North Carolina 2022 – The Adventure Begins!
The Last Day of Work – Bliss!
Well, that’s it! No more work for two glorious weeks. Oh, the sweet relief! All those Autodesk and Local Application issues have been neatly dealt with—some closed, some updated, and some cheekily passed over to a colleague. But the best part? The laptop is officially turned OFF. No work emails, no issues, just me, my suitcase, and the open road (or should I say sky?).
The work madness has been left behind, and I’m ready for a good dose of adventure. First up, the infamous fit-to-fly test…
The Fit-to-Fly Fiasco
So, we had our fit-to-fly Covid test online, as one does these days. It was a bit of a laugh really. Nurse Kristian handled the whole thing like a pro, and I’ve got to say, it was much easier than I imagined. I had visions of it being this horrid ordeal with technology failing at every turn, but no! Just over an hour later, we both had our results emailed back to us—both negative, thank you very much! I might’ve done a little victory dance. Ahem. No one saw, so it doesn’t count.
The Great Upload Saga
With our Covid tests behind us, it was time to upload all the necessary paperwork. Let’s be honest—there’s always a load of faff with paperwork when flying, and this time was no different. We uploaded all the statutory documentation to the Virgin Atlantic web servers, and car hire documents made their way to Thrifty. But here’s the twist—Michele checked in just fine with Virgin, like a pro. Me, on the other hand? Nope, denied again. I’ve had this ongoing battle with Virgin since 2017, thanks to a minor mishap Michele made with my ESTA, and it’s haunted me ever since. So, it looks like I’ll be doing my check-in the old-fashioned way—at the airport in the morning.
I can only imagine the fun and games that await me in Atlanta! Stay tuned for that.
The Art of Packing Light
Now, onto the pièce de résistance—packing. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Two weeks away and I’ve only packed hand luggage. Yes, you read that right. I’m quite chuffed with myself, to be honest. Both bags, perfectly packed, weighing in at exactly 9.5kg each. Not bad for a fortnight away, eh? But there’s method to the madness. You see, if we can manage this trip with just hand luggage (and I’m cautiously optimistic we can), then we might just give it another go when we head to California and Hawaii in September—for three weeks!
We’ve got this down to a fine art now. Who needs extra baggage when you’ve got determination, a well-folded shirt, and travel-sized toiletries?
The Calm Before the Early Alarm
With all the chaos of prepping behind us, we finally settled in for what was supposed to be an early night. After all, a 5:00 a.m. alarm was looming large. But of course, it wouldn’t be a proper ‘night before the holiday’ without a couple of celebratory holiday beers, would it? A little tipple to toast the upcoming adventure and calm those pre-travel nerves.
Cheers to that! Now, with everything sorted (or so we think), it’s time for a bit of shut-eye before the early wake-up call. The excitement is brewing, the bags are packed, and we’re ready to hit the road—erm, sky. More to follow in the coming days, of course. This is only day zero, after all. Bring on the adventure!
