Traveling Abroad - Departure pics

Hi everybody! I'm finally back in the USA and recovered from jetlag after an amazing European trip with students that lasted 15 days. I take these trips every couple of years, but this year's group was the largest I ever attempted - we were a group of 33 people in all. (Stressful, right?)

I took about 1500 pics while we were gone, roughly 100 per day, so I have lots of pics and stories to share with you guys. I think I'll spread out my travel posts and only share one per week so I don't bore ya to death. If you like to travel, think you might want to go to Europe, like teenagers, or think I'm funny, then you'll prob like this series of posts.

Since we were such a large group, we didn't all fit on one plane manifest. Our first group departed Monday morning, June 9 and included Settle (chaperone in gray in the middle - he's a colleague of mine), a group of adults who travelled with us, and just 4 students. Here they are before their big travel experience!

Later that afternoon, it was time for our main group to depart from Nashville. Here I am posing with my other chaperone, Widener (he's a colleague too). I'm giddy with excitement; can't you tell?

Here's our giant group of students posing with their families before we went through security at the airport in Nashville.

 And here's our lovely group of travelers only.

Thankfully, I didn't have any really nervous fliers on this trip. We did however have lots of goofiness and teasing going on - especially while we had to wait for things like getting off the plane.

Beautiful pic of the airplane wing and clouds as we flew to our first stop - Atlanta, a 39 minute flight that felt like it was only 10 minutes long.

 Ever consider how difficult it is to get 33 passengers (31 of them teenagers) on the right train in an airport to travel between terminals? It's like trying to herd cats.

 Once we boarded the plane in Atlanta, I settled in for a long flight. Nine hours on a plane is not an enjoyable thing. Maybe someday I'll fly first class and actually be rested when I arrive. Looking kind of tired here, right?

 Selfie on the airplane with some of my kiddos... (me with flat hair and makeup all gone, but whatev...)

Stay tuned each week for another installment in the traveling abroad series. I hope you'll enjoy my photos, our stories, and maybe even be inspired to take an amazing trip of your own. I'm already excited thinking about where we'll travel next. :)