HERE WE GO AGAIN---THE SURPRISE TRIP

This is a surprise even to us. We decided at the last minute to get ourselves to Turkey. We thought about it on Saturday and called for reservations on the airlines on Sunday, grabbed the Lonely Planet travel guide, and kept asking ourselves if we had really done it. Granted, it was a whim that depended wholly on whether we could even get air miles Ttickets through Alaska Airlines' partner desk. We thought we'd like to go on Air France so we could stop off in Paris for a week, but that was a no-go. "However," the very helpful voice on the other end of the line said, "we do have two seats on British Airlines for May fourth." We looked at each other and nodded. My mom (we were in Florida at the time) rolled her eyes incredulously. She was thinking that these two won't even have time to pack and unpack when they get home to Seattle. She was probably right. Terry is going hunting right away, and I am going to Portland shortly. We'll be back 6 days before we travel, hardly enough days to get the house ready for three weeks' vacancy and think about what we should take. But, heck, we can wear the same clothes every other day, so we need only 2 outfits, right? And it should be warm, so we won't need any jackets (I hope).

We are trying to pick every brain we can find, so if you've been to Turkey or know someone who has, we are eager to hear from you about all the important info.

Meanwhile, I'll be reading as much as I possibly can and highlighting like mad. Maybe I can be at least partially ready. No matter. We may get lost, but we're going!