Yep, thats about 400 pounds of luggage (mostly Sara's shoes). We weaseled over 300 pounds of luggage out of our meager coach-class international allotment. That's two checked bags weighing in at 50 pounds each and we each have a 50 pound carry-on roller bag, plus our daypacks stuffed to the gills.
We don't need all this stuff. But, how else would they know we are Americans upon picking us up at the airport?
At check-in two bags were 52 pounds each, one was 56 pounds and the other 44 pounds. After a little shuffling we had tidily packed just over 50 pounds in each bag. A few winks at the baggage chicky and we were all set.
We really have superb packing prowess. We knew a few bags were over and few under the limit, but had no clue exactly how much since the kitchen scale we used to aid in packing maxed out at 35 pounds.
This month has been a month of "lasts." Our last walk with the dogs, our last picnic in Duluth, our last cafe latte contaminated with espresso grounds, and our last Fitgers beer was honored by our last MN airport beer at MSP airport. Sara's parents joined in on the drive down by telling us to enjoy our last blue sky. Her aunt suggested that the chicken BBQ on Wednesday was our last dog-free meal in a year.
Sara uses this, plus a smile, to get anything. She would say, "This is the last time I can buy clothes for a year or more." My logical response was, "Read your tags. Where were 90% of the clothes you wear made?" (Sara interjects here to say that many of the clothes from J Crew were NOT made in China.) Despite this argument, she managed to buy nearly a whole new wardrobe in the 3 months before our departure. Add her early birthday presents and we have a new wardrobe and a half.
Here's to a month of firsts in QINGDAO.
