Anyways, we finally loaded up everything in the car and said goodbye to our critters - we have 4 cats, 1 dog, and a chameleon! For once, we weren't worried about them, since one of my brother's best friends was willing to be our housesitter for the 2 weeks my parents would be gone. We've known him for 20 yrs, and he's also a vet technician, so knows how to care for animals; he also is at our house 3-4 nights a week anyways, so it just made sense! He really did a spectacular job, so we've already told him we're planning all future vacations around his schedule!
Ooh, you lucked out! We have four dogs and leaving them is the worst part of vacation for me. My inlaws usually come stay with them, and I always come home to weird stuff. We got back from San Francisco late Wednesday and found a dining chair randomly in our living room, a decorative shelf over the bathtub ripped off the wall (HOW???), and my wedding dress bag (which hasn't been touched in at least four years) all pulled forward and out in my closet. Yesterday I started discovering dish towels randomly folded in different rooms of the house...Hey, does your brother's friend want to fly halfway across the country to stay with my dogs next time??
Your sister's face! This would also be my expression before boarding such a long flight!!
Lauren, Joey and Anthony were all doing carry-on only
I want to do carry on only so badly, but I will never be able to manage it. I can't imagine two weeks in Europe with only a carry on.
And I lucked out - the plane was not full at all, so I ended up with no one in the middle seat!
I say I'd go for no seat mates over first class every time!! My favorite flight was on a small regional flight from Dallas to home b/c there was no one next to me.
One thing BA does do well, is the entertainment. Plenty of movies
One reason I'm nervous to fly to Europe or Hawaii is the long flights. Movies help...One leg of our SF trip was a little over three hours (from MN to SFO, and SFO back to MN) so I liked catching up on movies too (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing MO, Happy Death Day, Chappaquidick, Lady Bird, and half of Annabelle:Creation (which I finished at home this morning) - I feel like I can recommend all of them!)
And most importantly, it had Luna!
Sold on Airbnb!
If I can get pets included, I give up all previous reservations I had about booking it, LOL!!
I like hotels, so I'm hesitant about Airbnb, but it sounds like you had good experiences all around. We briefly considered it for SF, but without knowing neighborhoods well at the time, I didn't want to risk it. I feel like we could do Airbnb confidently in SF now, though. Plus now I know some owners might be willing to leave an animal there!
I loved looking through your pics of this trip on social media, so I'm excited to see the rest of your report!