Hi all!

This morning we woke woke up at Hotel Stoltman in suburban Troy and after a delicious complimentary breakfast of toast (with strawberry jam!) bagels and fruit, we were on our way to the airport. Cait volunteered (or was coerced) to drive us since our flight was moved. She is quite possibly the best person I know, and I know a LOT of fantastic humans. She gave us a letter to read while we were waiting and inside was…

So many laughs and smiles over our new traveling companion Flat Caitlin or #flatcaitlin (#flatcat?) as we will refer to her from now on.

In the time before our flight to Chicago we booked some more housing and checked out the city guides for our first three stops; Rome, Florence, and Venice. Our plane to Chicago was a tiny one with three seats across but our enthusiasm had no limits and we weren’t about to miss our first selfie on the plane!

Upon arrival in Chicago we immediately started searching for the illustrious Garrett popcorn and after a couple wrong turns and a poorly designed map we found it! Yum. To get to the international terminal we had to leave the airport and re-enter. This meant the dreaded TSA wait…which actually wasn’t that bad but we did see some some questionable displays of customer service. Glad we only have to do that a few times this trip.

As I write we are munching on a turkey sandwich and chicken Caesar salad in a attempt to fuel ourselves without breaking the bank on airport food. As Al said, “On the bright side…its tax free!”

Our flight leaves in two hours and by 9 AM (3 AM our time) we will be in Dublin! Fingers crossed for good movies, decent food, and some restful sleep.

See you in Ireland!