Day 1 - Houston to Chicago to Boston to. . . still not Paris

Alright folks, it's go time. Day 1 started off with my parents and Granny (yes that's her name) coming by to drop me off at the airport and say they're goodbyes. . .  The whole family has been very supportive of me shirking my responsibilities.  In fact Granny just got back from her own 6 week vacation where she basically covered the entire western half of the US including Alaska.  So she's all for it

Mom just wants me to have fun and enjoy myself and Dad was on board as soon as we promised to do a better job of cleaning out the lint catcher in the dryer while I was gone.  See, everybody wins.

Here's a quick shot of my roommate, Brady (the photographer from the first night) right before I left..  Easy ladies.  First off, let's not lose our focus and remember why we're here:  Me.  Second, he's a little younger than I am, so I've taken him under my wing and taught him everything I know about girls and relationships. . . so he's basically screwed in that arena.  You've been warned.




While these are great pictures, this also speaks to the excitement that I encountered on my first day traveling.  As it turns out I had a flight to Chicago.  Then a flight to Boston.  Followed by a three hour layover followed by my first trip over the Atlantic to . . . Reykjavik, Iceland.  Yes, I decided to splurge and pay the big bucks to be transported overseas by the highly reputable and world renowned IcelandAir.  Word of advice, pay the extra couple of hundred bucks and buy the direct flight.  I flew four different planes and went through security three times.  Not worth it.

Quick thought on how our friends up North approach airplane building.  For one, posture is apparently very important to these folks.  I was actually almost leaning forward when I sat down.  This normally isn't a problem because the seats tilt . . unless you were in my seat which would lean back but then pop right back up because the catch was broken.  So for five hours in the middle of the night when I should be getting some sleep, I got to sit ramrod straight the whole time.  Worst. . . Flight . . Ever (No joke).

At this point I'm working on 2 hours of sleep in the last 24 hours, but it's all going to be worth it because when  we touch down and deboard the plane I will have achieved my goal of stepping foot onto another continent.

                   Mission Accomplished!!!:

Turns out Reykjavik looks a lot like Detroit.  Who knew?.

Day 0 - Houston, TX: The Gear

First post of my new blog covering my trip to Europe which begins tomorrow. I have completed my final round of packing and am ready to go. I'm taking only one bag and a small daypack for after I drop my stuff off at wherever I'm staying. Here is a picture of everything I am bringing (keyboard not included).