Martin and I packed up our house and moved out on August 14th. We spent a few days in Cheyenne, Wyoming finishing things on our to-do list. Believe it or not we got nearly everything checked-off. It still didn’t feel real- that we would be in Egypt in less than a week.

On August 19 we headed back to Denver and had tons of meetings and then celebrated one last time with family and friends. There were tears, but it still hadn’t sunk in yet.

We flew out on August 20th-a red-eye flight to New York. We arrived early morning and caught a taxi to meet my good friend from college, Lena, and her husband, Justin, for breakfast at the Galaxy Diner. We drove through Times Square on the way there. It was great to reconnect. I don’t usually drink caffeine but definitely had my share of coffee. The food and company was energizing. Then we wandered Central Park- Martin napped and played music, I skated of course! Then we caught the subway and caught up with another friend, Courtney. On the subway we saw the Brooklyn Bridge and the Freedom Tower. We wandered Prospect Park and saw the amazing Camperdown Elm, got coffee, and Martin and Courtney talked music. Though we were exhausted with little sleep, it was a great way to spend a 12-hour layover in New York! 

It still hadn’t hit yet.

Then we arrived at the international terminal in the airport for another red-eye flight. Reality finally hits. I freeze up. I hold back tears. I could turn back and go home- but I didn’t. We got on that plane bound for Cairo (after loading up on more pork and beer that we knew we would miss of course!).