TRAVEL THERE: ALMOST READY TO GO
I confess, I hate packing. I wish I could be one of those people who toss a few things in my bag and be done with it, but I’m not. I see them trotting off the gangplank with only their backpack and carry-on to deal with and I think about how carefree it seems, but that’s just not me. Dressing up is all part of the fun and you can’t really dress up out of a back pack. This time I also had a formal gown, tuxedo and various other ceremony items to deal with. I took a deep breath and started the process.
The Luggage Question
I must not travel enough, because it seems every time I travel they’ve changed all the rules. I’m still wondering what happened to two pieces of checked luggage and no weight restrictions. At least we weren’t flying on Spirit with it’s 40 pound checked luggage restriction, but I was limited to one checked bag and what seemed a pretty small carry on.
We had traveled enough in recent years to destroy some of our luggage. Our carry-ons were in pitiful shape and the large hard-sized case had sprouted a crack. My sweet neighbor offered to loan us some bags, but in the end, we decided to go ahead and buy our own.
Thankfully, Tuesday Morning had a luggage sale. Bill decided my old red bag was good enough for him, but we’d still need one large bag and those carry-ons. We mucked about in the back of the store with a copy of Air Canada‘s Luggage Allowances, measuring bags and lamenting prices for quite a while, before arriving at the checkout counter with three purple bags.
Next there was a dust up about loading the car. Deb would be riding to the airport with us, so I wanted to be sure there was going to be room for all of us and our luggage in the car. I suggested a trial run and it did not go well. Bill was satisfied everything was going to be OK, just a little bit before I was through with all the fretting I needed to do. That turned into another argument.
What to Wear
Deciding what to wear was really no trouble at all. While I don’t travel enough to keep up with the ever-changing luggage policies, I do travel often enough to know which of my clothes work best for traveling. Knits for the plane, sundresses for shore excursions and a selection of dress-up clothes for evening. Once I gathered up all the accouterments for these outfits, I was ready to go.
We’d had some rough times getting ready for this trip, but in the days just before travel things smoothed out. It seemed as if we would at least stay married long enough to renew our vows. I can say this with some humor now, but it wasn’t very funny at the time. Mr. Bill indicated his willingness to cooperate by being packed a whole day in advance. Our bags were all under 50 pounds.
It was time to head to the airport. I can’t wait for us to go together. Come back next week and we’ll hit the road, the air and the sea.
jane sadek 