Today is the beginning of a week in the midwest with family. Tonight I drive my mother and myself to Reno, from which we will fly out tomorrow with my sister and her husband in tow to Minneapolis. After that, it becomes a road trip, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to the west end of Minnesota (Park Rapids), and back to Minneapolis for a couple of days.
Which part of this journey am I most looking forward to? Why, he food, of course! But before we can get to that part, we have to do our prep...get airline tickets, lodging and car rental taken care of. Pack. For a week. Try to keep it all in carry-on bags - 14x22x9, if your flying Delta. Yeah...I can do that! No really! I can!
For starters, I have an awesome backpack by LowePro, that snuggly carries my camera and lenses and accoutrements (battery, chargers, etc.), as well as my Notebook and traveling documents, wallet and gum - ya gotta have gum when you fly! Ha! You should see my "purse!" It's huge! Well, at least big enough to carry a pair of shoes, jeans, shorts, and tank tops. Oh yeah...and a purse! The "heavy" stuff gets worn the day we fly. No way my new Stinson Beach hoodie fits in my "purse," but it wraps around my waist nicely at the airport.
The outfit you fly in requires a certain amount of thought. It needs, first and foremost, to be comfortable. You'll be spending the major part of the travel time sitting, in a snug seat, next to who-can-really-be-sure, with not a lot of room to either spread out or to get up. Secondly, you have to go through the security checkpoint. Too many pockets that have to be emptied (and thusly reloaded) takes time. Time which needs to given to putting your shoes back on once TSA has decided you are not the next shoe bomber. Take out your 3-1-1 liquids in a quart size clear baggie. Repack that at the end of the process. Same with the laptop/notebook - take it out, prove there are no explosives there either, and re-pack it. Is there underwire in my bra? Oh. I hope not. That's another 7 seconds wasted while I get wanded! Can't they tell by the evenly distributed bulges and bumps around my waist and thighs that I'm not packing bombs? What can I possiby be concealing in my bra, leggings and tank top? Oh shit! That's right! I tucked my cell phone - still turned on, by the way - in my bra, because I have no pockets!
Okay. I think the hard part is over! Made it through security with my dignity intact, barely, and all my possessions and no-one has told me I have to check a bag! I need to find my gate and an empty seat. And a cup of coffee would be nice, since I haven't had any yet and it's not even 7 a.m.! Food? Did someone say 'breakfast'? Yeah...I'll have some! CinnaBon, anyone? I'm on vacation! The calories don't count, do they?
Tune in tomorrow, when I log-in from Minneapolis and recount the accuracy of my security check, and seat assignment, and breakfast issues. Let's hope the adventure doesn't begin with a car rental turn-in fiasco at 5 a.m.! Working on roadtrip tunes for the 300+ mile drive to Greenland and Mass City, Michigan. And one more (final) check of the bags to make sure I haven't missed or forgotten anything. Until tomorrow....
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