By Land, By Air, By Sea… We’re Headed to Sicily!
Mango & Dragon: International travelers!
If you are new here, Mango & Dragon are our “boonie dogs” we adopted on Guam. Guam is infamous for a poorly controlled dog population and these “Super Mutts” are named Boonies. It has become more and more difficult for people to fly with their pets due to airline restrictions, but Guam is extremely restricted as United Airlines has stopped their “Pet Safe” program that was for flying cats & dogs. On Guam, United Airlines has the monopoly on air travel to leave the island. Due to no competitors, their tickets for even a one way ticket to Hawaii can cost up to $2-4+k or greater per ticket. The stop of the “Pet Safe” Program has greatly contributed to increase in stray animal population as many people have to abandon their pets due to costs and inability to fly.
If interested in learning more visit or follow:
https://www.boonieflightproject.com/ & https://www.instagram.com/boonieflightproject/?hl=en
Guam to Seattle, WA
We were fortunate enough to get a flight for our boonie dogs to get off Guam. Morgan flew with Mango in cargo and Dragon in cabin to Seattle with a layover in Alaska. The flight from Guam to Alaska was about 10hrs with a 2hr layover for refueling. During the refueling, Morgan was able to take the dogs outside to stretch their legs, use the bathroom, and explore for about 30 minutes before returning to their kennels. These island dogs got to see their first snow! Also, the first time they ever experienced below 80 deg F! They were confused to say the least. Then the final flight from Alaska to Seattle was about 3hrs.
We decided that after 15+hrs of travel it would be safer for the dogs to be driven from Seattle to their next destination to reduce stress. Morgans’ mom, Mimi, met her in Seattle to help drive the dogs to Texas to stay with her parents until it was time to move to Italy.
The Morgan, Mimi, Mango, & Dragon Old Fashion Road Trip Itinerary:
Seattle, WA:
Day 1: Morgan & dogs landed Thursday evening
It was the dogs first time in a downtown, concrete jungle! The jet lag from Guam had the dogs up at 3am wanting to go outside. In downtown Seatlle there is not a lot of grass so going “potty” was a challenge… in the cold… at 3 am. Morgan finally gave up and put them in planters to be able to pee (as seen in picture)
Day 2: Tour of the city
Biscuit Bitch for breakfast
Pike Place Market
Piroshky Piroshky
Starbucks
Market Spice
Pike Place Fish Co.
Starbucks Reserve
Gum Wall
Gas Works Park
Fremont Troll
Kerry Park
We met for dinner with Pauls friends at Din Tai Fung with hours of dumplings and laughs!
Day 3: Drive east from Seattle
We stopped to sleep in Boise, Idaho Saturday night
We were supposed to arrive right around 1AM but we rolled up to the hotel at 3AM due to time zone change AND Daylight Saving time change! Guam does not participate in daylight saving as it is close to the equator so this was not on our radar.
Day 4: Boise, ID to Bryce Canyon, UT
On Sunday we stopped in Salt Lake City, UT:
Drove through the salt flats
Saw THE Salt lake
Walked the dogs around downtown to see LDS tabernacle and temple. Unfortunately, the temple was under construction and could not be seen through the scaffolding.
Sunday night we made it to Bryce Canyon City, UT
Day 5: Bryce Canyon National Park
We took the dogs to the national park where they were dubbed “B.A.R.K. Rangers” via bandanas from the gift shop
We walked the rims of the park and saw all the look out points as pets are not allowed on the trails. The Hoodoos were amazing to see! Hoodoos are the tall rock spires that Bryce Canyon is famous for.
The park was cold, windy, and snowy but the dogs did great! Dragon only wanted to be carried a few times 🤣
After we saw as many look out points as possible, we drove further down to Page, Arizona.
Day 6: Page, Arizona
In Page, Mimi and Morgan had to divide and conquer as one of the canyons did not allow dogs on the tour, but the other did.
One person drove the dogs out to Horse Shoe Bend and walked around while the other person took the Antelope Slot Canyon tour. So the dogs saw Horse Shoe Bend twice!
We both believe that Antelope Canyon was number 1 or 2 highlight of the trip! Truly spectacular to see and the tour guides were top notch!
Day 6: Page to Grand Canyon
After our tours were done in Page, we headed east with a pitstop to see the sunset at the Grand Canyon
The south rim was the only route that was open. The north rim is only open during the summer months.
We drove to as many look out points as we could before the sunset. We found a beautiful spot with a bunch of others to watch the sunset over the canyon
This was truly an unforgettable moment for Morgan & Mimi to share!
After the sunset we drove to Albuquerque, NM for the night
Day 7: Albuquerque, NM to Fort Worth, TX
After a few hours sleep, we drove from New Mexico to our final destination of Texas
We stopped in Amarillo, TX to see the “Cadillac Ranch”
The Cadillac Ranch is an art installation where classic Cadillac cars are buried nose first in the ground. You can buy or bring spray paint to let your artistic side shine and tag the cars
The WIND! The wind was so strong it was almost impossible to paint or see anything if you didn’t have a ponytail holder.
This is was our final stop before arriving home to Fort Worth.
After a break in Texas, it was time to meet up with Paul in West Virginia where he was visiting his family before our final move to Italy.
The Brady Bunch of Morgan, Mimi, Mango, and Dragon geared up again to drive from Fort Worth to West Virginia. Then the gang will go WV to Norfolk and Norfolk to Italy.
Texas to Italy Itinerary:
Day 1: Fort Worth, TX to Nashville, TN
We stopped overnight in Nashville and walked around Broadway street
Day 2: Nashville to West Virginia
We had breakfast in Nashville and then hit the road again
Day 3-5: West Virginia
We spent a few days in WV soaking in as much family time as we can
Day 5: West Virginia to Norfolk, Virginia
Morgan, Paul, Mimi, Dan (Pauls’ dad), Dragon & Mango loaded in a SUV with 2 large suitcases, 2 seabags, 2 dog crates, 4 backpacks, and 2 carry-on suitcases. It was a FULL car to say the least.
We arrived in Norfolk in time to take the dogs to the vet for their health certificate appointment. This is a documentation stating they are safe to fly and required to board the plane.
Day 6: Norfolk
We ran different errands as this was our last full day in the States. Including checking in our luggage at the terminal
We had dinner at our friends’ home from Guam who is now stationed in Norfolk.
Day 7: Fly to Italy
We enjoyed a slow day soaking in the last of our time with our parents!
We ate at an iconic place for meatloaf sandwiches called “The Ten Top”. It did not disappoint!
Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until midnight… in true military flight fashion. We did not start boarding until after 1AM.
Mango again was checked as cargo and dragon flew in cabin in his soft kennel
We took off around 2AM for our 7hr flight to Rota, Spain
We were able to walk both dogs around for about 30 minutes during plane refueling
Then our final flight was about 3hrs to Sigonella, Sicily!
We were greeted by our sponsor and it took about 3 cars to get all of our belongings to our hotel room. One- because we had a lot of luggage and Two- because everyone in Italy has small cars!
We checked in to our hotel and immediately walked the dogs over to have local pizza and beer!
Like I said, these Guam dogs are world travelers! They drove across the contiguous United States and has crossed the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean Oceans!
We are excited for all our European adventures so subscribe to the email list (linked bottom of page) and follow us on Instagram to keep up with The Grigsbys!