Raul and Lauren were driven to the airport by Emilian and Grandmother. For this trip, they packed in only one large backpack and bought a daypack to carry on. The first incident occurred before they even left St. Louis. After taking a family at home, they forgot their bag of sandwiches and travel snacks. Luckily, Emilian was able to retrieve it for them while they checked in, and they were finally on their way.

When it came time to pass through security, Raul and Lauren noticed numerous travellers being sent through the full-body imager, as only one metal detector was in use. Neither relished the thought of being imaged, but only Raul “opted out.” He submitted to the enhanced groping technique.

From St. Louis, they flew without incident to Detroit and boarded their trans-Atlantic flight for Amsterdam.