Getting Ready to Leave...Again

Gosh we just got back to Smithville and it time to leave again, however this time without the fifth wheel. International this time not domestic, well kind of. We been packing and repacking since we got back to Smithville trying to re-train our old habits and limit our luggage to carry-on only. Our trip this time will begin in California for a week to attend a wedding on Friday October 17. We left on Friday, October 10 from Austin, Texas arriving in San Francisco so we can have a whole week to visit with family and friends. Our base was in Healdsburg at the Greg and Lorrie Herrick's BnB barn. Karen had a busy schedule already seeing friends and going into the Total Concept office to help out while we're in town. I attended my last Coast Guard Auxiliary meeting in Petaluma and made arrangements to transfer to the Austin Texas flotilla.

After the wedding on Friday we returned to the San Francisco airport (SFO) to return our Turo rental car before leaving on Turkish Airlines for Istabul, Turkey. We will be traveling with Richard and Portia Schneider and their three sons, Eli (age 6), Owen (age 9) and Silas (age 12) for two weeks. Our itinerary includes three days exploring the city of Istanbul before flying to Cappadocia, Turkey for another three days, then on to Anatalya, Turkey on the Turkish Rivera for three more days. We will end our trip with a bus ride to Izmir, Turkey so we can visit the ancient city of Ephesus.

With the flight to Turkey about 13 hour long we decided to explore another option back to the US. decided to travel back by to the U.S. by cruise ship instead of flying. We found a great deal on Princess Cruise Lines, a 15 day repositioning cruise out of Barcelona, Spain. So on October 30 we will fly out of Izmir, Turkey to Barcelona so we can board the Sun Princess for a November 1 departure. I wonder if they celebrate Halloween in Spain? We are planning on taking the a tour of Barcelona on the hop on, hop off bus to maximize our time on Friday, October 31.

This will be the first time we travel with carry-on luggage only. Karen tried really hard to make it work. We have been watch a number of YouTubers on the subject and think we've got a system that will work. We've purchased a number of Merino wool items which are easier to clean, odor resistant and work well in hot or cold environments. The formula is 5 tops ( long/short sleeve mix), 4 bottoms (long panta/short mix), 3 layering pieces (light sweater/rain jacket/thermal jacket), 2 pairs of shoes and 1 optional item. The key is to keep a variety of colors that so you can mix different outfits from your packed ensemble. Socks and underwear for 5 days is not include this formula but goes without saying.

Time to board! The next post will be from our hotel in Istanbul where east meets west. Ta-ta for now.