Oh, did I confuse you? Did you think we had already escaped south. Oh, heavens no. I know, I know, I told many of you our intended date of departure was March 28, but a lot has changed since then. That's why this is the prequel.
But first, while Matt and I were in Iowa, Matt's parents showed us an article in the Des Moines Register travel section all about Colombia, specifically Cartagena. If that's not a sign...
Here is the article.
(click on article)
We are still waiting on our visas to travel to Colombia. If you live in a foreign country for over 3 months you must obtain a visa. We became aware that our Colombia status would probably be put on hold so we had some time to get used to the idea. While we were on our Tour de Love, Matt received additional paperwork to submit and a list of vaccinations. Yep, that's right....
shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shot, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots
This is something that I have asked Matt about since this South American business became a reality, but I guess waiting until the last minute makes it more exciting.
So we scheduled an appointment at the clinic while we were in Iowa. We require 7 vaccinations total (so we thought) and on that day I received 4 of them and Matt got 3.
Why not all of them?
Oh, because apparently the only place you can get Rabies and Yellow Fever vaccinations in Iowa is at the Dept. of Health. We also require an official document stating our blood type so we had to get blood drawn (a whole vial).
Needless to say after this, we were kinda some hot messes.
When we arrived in Houston (did i mention that is where we are currently located) we made an appointment at a clinic that specializes in overseas travel. We learned quite a bit at this office visit.
For example, did you know that all adults should receive an additional MMR and Polio vaccination?
I had an additional MMR done in Iowa, however since MMR is a live virus I was unable to receive the Yellow Fever vaccination as it is also a live virus and one must wait 30 days between 2 live virus vaccinations.
Do you know where that puts my next live virus vaccination?
April 25th.
So either I will be living in Houston until April 25th or one of my first experiences in Cartagena will be receiving a vaccine at the medicos de officina.
Oh, and the rabies vaccination is a series of 3 shots. We received our first, will wait one week for round 2, and then 2 weeks for round 3.
So that too puts us at the end of April.
I guess I should back up and explain our living situation.
Matt is working from an office in Houston so we are staying in an extended stay hotel...
so we have a kitchenette and a separate living space, but that lingering feeling of unsettledness followed us here. Thankfully we have been able to unpack so we are no longer living out of a suitcase (i guess technically we are, but this is the most settled we've been in weeks).
Which brings me to a whole other situation...
(please note: I am completely aware that unsettledness is not a word. However, I felt like it was the best description I could give you. There are other made up words all over this blog. You may or may not be used to it yet.)
Our Luggage.
As you can probably imagine, or maybe not, packing your life in suitcases and preparing to move somewhere you have never been poses a problem for someone as indecisive as myself, which basically means The McQuinns gotta lotta luggage.
From Texas to Tennessee to Chicago to Iowa, we traveled with 9-10 pieces of luggage. As you are aware you can check 2 pieces of luggage per individual and carry on two.
Obviously this was an issue.
By the time we packed to leave Iowa we had 10 pieces, some of them on the heavy side. We packed them up in Matt's dad's truck and headed to the airport (in the wee hours of the morn). We stopped by the curbside check-in and the kind curbside man immediately inquired how many people we had traveling.
Our response:
"2"
Kind curbside check-in man gave us a look. But we are getting used to that look. We see it almost every time we share our moving plans.
After weighing each individual piece of luggage, several of our bags were labeled with an orange tag that read HEAVY.
Our kind curbside check-in friend guided us over to the check-in kiosk to pay our fees (we were checking 6 pieces of luggage, obviously we had some fees). The airplane folk explained that they did not accept any piece of luggage over 70lbs.
Well we had 2 LARGE suitcases that were over 70 lbs.
We switched our checked luggage from 6 bags to 7 as my brilliant husband pulled out an additional bag he had stowed in one of the HEAVY marked bags. Our kind curbside check-in friend spoke with the airline and they did not charge us for the additional piece. Then we began the process of switching items out of the overweight bag into our 7th bag and all was well.
But our luggage experience doesn't end there.
After we boarded our flight to Houston we realized we had been sitting on the runway for a while. The pilot came over the loudspeaker...
Good Morning Folks, this is your captain speaking
We are all set to take-off however it seems we are having some
WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION
issues with the baggage.
So we're going to give our maintenance some time to get it worked out
and will be taking off shortly.
Thanks for your patience.
Obviously he was speaking to us. And I verified that when we arrived in Houston and there were 4 people total at the baggage claim for our flight. Matt and I were 2 of them.
And guess what? This story may not be over as we get to do it all again on an international flight! YAY!
Bet you're wondering what that buzz is all about in the title. No, I did not compose this entry while under the influence.
Remember that brilliant husband of mine, the one who thought far enough ahead to pack an extra bag just in case. Well, he can be a little stubborn. And sometimes, he just plain doesn't want to listen to me. So since we moved to Texas he has been getting his hair cut at these cheap SportClips and SuperCuts spots. I have told him over and over and over that he should just find a salon. But no, that would take planning. And imagine the fact that they could schedule you another appointment before you leave so you aren't shaggily running around to find somewhere to go the next time you need a trim.
Well, I think the stubborn one learned his lesson.
Slightly reminiscent of "The Situation"
Have a wonderful weekend.
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