Pictures – Kate and Mike

Taking a my Cat Max to Hawaii

Max our not very bright, but very enthusiastic cat made it to Hawaii.

Max just rolling around in the closet in the LA Hotel.

Just to re-cap. We went from Syracuse, NY to Hawaii with our Cat. We prepared for about 8 months to do that. Max first needed to Micro-chipped, then have a rabies vaccine. Then have another rabies vaccine, then be tested to verify that vaccine was effective. We were doing the Hawaii Kona Direct Release program, so we needed to contact a specified vet, share our paper work. Pay her. Get pre-approved for Max to come. Pre-approved is nice, and I would prefer that over the Honolulu plan. Then on travel day he would be checked over for “bad stuff”, by the vet that met Max and our plane. and directly released to us in a matter of 10-15 mins. Max was done as soon as our baggage was done.

The whole thing was pretty easy. Lots of steps and there is a timeline you have to keep. Not too early and not too late. The vet was awesome. She really loves animals and treated Max very well and made sure he was ok after the flight. VERY COOL! She is in it for the animals not just the money.

We used united Cargo. They needed our Hawaii paperwork when we dropped Max off to be shipped. This all with originals. Very scary. We decided to break up the journey, and stop in Los Angeles. We checked Max’s big pet crate as luggage. Syracuse Airport was nice enough to let it go even though it was a bit big. Max rode in the cabin. He was a perfect gentlemen the whole time. We spent two days in LA, to make sure his crate arrived and was not lost. We could take not chances. We did some site seeing in LA and went to Universal Hollywood. It was a pretty good day.

img_0515-2 — Kate with a Home Simpson sized Doughnut. It was light and easily eaten by two people.

Max then went via United Cargo, AKA PetSafe. The women that helped us at LAX was awesome. She also really did a thorough job. She took her time and really set the bar quite high. She really took care of us and made us feel comfortable leaving our cat with her. Kudos to United. I do not say that much.

On the trip back, we do the exact reverse of it. Other carriers allow pets leaving Hawaii in the cabin, but not United. So he has to go cargo back to LA. We will only spend overnight in LA. Max will ride with us in the cabin from LA to Syracuse. Max has shown he can hold it for 15 hours. He is quite a good trooper.

Visiting Prince William at Buckingham Palace and Leaving Settle

We left Settle, UK a couple of days early than we originally planned because we received invitations to Buckingham place to meet Prince William. Although we knew about this over a year in advance, my invitation was not guaranteed. My invitation only came about a month ahead of time. We received the invitations because of Kate’s involvement in the Kennedy trust. The Kennedy trust is an organization setup by the British people after the death of President John F Kennedy. I feel lucky just to have gotten an invite as the were very limited spots.

Rainbow over the Carlisle Settle railway at the Settle Station on our way to leeds to get a rental car.

First about Max. Max went to the vet on Wednesday. He needed to get check up and a “fit to fly letter”. He passed with flying colors and did not need to get violated. He will need another fit to fly letter when arrive back in the States so can fly to Hawaii. While at the Vet in Settle we also picked up some “Milk Protein” capsules that are supposed to help keep him calm. It is supposed to work like a warm glass of milk. We also bought a scented spray (that is quite vile) to spray in his carrier. We tried both for our trip down to London, and boy does that spray stink. However it all seemed to work quite well he was very quiet on the trip down from London (5 hour car ride).

Getting Ready to go to Buckingham Palace.

We checked in the Novatel in Hammersmith, about 15-20 mins from the Palace. Kate got us upgraded because she told the front desk staff that we were going to the Palace to visit the Prince. The locals know that the palace is closed this time of year and it only open for invited guests. We got ready and put on our finest clothes to go meet the Prince.

Originally it was going to be the Queen and not prince William, but it seems as though the prince is taking over some of her work load. We set off to the Palace. There were strict rules about having our entry passes, and a special pass to allow the black Cab into the Palace yard. We saw a line of black cabs out front of the hotel and thought it would be easy. When we got there, they were all off duty and empty. We went to front desk to call a black cab an it was going to take 10 mins. 15 mins later the cab had not shown up but luckily we saw a random black cab driver pass by, so we took his cab and left the other one to wonder what happened to us. We were now a bit late, although if traffic cooperated we would still make it before the Prince arrived. The traffic did not cooperate. It is disheartening to see people walking faster than the cab. We eventually arrived in front of the palace, and they removed the barriers to let us on the road in front of the palace, and then to front gate. At the front gate (as far as most people can get) the Taxi driver was asked to leave the cab, and the cab was searched. They checked under the bonnet (hood), they searched the boot (trunk). They used mirrors to look under the car. We had to show ID and our special purple passes. It was quite thorough but very efficient. After we were all cleared we drove into the Palace, past the the Queen’s guards. We were dropped off at the front The entrance to Buckingham Palace entrance. There were lots of “attendents” to make sure we did not wonder off. We had to leave our phones and other accessories behind. The reception was in the Picture Gallery (part of the normal summer time tour). It has some very nice art work. All of the corridors were nicely decorated. We got to see parts of the palace that the public never gets to see.

