Are we there yet ?!?

While driving to JFK airport on Thursday afternoon/evening we ended up stuck in traffic more often than not...frustrating but I just kept thinking that once we got to the airport the stress of travel would subside and it would be smooth sailing.  Looking back I could not have been more wrong! We arrived at JFK Thursday at 10pm... we arrived at Washbrook Farm, Aston Le Walls, UK at 6am on Sunday.  For those trying to do the math I will happily break it down for you since those hours are permanently etched into my brain:

• 10pm JFK vetport arrival - no other horses, asphalt stalls, & metal channels inside the stall to hold the partitions when they need to convert to tie stalls...the beginning of my sleepless nights even though we did stay at a nearby Hampton Inn.  Visions of abrasions danced in my head... The reason for the Thursday arrival was that the cargo had to arrive before noon the day we shipped so we didn't want to risk being late on Friday.  Lesson learned, stay at a private farm the night before.
• Noon - cargo loaded...then the waiting game begins. Quincy was not allowed out of his stall as I was made aware that it is far too risky.  If a horse gets loose (or dog it appears) it is very likely to be shot as they cannot allow any chance of an animal on any of the runways. 
• 6pm - planned loading time to ship horses over to the plane.
• 7:30pm - actual loading time to ship the horses over to the plane.  Quincy now begins the portion of the journey that goes from confinement to no movement allowed.  We were vanned to the airport to go through all of the normal passenger check in as the flight we were on was a KLM combo... meaning a giant passenger plane with cargo just behind.  We were told they would take care of the loading and we would get to see the horses once we boarded the plane.
• 10pm - time to board.  The official KLM groom gave us a quick peek at the boys, Quincy was travelling with Walstraed (Jules Ennis' horse that is travelling to school with her at Hartpury) and a 2 year old Arabian colt heading to England to race. 
• 11pm - take-off. Jules & I decided it was best to have Jeff hang out with the horses during take-off and landing.  It sounds like Quincy's eyes have never gotten so big...and that's saying something!
• 11:55am (with 6 hour time change) - amsterdam landing. The plan was to get the horses out of their little box & van to a stable where they could stretch their legs for 4 hours or so.  The trip to England was said to take 10 hours or so... but now we found out that the horses couldn't leave their little box until the vet was there to see them.  So we made our way to meet them at the animal hospital hoping it would not take too long.
• 2pm - the vet arrives and we load straight onto the truck to head to England... Quincy literally got to walk 100 feet from one box to the truck.
• The plan was to head to Calais for the ferry crossing just in case it was busy...
• 6pm - serious traffic back-up as we near Calais....
• 7pm - we arrive at the cargo entrance for the ferry and luckily there's no line.. figuring the trucks decided not to wait..instead we are told that we need to turn around and come back once the ferry is not so busy. Thankfully our drivers understand that we will not be ok with prolonging the horses' time on the truck.. apparently there are several ferry companies so they  made a couple of calls to change our "booking".  We got the go ahead with the news that the ferry was running 2 hours late but we were booked on the 8pm & by this time it was already 9pm..
• 10:30pm ferry boarding... if the time does not seem to match up with the planned time, you're right!  There are many extra hours added in here and there..  Here I am envisioning the ferry that crosses the potomac & in rolls what looks to be a cruiseship! Once on the ferry you can't stay with the vehicles so we check the horses for the umpteenth time & head up to the lounge area which includes a restaurant, thankfully... and by the end of the trip it is full of snoring people of benches and chairs.
• Midnight - off the ferry with only one more side trip to customs in Dover...which should be quick since there were no other cargo trucks aboard.  But of course that is not how our trip is going so it really should not have been a surprise to hear that it will take 30 minutes before they can see us.  Then after 30 minutes we're told it would be another hour... I was in and out of consciousness so much that the whole thing really is a blur.. at some point we begin driving again but now we're in England so I keep feeling as though the truck is about to tip over on the windy roads so there's not really any sleep yet again.  
• somewhere around 4am - we deliver the Arab racehorse to his farm, which happens to be the Sultan of Oman! I really wish we'd gotten to see that farm in the daylight...
• 6 am - we arrive! Quincy got to go into a stall then out for a hand graze... 

I'll have to have a brief delay on sharing our 1st 2 days in England as recapping the journey has exhausted me  my computer battery.  Photos and the fun of round-a-bouts and searching for a wheelbarrow to come! I can leave you with a quick trivia question though: What is the difference between a "humped zebra crossing" and a "humped tucan crossing"?  Just one of the many thoughts to ponder.  

Sneak peek: We have arrived at Blenheim! but there is horrible cell reception so my posts may be a bit delayed... or written at a pub with a pint :)