NASCAT


I am going to go on vacation and this year Kitty is going to go with me. Last year he ended up benched for two weeks because the airline wouldn't let him go because they claimed there was all ready two animals on my flight. The fact I never saw either animal did not make me happy. It did make me plan ahead. So this year when I got my ticket in oh, say March, I made it clear I was traveling en famile. Fine said the airline, that will be $160.

Okay. Now he has a seat in front of my seat. Good. I put the ticket somewhere safe and went on. About a week ago I remembered that I'm going on vacation for two weeks in two weeks and I came to the conclusion that Kitty will be going with me! this means he is going to go to the airport with me, in the airport transport that I will be calling ASAP, and that after we get to the airport I will have to carry him around.

Kitty weighs approximately 237 pounds. My back pack which I all ready know will be crammed with everything I will forget to send ahead plus my purse, my book my next book and the back up book plus my dop kit… what is the feminine of "dop kit" dopette kit ? Make up bag? But that doesn't cover toothpaste, toothbrush, hair "product", squishies, shampoo, conditioner, brush, comb, razor etc. that I will be carrying, extra shoes, spare pair of undies in case the flight is canceled or I, GOD FORBID miss my flight, the Kitty's' lovey, and whatever else I decided I can't leave the state without. It's going to be heavy.

So.

So, I decide that what I really need is something with wheels. I need a luggage trolley. Okay. Alphagal has a trolley! Super! Problem solved. I'll be able to roll through the airport with out looking like a Beverly Hillbilly. I will be sleek. I will be professional, grown up, and not at all clumsy, over packed or in need of assistance. Yay.

Bad news. The trolley counts as a carry on. Damn. Okay. I'll bring a bag instead of the backpack and I'll just add the trolley to the bag and then I'll just stow the bag and the trolley and it'll be fine. So I pull out my handy measuring tape and measure the trolley. 25 inches long. Hmmm. That's pretty good sized. Longer then any bag I currently own. Okay. To the store with my measuring tape.

25 inches is very long. Very, very long. Most bags are at best 24 and a half inches long, maybe. But I keep trying and I find one that should be wide enough.

Should being the operative word. Should is not the same as will or is. The trolley is too long. the bag while roomy is not big enough. Damn. I can't take it back because it got, um, stretched a bit while I was forcing, um, trying to make the trolley fit/cram inside. Damn.

Next thought. Buy wheeled cat crate. Which evil overlord is running the monopoly on the cat crate business! Okay. How about a kit to put wheels on the crate? HA! . It turns out it would be easier to find a kit to spot weld wheels onto the cat. I found all kinds of wheeled things. I found strollers for your pet. A real live stroller for your pet. It looked like a particularly nasty Victorian invention and it was $195. Damn. Moving on.

Next thought. Buy an all ready wheeled suitcase and put the trolley in the case! Wheel two bags at once? - No.

Now I'm working on not using the trolley and scoring a wheeled bag to strap the cat to while also holding all my carry on crap. Two weeks!