Suitcases? No. Rubbermaid Trunks? Ooohh Yeah!

Lot's of you may be wondering how our travels down to beautiful Dominica went.  Well...it was a little convoluted, but needless to say, we did make it here!  We started out in OKC and our original flight plan was OKC to Chicago to Charlotte to Charleston (5 hour layover) BACK to Charlotte to spend the night, then Charlotte to Barbados (switch airlines) to Dominica.  Most of that went off without a hitch, but thankfully our flight out of Chicago was quite late leaving.  So US Airways eliminated the stupid superfluous leg BACK to Charlotte and we ended up staying there once we got there.  Our suitcases, however, decided they'd like to take the scenic route.  Ugh!  They actually DID go to Charleston when we stayed in Charlotte, and then were lost in the shuffle.  Somehow, probably mostly by the grace of God, they met us in Barbados.  Yay!!  But the frowny face part comes when I show you what they looked like when we picked them up...

Yeah.  That's what I said.  Ridiculous!  So they're basically trashed...we won't be able to travel with them back home.  The pictures probably don't even do justice the massacre that was our suitcases in Barbados.  Our peach one doesn't look as bad, but it's actually worse off than the red one.  It won't even stand up at all because the wheels are crushed in.  I'm not sure if they traveled in a wood chipper from Charleston to Barbados or what!  Luckily everything was intact inside, so there's that.  But we'll have to get creative when we head back home!

You might say, "But Rachel, you only traveled with 2 suitcases!  How in the world did you pack for 16 months in 2 suitcases??".  And I would tell you, "Because, goober deluxe, we shipped all our goodies down in Rubbermaid bins.  Duh!".  Here's what they looked like when they left OKC headed to Miami:

They were taken in an 18 wheeler to Miami and from there they were put on a barge for Dominica scheduled to arrive last Wednesday.  So they were waiting for us here when we got here!  Woohoo!  Here's what they looked like when they arrived:

Yep...all 278 pounds worth of our lives for the next 16 months!  The only maddening thing about this situation is that the stinkin' containers arrived in BETTER condition than our suitcases!  Yep.  I paid $1500 for plane tickets down here and my crap is mangled.  I paid $300 to ship these containers and they're pristine man!  Moral of the story?  Pack yourself in a Rubbermaid trunk, duct tape yourself up real nice, and SHIP yourself down to Dominica.  It will be a much better and cheaper option!  

So what's inside you might ask??  Well lemme give you some of the top ranking items:

1 Kitchenaid Stand Mixer (yeah buddy!)

~482 packages of popcorn (not sure what we were thinking there...)

1 Mildew Resistant ZEBRA Shower Curtain

As many kitchen utensils as I could find in our over full storage unit

Bakeware (including a Pampered Chef 9X13 and a cookie sheet that are too big for my teen oven)

Reusable Shopping Bags

Melamine plates, bowls, and cups

Silverware

Pots and Pans (IKEA man!)

2 Giant Jars of Peanut Butter

Air Freshener

Bug Spray, Bug Spray, Bug Spray

Dryer Sheets out the bootay

Drink Mix

Sea Salt Grinders

Brita Pitcher

PUR Faucet Filter

Sheets and Towels

Enough Deodorant to Make the Orangutan Habitat at the Zoo Smell Like Heaven

And there are many, many more things I could list.  But I'm assuming you're sick of reading them right??  We are pretty well set for a while, though there were a few things we didn't think to bring/send or we didn't bring/send enough of.  We'll have to get creative with those things and/or rely on our fabulous parents to send us some care packages!  

We are slowly but surely moving in to our humble abode, so I promise I'll be forthcoming with the video of the place soon.  Lemme get my junk put away first people!  The weather is still beautiful and the breezes are divine.  Tomorrow we are headed to Portsmouth Market which is like a little seaside fresh seafood and produce market with a bunch of little vendors.  I should have some good pictures from that for sure!  For now, enjoy the view from our front balcony this afternoon of one the most breathtaking things in Dominica!

Beautiful right?!  I wonder what's at the end of it...