Our Final Flights: The Johnsons Move Back to the USA

As the last few blog posts have alluded to, our time of living abroad has come to a pause. Bryan was accepted into a four-year residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia to train as an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon. On top of another international move, we are also expecting our first baby, whom we have nicknamed "Nugget" for the time being!

So with Nugget's arrival sneaking up on us, it's time to get this pregnant lady back to the States! While we did move Bryan's transfer from Rota up to May 1 to beat our local OB's recommended 36-week no-fly deadline, when I was accepted as a patient at the Portsmouth Hospital, they requested I fly out before 32 weeks of gestation. This meant changing my military flight, which actually works out better with getting the dogs back to the States.

My lovely husband handled all the flight changes and dog confirmations with American Airlines, while I focused on home cleanouts and preparing for our checkout with the housing office and our landlord, Julia. I feel like the last few weeks flew by as we prepared for our move, but we were sure to take a few minutes to enjoy a final beach walk at sunset to our favorite Rota Roman Ruins!

Tuesday, April 21: House Check Out & Drive to Madrid

The morning of April 21 came FAST! Base housing sent out workers to pick up all of our appliances and loaner furniture at 7 am, and we met Julia at 9:30 am for a final house inspection and to receive our deposit back. Leaving this place is bittersweet- it's been home to us for the last three years and holds so many great memories, but we are already looking forward to our new home in VA, where we will get to welcome Nugget to the world!

With our Spanish keys turned in, we loaded up the pups and began the long 6-hour drive to Madrid!

If you know anything at all about PCSing with dogs, you know the military doesn't care if your dogs can fly. Bryan spent hours on hold and chatting with various departments within American Airlines to guarantee our fur babies made their flight. After much research and learning about all the flight changes since we arrived in Spain three years ago, we learned that the only way the dogs would get back to the States was if we drove them to Madrid. The two local airports to us, Jerez and Sevilla, no longer fly planes large enough to fit Hugo and Reynolds' kennels.

So our long car journey began! The dogs handled the road trip well! This was the one benefit to Bryan and me PCSing separately: he was able to drive us up to the airport and then return to Rota to finish his checkout process.

ibis Madrid Alcobendas

We lucked out with booking an overnight stay not far from the airport at an Ibis Hotel. This worked out because after surviving our 6-hour drive, we were ready to crash for the night! Once we were checked in and settled in the hotel room, there was no way we were leaving to find dinner, so we ordered Five Guys through Uber Eats for a quick dinner. Reynolds was a little nervous in the new place, so Bryan ended up hand-feeding her! We wanted to make sure both pups had dinner before our crazy journey tomorrow!

Wednesday, April 22: Katie and the Dogs Fly to Charlotte

The pups weren't a fan of our 6:15 am wake-up, but Bryan wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get to the airport and get these dogs checked in before my 10:30 am flight! Bryan dropped me off at the departures area, where I started assembling the dog's kennels, while Bryan and the pups found parking and eventually came and helped me finish their setup.

After my last PCS journey with the dogs, I had low expectations for how this process would go. I mean, I titled that blog post "My Journey Through Hell," so I wasn't looking forward to working with American Airlines workers again. BUT this time around, things went totally different: the ladies working the customer service desk were so kind and loved petting Hugo and Reynolds! They had so many questions about the pups and were quick to jump in and help us.

After signing all the paperwork, paying the $400 pet "excess baggage" fee, and dropping my suitcases, Bryan and I were escorted to a special security gate. This is the security gate that all airport workers use, and I had to walk each dog through the scanner and then load them into their kennels. Then it was bon voyage, see ya soon, Hugo and Reynolds!

After all this, Bryan walked me to the regular security gate, where we said goodbye, and I headed to my gate. Bryan and I knew to add AirTags to the dog's collars so we could track them, but I also checked with the gate agents to make sure the dogs were boarded. When I spoke with them, I was surprised by a free upgrade to Business Class! Once on board the plane, one of the pilots came to my seat and confirmed that both Hugo and Reynolds made it on the flight and that he had personally gone and set eyes on them.

American Airlines almost made up for my last PCS journey. Almost. I still hold deep scars from that journey!

When I landed in Charlotte, I knew I had an entire entourage to help get me from one end of the state to the other! Mom, Dad, Jennifer, and Kevin were all there to greet me, help me with my baggage, and love on the dogs! It was such a relief to see their faces and have their helping hands! After loading the dogs in Mom & Dad's car and all of my baggage and kennels in the Johnsons' truck, we headed to our most important stop: Chick-fil-A! Then it was "home" for the next nine days in Goldsboro, NC.

Katie's Time in NC

During my nine-day vacation in Goldsboro, I got to meet Ryan's girlfriend, Jessie, and her lovely dog, Lola. We already have game nights planned in VA since they live just an hour away in Richmond! We also enjoyed a day at the Mt. Olive Pickle Festival, where we ate sun-baked pickles and nearly melted in the humid NC sunshine. The pups and I also had a "sleepover" at Jennifer and Kevin's house, where we got to eat NC BBQ and catch up!

Bryan's Final Days in Spain

While I was adjusting to life back in the States, Bryan was enjoying one last Spanish event before his departure. Feria started the day before he flew back to the States, and I was quick to encourage him to attend one last time in my honor! You may remember that one of our favorite Spanish festivals is Feria, and it happens every May! This time around, Bryan's Feria experience looked a little different, since he attended with Dean and Beth and their three kiddos! I gotta admit, Bryan looks good with a kid on his shoulders!

He also had one final uniform inspection at work before he left, and I'll admit, I was just looking for an excuse to share this photo of him with Jamie and Dean in their whites!

May 1: Move to VA, Bryan Arrives from Spain

Dean dropped Bryan off at the Jerez Airport at 6 am for his long journey to meet me! Bryan had to fly from Jerez to Madrid, and then to DC, where my brother graciously drove to pick him up and bring him to our new home in Suffolk, VA!

That's right, while Bryan was flying across the Atlantic, I was driving from NC to VA to get the keys to our new house! Jennifer and Kevin brought up their camper for a long weekend and met me at the house to help me clean and prepare for our household goods delivery! The dogs weren't too excited for yet another car journey, but they toughed it out and were fantastic roadies!

Bryan and Ryan made it to Suffolk in time for a dinner of Parker's BBQ! Nothing like a good NC classic as our first meal in the new house!

YourSpace Hotels Chesapeake

Since our HHG couldn't be delivered until Monday, we spent the weekend in a hotel, which was a great relief to a very-pregnant me! Bryan did great finding this hotel because it came with a regular-sized washer and dryer, which we took full advantage of since we were still shopping for appliances ourselves!

Sunday, May 3: Day at the Campsite

Sabrina and Caleb came up for the day on Sunday to see us! We met them at our new house to show them our empty home before grabbing brunch at First Watch. Later, we crashed at Jennifer and Kevin's campsite for an afternoon of grilling, walking around the lake, and catching up! It was a great day, and I loved getting to see pregnant Sabrina!

The pups enjoyed their day at the camper until it ended with a bath back at our house! Bryan was not letting those dusty pups get his clean house messed up before the movers arrived!

Monday, May 4: HHG Arrival

Mom and Dad came and stayed with Bryan and I at our hotel the night before our household goods were to be delivered, so we had all the parents here to help with this delivery! I gotta say, having extra hands makes the whole process MUCH better than doing it all alone (like I did in Japan) or just the two of us (like in Spain). This is one of the many benefits of being back close to family!

By the end of the day, all six of us were exhausted, the house looked like a tornado had blown through, and the dogs were done! But we got our stuff, and now the process of getting settled in our new home begins!

xo,

Katie