Our Magic Number

See those smiles?  That is the relief of parting with 349.9 lb of checked luggage.  

Fifty was the magic number of our preparations, as in fifty pounds--the maximum weight for a checked bag before the baggage fees move into the realm of extortion.  With seven members of the family, we allotted each a backpack, a carry-on bag, and a single suitcase.  Every decision about what to bring came down to whether it could fit within these limits.

Fortunately, we found a little pocket-sized scale for weighing our luggage.  We must of weighed and re-weighed our bags dozens of times as we shifted things from one bag to another.  In the end, we decided that we probably would need more pairs of gloves than short pants (trousers).  Some things that made the cut:  a box of Kinex for Brad, cans of pumpkin and frozen cranberries for Thanksgiving, and a trombone mouthpiece.  In the end, I watched with satisfaction as each bag was weighed and we saw 50.0, 50.0, 49.8, 49.6, 50.0, 50.4--wait that rounds down to 50 right?