December 30, 2015: Flying to Turkey

This is it, our last day in the US and there is so much to do!  Lots of stuff is packed but a lot is not and, of course, there is a lot of things that just have to wait for the last second.  Everything is being charged this morning, there are four Fires to get charged, many camera batteries and such.

For food this morning it was “eat whatever was in the house.”  So for me that meant BBQ Quorn Chicken bites for breakfast.  We are cleaning out the fridge as best as we can.  At least all of the food in it is pretty healthy.

We ran up to the Grices in the Chrysler 200 that we had rented loaded with our luggage.  We parked it at the and Dominica and her dad set to getting everything loaded into it.  Emily and I took the Spark and ran to the Bay Area boxing place near their house to get the laptop, three iPads and more shipped out to day which should arrive to him on Saturday.  The laptop wasn’t quite ready to ship and I had to sit in the parking lot trying to get it ready at the last second.

After shipping out the stuff to dad, Emily and I ran to Sonic and got drinks to take back.  I texted Dominica and she asked for a drink and forgot to take the order for everyone else so we thought that no one wanted drinks but us.  So it was a small order, but fast.

Back to the house the car was pretty much ready to go.  I had enough time to finish my drink before we left.  This is it, six months away from the United States.  A huge move.

We left around five to make sure that we would beat traffic.  We made good time, thanks to the toll tag built into the rental car, and were up to the airport in well under two hours.  We even had time to stop and get gas and snacks before returning the car.

We dropped off the car, took some pictures and lugged our luggage to the shuttle to take us to the airport proper.    So much luggage.  We have four huge suitcases, all filled to the fifty pound limit and then six pieces of carry on – two big rollers and four backpacks.  Plus we have the one freebie grey bag that has the car seat and the coats in it.  Eleven pieces in all.  Way better than we have done in the past but far more than can fit into a normal car.  We can’t use a Yaris to get around like we did in Panama.  We must have a larger car.  The Chrysler 200 was filled to the brim.

Luggage
Dropping Off the Rental Car – So Much Luggage

Shuttle to the airport and our bags were checked and we were through security quick and easy.  We are getting very used to the international terminal at IAH by now.  We even know where to eat and when new restaurants arrive.

Once we were set up at the gate with plenty of time to kill I went and got us some food to eat while we waited.  I hit Aunt Cookies as everyone loves pretzels and they also sell the Nestle Tollhouse cookies that are Luciana’s favourites.  They did not have her favourite cookie this time, though.  So no luck there.

We had to wait about an hour and a half before it was time to board.  No issues, we were onto the plane and ready for our nearly half a day flight to Istanbul.  Our flight time was nine.

on the plane
On the Plane to Istanbul

Our plane is a Boeing 777, our least favourite.  We like that there is a middle row of three seats for the girls and me to sit in as that is very logistically easy to manage but the 777 has no airflow and is extremely uncomfortable for anyone who needs air while flying, which many people do and Dominica especially really needs.  There is no way to control your own temperature so you are stuck in the general temperature of the airplane without any air movement which is tough for me, too.  And the plane was extra warm as well.  It was a rough combination.

We all put on some movies and called it a night.  The girls were not at all ready to sleep but we hope that they will fall asleep after not too long.  This is, by far, our longest flight ever and it is only the first leg.  This is going to be one really, really long trip.