Visas, Airline tickets and Packing

So now the rush is on to get the visa applications processed and finalize flights. My agency coordinates the hotels because they get a discounted “adoption rate” but I am responsible to book the flights. Thankfully and with GREAT appreciation, love and thanks, my sister Beth was able to travel with me. I have traveled to several countries in Europe but never needed a visa. To apply for a visa, you have to send in your passport with the application…this made us extremely nervous. So we scrambled around, paying overnight mailing charges every which way, to expedite the visas. They arrived Thursday afternoon and we flew out Saturday morning! Close call in my mind, my blood pressure went down a bit and on to the next thing.

So Beth and I are what I like to call “selective eaters”, meaning we are a bit picky and not real adventurous with new foods. This is to the aggravation of some of my friends, coworkers and a brother-in-law. But I see it as I know what my stomach likes and what it will send right back up. Plus I am in HUGE money-savings mode (as all pre-adoptive parents are) and I was looking for some convenient snacks and food to take to save money and make my stomach happy. If Amy’s stomach is happy, then everyone’s going to be happy.

Beth was telling me she had a suitcase specifically for food and I thought she was kidding…..she wasn’t, at least not entirely. She did have two sweaters in the suitcase but I think she put those there as a decoy to the food that lie beneath :)

I, on the other hand, brought a large suitcase so my macaroni and cheese and peanut butter and jelly were carefully cushioned between my clothes. (yes I had a bag of M&Ms too). We reviewed what we both had so we didn’t double up on things like a blow dryer, curling iron, etc.

So my carry-on (a backpack that was a God’s send…big thank you to message board folks for recommending this) contained my laptop, camera, book, granola bars, water and paperwork. Beth’s carry-on was her “food suitcase.” Funny story this…..her suitcase had to be opened and her peanut butter and jelly was confiscated by the TSA before we even left St. Louis. The TSA agent was a comedian and felt it was necessary to LOUDLY announce other food items in the bag. I was across the aisle, with my back turned, not knowing what was going on until I heard him shout out, “beefaroni!” Yes, I knew at that moment it was my sister. Being funny like she is, she was joking around with the TSA guy and it all ended well, sans her PB&J to her dismay, but never fear, mine was still enroute in my checked bag. So this is how the trip began and promised to be full of interesting situations, especially when Beth and I are together!

~Amy