The opposite photo that most people . Most people take the photo from the other side of the fence.

The reception was nice. The canapés and hor dourves were all unique and delicious. They also had real Champagne and it was free flowing. Sadly the prince had limited time and we did not actually get chat with him, but he walked right past us. He was getting escorted around the room. I have to say, I was quite impressed with him. I believe he will be good King. I think that he will continue to transform the Crown to be for the people of the United Kingdom. He is very humble, down to earth, and a big heart. I think he has a lot of his mom in him. He gave a nice speech on behalf of his grandma (his words not mine) and then took his leave to go home to be with Kate and the kids. His Kate, not mine. However, some reports suggest that Kate (my Kate) had one too many glasses of Champagne. This of course was not her first time having a bit too much

In the courtyard of Buckingham Palace, withe Palace's front doors behind us. — In the courtyard of Buckingham Palace, wit the Palace’s front doors behind us.

champagne at Buckingham Palace in the presence of royalty. She has also met the Queen. Just kidding about Kate having too much Champagne, but this was real, proper Champagne and it was quite nice and even the best of us could have easily gotten out of hand. There was no attempt at rationing it.

It was an experience of a lifetime. It was a bit overwhelming. There was a lot to take in. We are now in London at a nicely priced Air BnB place a couple of blocks from Kate’s parents. Max is doing fine, in his third new place this week. He seems to adapt quicker and quicker each time. He seems to figure it all out very quickly. We do wonder what his two brain cells (the left one and the right one) think about it all. Through it all he is the same old energetic, lovable Max, that still likes to get up at 4am regardless of where he is in the world.

The exit from the courtyard to the area in front of the palace that most people see.

Kate, Max and Mike after Buckingham Palace. Maybe I am the one that had too much Champagne.

Arrived in Settle

We are now in Settle in North Yorkshire. There is beautiful countryside here really close by in each direction. Lots of walks we can do from the door. Max has some large picture windows to look out of and window sills to sit on. As we are here for almost 6 weeks – he also has a new scratching post and a parsley plant to love.

We are staying very close to where my grandma used to live. There are walks here that I have done all my life. Here are some photos from walking today.

This sign has been here for years and always makes me smile. It used to say “Dog Meadow Allotments. No Dogs allowed”. At least now I suppose they are allowed in on a lead/leash…

There are statues all over Settle at the moment made of flowerpots. I am not sure why – but some of them are really good. I’ll try and take some photos. This is one round the corner from where we are staying – but they are all over. People, animals, Dinosaurs.

Back in London

Max stayed at a very nice cattery while we were sailing round Greece – with a nice cat-lover called Jen. http://www.heathrow-cattery.co.uk/

I am not sure Jen had ever met a cat who liked to play as much as Maxie. She said that by the end of the first day he had already had a party with a scratching post with attached feathers – and his very spacious apartment looked like a down duvet had exploded. He had a view of her lovely garden from the end of his space – and we hope that lots of birds and squirrels came by to say hello while he was there.

Max was very happy to see us though on our return and come back to the cottage south of London.

Here were a couple of his favorite spots in the cottage

There was some beautiful Kent countryside just a few minutes walk from the cottage. These are from an early morning walk I took – a 3 mile loop.

The Beginning

We are currently preparing for our trip. Kate and I will spend time traveling while Kate is writing papers, I will be off exploring the meaning of life. Kate and I will be posting updates, comments, stories, and pictures. Oh yeah – Max-a-million Paddington our cat is coming with us. He is currently going through a series of vet visits and load of paperwork that Kate is taking care of (thank goodness).

We will update what we have already done to prepare for people who are curious what it takes to bring your cat to England and Hawaii.

Max is just waiting to go on his journey of his lifetime.