Uneventful Red Eye Flight and First Day at the Seeing Eye

            I am Here at the Seeing Eye and very likely the only one whom is awake at 3;30 a.m. I  didn't sleep very well but feel fine right now.  I have a soft rock station playing in the background.

Anyway, The journey  began Friday night,April 23.

Friday was mostly spent finishing packing and hanging out with Darrell before leaving for the Airport to catch the Red Eye flight that night.

Skyharbor Airport was very quiet Friday night and I had no trouble getting assistance. Our Friend Karen whom is a cab driver made sure I got help at curbside.

From there the process went very smoothly,much faster then when traveling in the past. There were no issues at check in and security and went  straight to the  gate where our friend Jeff was already waiting for me.  .

Jeff andI Looked forward to this day,to be in class together  and receive our next Dogs at the finest Guide Dog School in the Country.

Jeff met me in Phoenix so we could  get the same flight to Newark.  I was very surprised the Red Eye flight was oversold and like most flights these days were full,had us all packed in their like sardines.:) lol

It was an uneventful but very pleasant four hour flight to jersey. 

Jeff brought his Ipod Touch and we watched two movies with description.  We chatted a bit,had a  good   time telling each other a a little about  stories of things that happened as kids and  got a good  laugh.

We first watched a movie  called "Water Boy" starring Adam Sandler and Henry Winkler,very funny. (Don't know the rest of the cast)

After we saw " Up". This got excellent reviews but in my opinion wasn't very good,had some cute parts but   not the best,much better films out there.

While listening to the movies,The flight attendant came by to serve us beverages and of course, no snack,gave us the  typical small bag of pretzels.

neither one  of us slept on the flight and needless-to-say,were very tired by the time we arrived at Newark at 6;30 a.m.

Once  there,we again,got excellent service and were taken to the President's Lounge where we sat for an hour ,just hanging out before heading to baggage to meet the Seeing Eye's Driver.

after waiting awhile,chatted with each other as wellas  my Mom, we were on the road ,heading here to Morristown with another student, Kim,from Savanna Ga.

Some of the Seeing Eye Staff were there to meet  and greet us Yesterday morning.  Pauline and Karen from Admissions as wellas all 4 trainers.

Once the introductions were made,they assisted us to our rooms.

I thought I'd lie down and get some rest but instead decided to unpack and organize my things in my room.

In each room they have Serious Radio and a talking alarm clock so I had to play with those things too.

When in my room unpacking,I met with both my Instructor Kristen and with Beth  one of the Nurses here.

Kristen  and I discussed  training, expectations and she got an opportunity to get to know more about me,to help determine which dog would be an ideal match for me. She already has two dogs in mind and today,we will meet them.

After all that,I chatted withDarrell.  By then it was lunch.

Half our class had arrived and there were so many new voices /personalities I need to get to know.  The kitchen staff are very friendly and red usthe menu.

They offered us garden salad,vegetable soup,ham or tuna sandwiches.  They also had ice cream and fruit fordessert and a wide of selection of beverages. I had tuna with chips,dill pickle and a cup of coffee.

Kristen and I met after lunch and she took me on my first Juno walk.   The Weather was beautiful and we just  walked aroundthe Campus so she could gauge how quickly I walk,how much I could pull.  we also worked  on leash corrections. this enables instructors to match the right dog with us. I am an average walker with a light pull.

After the Juno walk she gave me an orientation around the House here: showed me the lounges,nurses office,dining hall,basement where they have a technology center,student laundry room,exercise and grooming  room where we groom the dogs. They have a lot of cool fitness equipment and  now  have an additional aspect to the grooming process. they  have bottles of solution to soften the dogs coat.

At this point I was wicked tired and went back to my room to take a nap. I got some rest but not much. the bed isn't very comfortable but I also received calls from Darrell and Tina. I also chatted with Keri too.

Since I couldn't sleep,played with the clock,attempting to use all its cool features.

Dinner was at 5. Jim Kutch (President of the Seeing Eye and his Wife Ginger ) joined us for dinner.

They divided us 19 students into 4 smaller classes. As said,Kristen is my Instructor. She's very nice,from Boston and was an Orientation and Mobility instructor prior to working here at the Seeing Eye.

There are 3 new Students in my  class of 4 . I am the only retrain. There is Kim,Ken,Leeann and myself.

There are still too many names to recall and there are folks here from every region  . noone here from Canada. There are 3 of us from Arizona.

The other Instructors are very nice and names are; Jim,Barb,and Riva.

Again, the menu was red and the food was very good(they treat us well here) they had a hot plate,Turkey,stuffing,and green beans (I had this)

they also offered a salad. They had fresh fruit and a  small sample size cheese cake. It was delicious and was a perfect portion. I had coffee again with this meal,trying to stay awake for the meeting later.:) lol 

At 6;30 had  our first meeting in the common lounge. They  discussed Rules and Regulations as well as today's  schedule,a lot planned for us today. They also handed out leashes and gave us cute  little MP 3's with lecture material already loaded on there.We can keep them.

By then,most of us were exhausted and once  the meeting was over headed back to our rooms for the night.

Jeff was nice enough to assist me to get Darrel's WIND( a small netbook,like a small Laptop) up and running and get me on the network.

Once I was online,had to check e-mail, and write a few tweets. I chatted briefly with Tina on Instant messenger and with Darrell and Jeff on  the phone. Though,I was wiped out I continued to play on the computer and adapt to using this squishy rolled up keyboard rather then my standard one. I then, took a shower and  went to bed. 

Now,here I am, its 4;30 and in less then 2 hours someone willbe be calling us  through our intercoms to  wake us up and announce breakfast.

Breakfasts at 7,then  I guess,we all will go into the training Lounge in Town,work again On Juno Walks.

later in the morning we will all come back here work on  Obedience techniques, will get to meet the dogs that are possible matches for each of us.

Not sure what else they have planned. I know after lunch   and  our dog interaction activity  we will have meetings and this evening a Wine and Cheese Social.

I can't think of anything else,still half asleep right now and writing this   after sleeping only a few hours and have had no coffee yet  today.

Tomorrow is the big day,Puppy Day!:) I heard were suppose to get rain,the next couple days,hope not.

Take care. I will continue to update all of you,on my Journey here getting my next and forth dog.

By the way, my visit last Saturday night with Dougie and his Family went very well, better than expected. 

We had a nice dinner with Kay and Rick. they took Darrell and I to this Infamous Joe's Barbecue place in the Valley. it was great.

After  went to a park near their house and Dougie was so happy to see me. Most of the time he just sat on my lap,gave me kisses and waggie tails.

He  was silly,played,rolled around and flailed in the grass. It was a wonderful reunion.

When,it came for Dougie to go back home with Rick,he didn't make much of a fuss.he jumped a little and  let out two loud barks as he was walking away but didn't get anxious or cry.

I didn't get emotional at all. I miss /love Dougie but,I know he is in a great home with people whom love him, care for him and he is enjoyingretirement. That makes me feel good,knowing this and I can now,close one chapter and  begin a new one.

Of course, Dougie   will always have a special lace in my heart and be my Dougie dog.:)

Well, its going on 5,I still need to edit this and post it to my blog. I want to be through by the time the first call is made.

take care and continue to visit Karen's Corner.   You can  see my journey here that I will take here with my new dog during these next few weeks. Have a great day.