Preparing for Takeoff

Today’s the day!!! After 2 weeks of trip preparations, taxes, and a night of frantic packing and re-packing, I am ready for this adventure! I am nervous as hell but so incredibly thrilled to be doing this crazy thing.

I stayed up WAY too late last night trying to downsize my backpacks to 22lbs, which is the carry on limit for my flight to Ireland. However, being so tall poses the unique challenge of my clothes and shoes being bigger than most. I’m at roughly 27lbs split between two bags, so I think it should be ok for carry on, but not so much for my back…

First stop on the trip: Chicago, Illinois! I’ve never been to the Windy City before but I have heard “many” great things about it from my good friend Dan. I figured it would be good to start in an American city so I can get used to traveling alone, finding my way around places, and adapting to life in hostels.

I’ll report back with my Chicago escapades!

Gannon