Europe - Day 0

Oh we are going for it this time! Europe!
Soo excited, and slightly intimidated. We have been in prep mode: packing, printing out documents, re-packing, getting the house ready, etc.
We are also adding a trip mascot to the mix this trip... meet Skylar (also known as Sky. But not to be called Droid, despite my best efforts - it's a long story).

Skylar (Sky) 

So he will pop up all over the trip. When I can't talk the kids into standing in front of something for a picture (they are tweens/teens, after all), Skylar will save the day. Gotta love a travel companion that always goes with the flow ;) and fits in your purse.

Sky is ready!

We have a crazy trick we do to get to the airport for longer trips these days... it's actually cheaper than a shuttle, town car or parking at the airport - we rent a car for a day. Pick it up the day before we go and then drive it to the airport. We have only done this once before, so today is twice and it worked great. It's a bit silly but we like it.

Flying International is different. Or should I say getting onto an international flight is different. We lost our TSA Pre-Check, since this airline (Condor) doesn't yet participate (soo, sad). But overall getting through security wasn't bad. We enjoyed seeing the more elaborate uniforms from the international airlines while we were waiting for our boarding time. We were told it would board an hour before departure. That time came and went without much communication. It was clear the passengers were expecting this as a line began to form at that time. As the next hour progressed we heard twice that the gate agents were waiting for the crew to tell them it was time to board. The flight status never changed to delayed. It did go from "On Time" to "Departed" - before we had even boarded, but at the time it was supposed to depart... ok, I guess there is more than one way to keep a good on-time record ;).
About an hour late we boarded and about 45 minutes late we departed... you will find out tomorrow how that turned out ;)

Waiting to board

Once we were all onboard and settled the co-pilot told us the details of the delay. The plane wasn't fueled when they expected it to be due to a  malfunction with the fuel truck. The crew is not allowed on board until the fueling is complete, so they couldn't get things ready til then.

But we are off on our flight to Frankfurt, Germany and we are all a healthy mix of super excited and a little bit nervous.