A Carry-on Suitcase and a Dream

Hello!! First blog entry!! Score!!!

Its Sunday February 25th and I've officially started packing for Ireland. We leave in t-minus four days and I could not be more excited. My mom has even gotten in contact with our family overseas, and I'll likely be able to meet up with them on Monday or Tuesday of our trip.

We fly into Chicago on Friday at 8am, then to Newark and then to Dublin. I've always loved to travel, and my family travels a lot, so the long day won't bother me. Personally, I would've preferred flying through Denver which is my favorite airport. Shout out to Crú in the Denver airport. Your pizza is the best on the planet.

The main concern I have right now is the fact that we can't check our luggage. As soon as we arrive in Dublin, we hit the road and drive up to Belfast, so we won't have the time to wait around a baggage claim for all our belongings. I've traveled using only carry-on before, but not internationally. Luckily, my mom is a magical, determined individual who is helping me stay organized and sane.

For my birthday (four days ago) I got a new backpack that has a ton of space as well as a detachable pocket on the front. My plan is to use this pocket as storage for all my liquids so that they are easy to obtain when we reach security. The backpack is spacious but not bulky, and I'm able to fit a change of clothes in there along with books, homework, and other place essentials. I also got a new suitcase made for international travel. It will be a bit of a jigsaw puzzle fitting packing cubes of clothing into it without taking up too much space, but we have Marie Kondo on speed dial (pulled up on YouTube). It will take a bit of rearranging and replacing as the week goes on, but I have full faith that my carry-on will prevail.

The next time I blog, I will probably be either A) in the airport or B) on the Emerald Isle and I quite literally can't wait!!!!!