We woke up this morning. The day is finally here!!! After months of planning, our departure date has arrived.
The day started early. My Cleaning Angels arrived at 8:00 for one final cleaning before the trip. The 4 of us finished some packing and went to IHOP for breakfast. Some of us were just too excited to eat though! After breakfast the boys and I took Jingle to Kirsten’s to be boarded and trained. It was hard to say good-bye but she seemed fine. She has been going each week for classes. She just thinks she is going to summer camp. It made us feel good to leave her where we know she’ll be happy.
While packing this week I checked the weather where we were going. San Francisco was 61, Seattle, was 51, and Grand Teton was 38 with snow flurries. The temps in Utah are running close to Huntsville, high 80’s this weekend. Needless to say we packed lots of clothes. Shorts and bathing suits for the hot temps; long pants, sweaters, jackets, gloves, and hats for the cold. Not to mention the books. Oh my goodness, we should have counted the books we brought. Reading books, travel books, games books, books, books, books.
Considering the amount of luggage, Ray called on Friday to make sure we had a large van scheduled to pick us up Saturday at 1:00 for the airport. The driver arrived on time, driving a Crown Vic! It took much loading and unloading to get 4 very large suitcases, 4 backpacks, and 4 passengers into the not-a-large-van Crown Vic. We had lots of spare time built in so we were fine.
We were greeted at the airport by the baggage handler who asked “so are you all moving?” No, just appears that way. We were fortunate to have made our reservations several weeks ago so the new $15 per bag rule did not apply to us. However, the 50lbs per bag limit did apply to us. Those 4 big bags??? 65lbs, 61lbs, 57lbs, and 35lbs. A bag over 50lbs costs $50 each. Hummm, books are heavy. Not good. So we began to unpack right there on the curb. Fortunately we had room left in our backpacks and I had packed some canvas bags (those who know me well know I never go anywhere without a canvas bag). We did well. So we ended up with 4 large bags weighing 50lbs each (on the dot) and 8 carry-on bags.
Our flight to Dallas was uneventful. We had a time for a quick linner (lunch/dinner) in the DFW airport. Our flight from Dallas to Salt Lake City left late. The boys and I sat on one side. Ray was in the seat across the aisle. Ray’s seatmate was an Air Force airman, fresh out of training school in Wichita Falls, headed home to Spokane for Father’s Day and a 2 week rest before flying to Germany. Nice fellow from a family with long heritage of serving in the military, excited about seeing his parents but even more excited about going to Germany to be near his brother, a Staff Sgt in the Army now serving in Iraq but soon to be stationed in Germany, too.
The boys took turns in the window seat. “Look, Mom, SNOW!!!” God-Moment: Thank you, Lord, for giving me the opportunity to see the wonder on my kids faces as they first saw the glory of the snow-capped mountains. What a gift to see watch as both boys with noses pressed to the window, one leaning over the other, saw canyons, valleys, mountains, and snow. Thank you for the opportunity to share this trip with them. All the work, the saving, and the planning have been worthwhile.
We arrived in Salt Lake City. As we walked through the airport Preston chattered non-stop. “These people are nice”. “I like it here”. “It sure is pretty”. And then as we waited on the curb for Ray to get a rental car. “This is my new favorite place”. “The air feels so good”. “I like it here”.
It was 9:30pm (10:30 to us) when we headed for the Residence Inn where we have a 2-bedroom/2-bath suite. (Don’t fall in love with all this space). After we cooled down the 80-degree room (ugh!) we all crashed. Ok I ended up offering Preston $5 if he wouldn’t ask another question. It worked J Mom was tired. I’m not going to complain about the pillows that kept me from sleeping well because this may just be the best bed I sleep in for 28 days.
Kerry
The day started early. My Cleaning Angels arrived at 8:00 for one final cleaning before the trip. The 4 of us finished some packing and went to IHOP for breakfast. Some of us were just too excited to eat though! After breakfast the boys and I took Jingle to Kirsten’s to be boarded and trained. It was hard to say good-bye but she seemed fine. She has been going each week for classes. She just thinks she is going to summer camp. It made us feel good to leave her where we know she’ll be happy.
While packing this week I checked the weather where we were going. San Francisco was 61, Seattle, was 51, and Grand Teton was 38 with snow flurries. The temps in Utah are running close to Huntsville, high 80’s this weekend. Needless to say we packed lots of clothes. Shorts and bathing suits for the hot temps; long pants, sweaters, jackets, gloves, and hats for the cold. Not to mention the books. Oh my goodness, we should have counted the books we brought. Reading books, travel books, games books, books, books, books.
