And so it begins...

The journey west to the east has begun. Our first stop is San Francisco for an almost 48 hour visit with Jonathan’s family and friends. We’re also hoping that the three-hour time change will help ease the pain of the total eleven-hour change.

The last few days have been a haze of last minute purchases, returns, doctor’s appointments, endless phone calls, trips to the storage unit, and packing.

We managed to cram all of our things into a 10’x10’ storage unit and four huge duffel bags. I don’t think there really is a sensible way to pack this much stuff. You can’t separate the clothes by bags because then we could end up with all pants and no shirts. You can’t put all the toiletries in one place because they need padding and are too heavy. I just hope once we get to Vietnam and start to unpack, it’s all there.

I’ve never been to the regular Delta check-in since I have never flown on a confirmed Delta ticket. I felt like a fish out of water. Can’t even flash a crew badge anymore. I am officially a regular person. Jonathan had to sweet talk the agent into not charging us for our four fifty-ish pound bags. Angela and Trish both came to the airport to see us off since we were unable to meet earlier in the week. It was sad saying goodbye to them and my family. I’m not used to leaving for this long.

The flight was uneventful. It was wide open – as probably are all flights where you actually buy a ticket instead of flying standby. The flight attendant generously brought me wine from first class. As with the ticket agent, I just think they feel sorry for us since we’re moving to Vietnam.

Jonathan’s dad met us at the airport in San Francisco (there wasn’t room in the car for us, our bags, and any one else), and we headed up through Napa Valley to Angwin, his hometown. On the drive I started thinking how dry the air was. My skin felt rough and my lips were cracking. I almost let that thought become a complaint until I realized how I’d be longing for dry air within 72 hours.