DEPARTURE FINALE

Always a little anxious the day before departure; so many things to think about…mostly, what have we forgotten. Looking back on past trips, we’ve done pretty well; at least we’ve never overlooked a super-critical item.

We’ve pre-packed, so now it’s just stuffing the final items into the carry-on’s; triple check…passports…. prescription drugs…boarding passes. We print our boarding passes on-line, allowing us to slip past long check-in lines at the airport and thereby decreasing stress.

Final packing also means being “airport security ready”. So many little rules; liquids in 3oz or less containers, pack these in a easy to reach transparent baggie ready to show to security.  Nothing sharp or pointed…extra baggie for coins, watch…anything metallic to avoid setting off the machines...suggest slip on shoes as they go through X-ray minus your feet! . It helps to mentally walk through the airport process…to visualize the steps. There; I think we’ve got it.

The house and yard are prepared for our absence; household accounts are pre-paid. Neighbors alerted…gardening service arranged for…newspaper and mail on hold…emergency information and itinerary left behind for family. Finally we turn down the hot water heater, turn off or unplug all the energy-sapping electronic devices. No sense wasting energy on an empty home.

Overseas trips generally mean early AM flights; this one’s no exception. Our flight boards at 6:30AM…means we have to be at SFO airport by 5:00AM. Our BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system takes us right into the international terminal; very convenient. We could catch an early AM BART for the one-hour ride to SFO, but our “what-if” thinking deters us; there is the occasional delay and we won’t chance missing our flight. Just yesterday there were major commute delays due to protestors in downtown San Francisco.

So we’ve reserved a hotel room near the airport…one with a free shuttle. It’s a Super 8 with breakfast. Yes, we do travel frugally. But cleanliness is essential and this one is… was recently renovated and up-graded.  Not coincidentally, the hotel is a block away from Celia’s, our favorite Mexican restaurant in San Bruno. http://www.celiasrestaurants.com/

What…Mexican food the night before flying? Oh well, we’ll just risk it…hope nearby passengers aren’t offended. Should be okay…we have aisle seats, so easy restroom access if necessary. Seat selection is important to us…just part of our careful planning.  The first flight leg is to Atlanta, a 5-hour flight. But Margaritas are out this time; the airport shuttle leaves at 4:30 AM. Rise and shine!

Now it’s off to San Francisco and on to Atlanta; then to Copenhagen, our first destination. We’re looking at about 24-hours door to door with layovers etc.

More later,

Maury and Jeannie