Day 0: summer travel begins

So a few months ago I bought these packing cubes on Amazon . . . I swear those 'daily deals' some times call my name.  I have used them for a few small trips but this is my first extended trip so going to see just how good they are for packing.  So will it all fit in a medium sized suitcase?

. . . indeed it sure does and now I am a firm believer in the packing cubes.  They sure made it all fit in so perfectly!  Now time will tell what it looks like when it is unpacked but it has to be all neat and tidy.

The black suitcase weighs 28.9 pounds and the blue suitcase weights 33.4 pounds.  So after I had our bags packed I thought let's check the weather . . . are you kidding me . . .

Seriously there is a tropical storm headed for Florida.  How appropriate is it that it is named Colin.  I mean is this a sign we should just cancel our trip and head elsewhere?  Of course cancelling isn't an option at this point.  I did score what I consider a great deal on airfare which is why we are headed to Florida.  Sometimes I just need an easy trip when it comes to a vacation and to me there is no easier vacation than a cruise!  So back to the airfare . . . we are a party of 4 (me, Colin, and both my parents) . . .
Outbound Flight:  Austin to Fort Lauderdale on Southwest at $62 per person
Return Flight:  Miami to Austin on American at $101 per person
So we are all flying for $652 which is $163 per person round trip!  I think that is a pretty good deal!  Of course when Colin heard we were flying Southwest he wasn't exactly thrilled, but I continued to remind him that it only cost $62 and about 2.5 hours of his time so he could deal with the misery!  It is going to be a fun 2 weeks . . . yes 2 weeks!

. . . and the flight on Southwest was perfectly fine . . . we left on time and arrived with all our bags!  The real fun starts tomorrow!