And they’re off

As of this post we made it to the Little Rock airport waiting for our first of many flights. Actually we will have more trains than any other mode of transportation this trip…unless we can find some camels.

As with any trip, I check my list over and over, repack a few things, change out a few items and then check my packing list again.

About an hour before departure time I called and spoke with Alan to touch base and he mentioned something about the cruise! I froze! It was like I was just punched in the gut. I was so focused on the trip overall and all the countries and transportation that I completely forgot to check my cruise list. I have items I only bring on a cruise that are not on my regular trip list. Off I ran to dig out my cruise box. OY VEY I kept repeating to myself as I dug frantically through the closet, then my office, the spare bedroom, then the basement, under the bed, another closet, bookshelf, dresser, cabinet…I gave up. I never found the box. I knew I put it in a very safe place, a very VERY safe place. I did however find the most important thing that was supposed to be in that box but was on my refrigerator instead, my R2-D2 magnet. As long as I had that everything else was insignificant.

All the way to the airport I was still thinking about what I packed. At this point my packing list changes from what I am supposed to bring to what I forgot to bring. As we arrived at the airport I was relishing in the fact that my miss list was still mostly empty. We started gathering our luggage when Joe proclaimed he can’t find his bag and might have forgotten to put it in the car. I got that punch in the stomach again. He did find the bag thankfully so we were all back in business but I made a mental note to keep an eye on Joe from this point forward.

From that point onward we had a wonderful eventless journey, well, at least for the next 5 minutes, then we hit the TSA. Most of us breezed through quickly but Bryan was buzzed at the scanner and had to move aside for some additional attention. He was wearing some knee support sleeves that apparently triggered the alarm. The agent took the little swab that checks for residue gunpowder and ran it all over the knee supports and stuck it in the machine! WHOOP WHOOP!! The machine sounded!! ALERT!! glared on the screen as the swab tested positive for gunpowder. He was then escorted to another area for a more thorough check. His luggage had to be returned and they went though every bag item by item and he had to be searched thoroughly. As the agent was putting on his rubber gloves I asked he needed some lube. No one thought it was funny but me and I was directed to move on to the waiting area. Bryan eventually passed and we all went to the gate. But with all the travel we have coming up it’s a bit concerning that something on him is testing positive for gunpowder.

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