Considering the amount of luggage, Ray called on Friday to make sure we had a large van scheduled to pick us up Saturday at 1:00 for the airport. The driver arrived on time, driving a Crown Vic! It took much loading and unloading to get 4 very large suitcases, 4 backpacks, and 4 passengers into the not-a-large-van Crown Vic. We had lots of spare time built in so we were fine.
We were greeted at the airport by the baggage handler who asked “so are you all moving?” No, just appears that way. We were fortunate to have made our reservations several weeks ago so the new $15 per bag rule did not apply to us. However, the 50lbs per bag limit did apply to us. Those 4 big bags??? 65lbs, 61lbs, 57lbs, and 35lbs. A bag over 50lbs costs $50 each. Hummm, books are heavy. Not good. So we began to unpack right there on the curb. Fortunately we had room left in our backpacks and I had packed some canvas bags (those who know me well know I never go anywhere without a canvas bag). We did well. So we ended up with 4 large bags weighing 50lbs each (on the dot) and 8 carry-on bags.
Our flight to Dallas was uneventful. We had a time for a quick linner (lunch/dinner) in the DFW airport. Our flight from Dallas to Salt Lake City left late. The boys and I sat on one side. Ray was in the seat across the aisle. Ray’s seatmate was an Air Force airman, fresh out of training school in Wichita Falls, headed home to Spokane for Father’s Day and a 2 week rest before flying to Germany. Nice fellow from a family with long heritage of serving in the military, excited about seeing his parents but even more excited about going to Germany to be near his brother, a Staff Sgt in the Army now serving in Iraq but soon to be stationed in Germany, too.
The boys took turns in the window seat. “Look, Mom, SNOW!!!” God-Moment: Thank you, Lord, for giving me the opportunity to see the wonder on my kids faces as they first saw the glory of the snow-capped mountains. What a gift to see watch as both boys with noses pressed to the window, one leaning over the other, saw canyons, valleys, mountains, and snow. Thank you for the opportunity to share this trip with them. All the work, the saving, and the planning have been worthwhile.
We arrived in Salt Lake City. As we walked through the airport Preston chattered non-stop. “These people are nice”. “I like it here”. “It sure is pretty”. And then as we waited on the curb for Ray to get a rental car. “This is my new favorite place”. “The air feels so good”. “I like it here”.
It was 9:30pm (10:30 to us) when we headed for the Residence Inn where we have a 2-bedroom/2-bath suite. (Don’t fall in love with all this space). After we cooled down the 80-degree room (ugh!) we all crashed. Ok I ended up offering Preston $5 if he wouldn’t ask another question. It worked J Mom was tired. I’m not going to complain about the pillows that kept me from sleeping well because this may just be the best bed I sleep in for 28 days.
Kerry
3 comments:
So good to see your first posts and that you made it out there.
Good luggage story! I remember doing the same thing with one of our bags when we went to South Dakota last year. It was over the limit and we kept pulling stuff out and putting it elsewhere to get it under the 50 lbs. Thankfully the carseat bag had room and was light enough. I think our suitcase was pretty heavy just by itself (completely empty) so that didn't help. We've since bought new luggage.
Keep up the posts! I miss you already.
Kerry,
I am soooo glad you are blogging. Your post moved me to tears. :) We'll be reading your blog every night for our bedtime story. The boys are looking forward to keeping up with the adventures of P1 and P2.
At the moment we are watching RV with Robin Williams in yalls honor. My sides are hurting from laughing. Hope your trip goes a little smoother. LOL.
Miss ya! Love ya!
(oh, and you need to change your profile....I think it's 21 years now.)
kerry, just trying to get caught up on all you've been doing now! i just HAD to echo your sentiments on the luggage issue - this is pretty much how i felt (and still do) about packing everything i would need for the next 6 months into two bags before leaving for san fran, especially given the variety of climates I'd be in. The airlines just don't make anything easier, do they?
On the note of rearranging packing, I should mention that upon coming home from Miami, I ended up putting on an extra two layers of clothing standing at baggage check to get my suitcase under the weight limit. Not a fun solution given the heat (not to mention how ridiculous i looked), but better than paying the extra $50!
hope you all are having a blast!can't wait to see you in S.F.!
peace, jane p.
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