The 36 hours before leaving did not go as planned. We had hoped to be out of the house by 12:30 pm on Monday when we turned over the keys to the tenant. We’d then have the evening and next day to relax and say our goodbyes before our flight at 5 pm. Yet it was far from that.
We were still packing up the house and getting things out on Tuesday. Tico sold his car that morning and just as he was sending me a message to say he was ready to be picked up both of our phone services were disconnected. Luckily I was able to use my mother’s phone to call him at the dealership where I hoped he would be. We swung by to get him and still needed to take the last load to storage. We finally got everything arranged nicely in the unit by 1:30 pm. Then it was time to deal with the fact that the refrigerator and freezer were still filled with food. By 2:20 pm the car was loaded and we thought we had just one last errand before we were off to the airport.
Our full storage unit
It was then that Tico stated, just as he had many times in the past week, that I had his passport. I said yes, but decided it was time to verify that. When I opened my travel wallet I realized,
“I don’t have your passport. It must be in the storage unit.”
So we gunned it over and started pulling things out. We got out the bikes, a chair and moved some boxes until Tico found the bag that he was looking for. He said there was only one place it could be and sure enough it was there. What a relief!
Celebrating an empty house with some champagne
We ran the last errand and decided to make our way to the airport. Once there, I scanned my passport at the United kiosk, which said there were no reservations for M. Mendoza. I tried with my confirmation number and it said to speak with an agent. I was beginning to think there was any glitch in our plan. The original flight plan was fly West to arrive East, aka Austin-San Francisco-Munich-Johannesburg. Due to weather in San Francisco, they decided to reroute us. We got on an earlier flight and were given a more logical plan, Austin-Washington, DC-Munich-Johannesburg, with the catch being an 8 hour layover in Munich. Our bags were checked through and we were instructed to get tickets for the remaining 2 tickets in DC.
And after an eventful last day, we’ve cried, hugged and said our goodbyes for the next year. We’re off to discover Africa!
The last picture in the US
Estuvo sufrido pero que bueno que todo salió bien. Les mando un fuerte abrazo. Espero su próximo update.
THAT. IS. STRESSFUL!! Sounds like you need a year-long vacation… ENJOY YOURSELVES and update the blog often! Love you!!
Accurate description of those last hours. Hope you get some of the relaxing and exciting time now. Love you
Sorry I wasn’t able to see you one last time. As for your final 36 hours “even the best laid plans eventually need to be readjusted. ” It’s part of the adventure. Have fun! Ada