100th post

We got on a plane in Minneapolis three years ago today, and flew to Istanbul with only 5 checked suitcases and 2 carry-ons.

Just 24 hours before, our new renters signed a lease for our house. Our house was mostly empty. Four weeks earlier, we had taken a truckload of our things to store at my parent’s house. The morning we left, my parents cleaned as we finished packing. We packed the back of their car full with the "little" that was left in our house after packing. It barely fit.

We ate lunch at Perkins with my parents and Scott's parents and sister, Jill, before we headed to the airport. I wanted a ham & cheese omelet. After all, it would be a long time before I ate pork again. I ate a salad with grilled chicken instead. That was the wise choice before a day of travel.

At the airport, I was thankful for my work travel experience. We checked in downstairs, at the kiosk on the end. It wasn't busy at all. I had a bag of extras that I was hoping would fit somewhere. We weighed a bag. Only 48.5 pounds. I stuffed in a couple more shirts and a Skippy peanut butter. (Yes, Skippy peanut butter is a necessity.) The next bag was 48 pounds. The scales were being generous that day, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Airport good-byes are hard. I don't have to tell that to anyone who has been through them. I've watched them enough, and made up stories in my head about who they were and where they were going. I think I cried all the way to our gate. I think I even cried while standing in line at Caribou. I didn't care.

Our 5 suitcases and 2 carry-ons proved to be enough. We packed (mostly) the right things. We had purchased an entire apartment's worth of furniture from an American who had worked in Istanbul, but returned to the States. Since she was planning on returning to Turkey, she put her things in storage. When we purchased the lot (for a really good price, I might add), her friend failed to tell us that everything had been in storage for 3 years. 3 years!! No wonder we got it for a really good price.

Before we moved into our apartment, I had a cleaning lady come. Unfortunately, our spotless apartment stayed spotless only until we moved in our dusty furniture. It took us another week to clean it up again. But it was worth it! I am not a girl who enjoys shopping, and the thought of having to furnish an entire apartment makes me shudder. And we love our furniture! The gal had good taste.

I can't believe we have been here for 3 years already. The time has flown by! The blog posts, however, have not. I have averaged almost three / month. Almost. You think you are going to become the next travel blog diva until you realize that working and living life takes all the time you have.

I'm just not much of a writer, I guess. Happy 100th post to me. We'll see how long it takes to write the next 100.