Travel was already off to an exciting start. I arrived at the airport about an hour early. I am flying with two other girls from Iowa. We have have been communicating back and forth the past few months about our trip to Malaysia. After I got myself checked in, got my boarding pass, and sent my luggage off, I sat and relaxed for 20 minutes. Little did I know, the next 45 minutes were about to put us three girls in a rush.
We got in a pickle when one of the girls got held up in traffic. She arrived 15 minutes before our plane took off. I started to worry about her. She had to get her bags checked in, her boarding pass, and luggage sent off yet before we all could leave as a team. Oh yeah…. and get through customs. {This is quite the joy, let me tell ya!}
Thank goodness for Snap Map. We found our third traveler, and time was crunching. This girl was not familiar with the airport so we helped her out. We got to the check-in station, and that is when all hell broke loose. The kind lady who checked everyone in informed the 3rd traveler she could not send her checked bag to Malaysia. Keep in mind we have about ten minutes to get on the plane.
Panic mode was in full force. With a few kind words and determination, the kind lady let her get a boarding pass, but no checked bag. As time was crunching, we started going through customs. We were all so nervous the plane was going to leave without us. While waiting in line, the girl who was not able to bring her checked bag shoved clothes on her carry-on while her mom tossed us clothes over several gates to shove in our luggage. We made it through customs with a minute to spare.
From Cedar Rapids, Iowa, we flew to Detroit, Michigan with an eight-hour flight to Amsterdam. Right now, it is 3:30 PM here (Iowa folks, it is 8:30 AM for you guys). We’re all sitting in the Amsterdam airport, a little bored out of our mind, so I’d like to give a shoutout to Netflix, YouTube, and FaceTime.
Keep following for future blog posts, I’m so excited to share this adventure with all of you.