Crossing the Pond

If I could bottle the energy that goes into getting things done before a holiday... 

A combination of sleep deprivation, excitement and amplified multi-tasking always leads to a few minor disasters. Keys get lost, important things are left to the last minute and there is no time to discuss the day with Julia.

My pre-trip disaster happened two hours before we were to drive to the airport. Access to our parkade, and elevators is via a fob. We have a storage locker that is in a room with other lockers that has a key. Then we have a padlock on the locker. All those things are on one keychain. I brought in one set of clubs, by unlocking the door and then unlocking the padlock. Then I left the keys in the padlock. Then I went out to get the next set of clubs and the door closed behind me. Argh!!! I was locked out of everything. Without a fob I was locked out of elevator or stair access and a pedestrian can't trigger the parking garage doors. I was ready to pull the fire alarm. 

Fortunately I could hear Julia pull into the parkade less than a minute later and she was able to track down our building security guard who rescued me. Only 15 minutes lost. I was lucky.

My packing used to be the equivalent of throwing clothes and shoes into a rectangular laundry hamper. While very inefficient, I always had confidence that I'd be able to repack with ease. Today, I am an Eagle Creek convert using packing cubes, garment folders, bolstered by the newly learned skill of folding and rolling up my clothes. I need to add that my mother tried to show me these skills over 40 years ago with no success. 

I first used their garment folders on a long private jet tour that had stops in Iceland, Hungary, India, China, Vietnam, Oman Greece and France. Most stops were 2-3 days so there was a regular unpacking/packing routine that was helped significantly by using garment folders. Now my suitcase is full of packing bags, cubes and garment folders. One cube for shorts, socks and t-shirts, a garment folder for casual clothes, one for dressy clothes etc.  

We've made it across the Atlantic and are enjoying the perks of an arrivals lounge that includes access to showers. I was able to get what I needed out of my suitcase without completely overturning the contents. That is pretty much a miracle for me!

We have a pretty long layover before flying to Edinburgh later this afternoon.