll look forward to hearing about your new Seeing Eye friend. Warm wishes, Lee
How exciting! Hope you have a great time at Seeing Eye. cant wait to hear about your new dog.
Scary and exciting! Excited to meet your new companion… I wish you a successful and smooth arrival. Hugs!!!
Hello from Morristown, NJ! Now that I’m here I wonder what I was afraid of? We all meet our new dogs tomorrow so spirits are high –cheers!
Best wishes for the beginning of a new partnership!
What an adventure.
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