Up Up and Away… off to Lisbon
If for any reason I ever state that I love packing… contact the police because Im trying to let you know something is terribly wrong. …What to take… what not to… its a weekly struggle for me. Then once its all in I have a constant fear of it being overweight. My travel anxiety is in full force right now as we head into Houston to catch our flight for Lisbon. We arrive at the hotel … the cheapest place to park our car for our week long trip to Lisbon, Portugal. After what seems like a 2 hour wait ( probably 15 minutes ) the shuttle arrives and we load ourselves and our bags into the minivan. 
The drive to the airport gives me even more time to wonder what things Ive forgotten and berate myself for not preparing for this trip better. Luggage in hand we head into the terminal, wait patiently in line till its our turn… I plop my huge bag on the silver square and the green numbers come to life… I hold my breath and cross my finger and ………..49.8… yessss I did it!! Feeling flush with confidence we head off to security. 
How a person and misplace a ticket in a three minute walk amazes me but somehow I can do it. I dig through the pockets of my bags and pants as the TSA worker glares at me like Im an idiot. At this moment I kinda agree with him… but out of the depths of my sweater my boarding pass appears. We all breath a sigh of releif… well I breath a sigh of relief the TSA agent rolls his eyes. Next to the lovely conveyor belt , I put my bag on the the table… computer out , check… shoes off, check….. full bottle of water I just paid 5 dollars for… in the trash..ughhhhh. Thats the one rule I dislike the most about travel… but its for our safety right??? With my bags and shoes quickly disappearing into the magical bomb sniffing machine I head over to the full body xray/metal detector. I
walk in the machine and place my feet apart and my hands over my head( good practice if Im ever arrested) and then as I walk out the same thing happens that always happens…. I need to be pat down. I really dont mind but it is kinda a pain. FYI a big girl with a big booty will always get pat down. With my complementary pat down complete we gather a bags and head for the gate. Lucky for us we dont wait long and boarding begins. We make it onto the plane and find our seats. I squeeze myself in and buckle the belt. As the plane takes off I breathe a sigh of relief. The trials of the day are over and now all I have to do is sit back and relax and enjoy the flight to Lisbon. I close my eyes just as the question enters my brain…. what if they lose your luggage… ughhhh!
