Monday, June 29, 2009

They're off. . .

At the airport

4:40 am After sleeping through their 4:00 am alarms, Mom and Dad woke in a panic and hurried out the door!

5:00 am I met them at a nearby grocery store, and after loading a few final bags (10 suitcases, 2 carry ons, and 2 computer bags in all), we were off!

5:10 am We got on the freewayand had a quick and uneventful ride to the Salt Lake airport.

5:40 am Dad and the skycap unloaded the bags, and then I drove around to the parking garage to park. By the time I got to the ticket counter, they had checked in and the bags were getting airline luggage tags.

In the end, they didn't weigh one bag and only charged them $600 for the extra luggage ($100 per bag). They were expecting to pay more like $1400, so it was a pleasant surprise. One by one we checked to ensure each bag had green tape, luggage tags (made and laminated by Mom), a lock, and then we hauled them off to security.

6:00 am After a quick goodbye and a picture (above) they were on their way! I pulled out of the airport just 20 minutes after parking. Mom and Dad had enough time to stop and eat some breakfast.

7:10 am American Airlines flight departs--with our parents on board!

What a whirlwind departure!!!

Emily

2 comments:

kim said...

I bet mom wished she'd known it would've only been $100 per bag...she may have taken 20 bags!
Glad all went well and we'll be looking forward to hearing how it is once they get there.

Kate said...

I'm about to cry! I have been so good about being "distant" with the whole "Mom and Dad are leaving for two years to a TOTALLY DANGEROUS part of the world"... it's kept me from crying up until now. Well, there it goes. Victoria Falls... in my eyes. I told myself it will be a fast two years, but right now I'm just content to miss them like a baby misses her blankie....