Quick Trip to Florida

A week or so ago, we made a quick visit to the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida area for a few family events. It wasn't really a vacation, but it was a welcome change in weather and scenery from the cold, gloomy, grey snowlessness of a New Jersey winter.

Even though we had a semi-formal event to attend (complete with nice shoes) I managed to minimize packing. We only needed clothes for three days, plus one outfit in which to travel. The travel outfit by necessity required  heavy coats, since it was in the single digits when we left New Jersey.

I opted for a 21" roller - my eBags Mother Load Mini. Since I have a Presidential Plus MasterCard with United, I don't have to pay for checked bags, so we went ahead and each checked a bag (Priority - a plus!). When we arrived at EWR, we shed our outer winter layers and stuffed them into the bags we would check, keeping a thin fleece jacket for the plane. We each had a Tom Bihn Synapse (the. best. bag. EVER.) as a carry on.

In my Synapse, I carried an iPad, a Kindle, an iPhone, chargers for each, a Canon G12 and its accessories, and some essential toiletries with me. Once through security, we spent some time in the United Club Lounge (another MasterCard perk), and grabbed some snacks from there for the plane. Because we had checked our bags, and had gotten to the airport 2 hours early, we had plenty of time to relax before boarding.

Once on the plane, we had a nice surprise - we were the only 2 people in our row. The flight was smooth, my brother in law was waiting when we landed, and we had an enjoyable short stay. If only all our trips went this well :-)

Good News

In today's New York Times, there is an article about air travel that is actually good news - our bags are getting where they need to go at a much better rate than in the past!

"A traveler may drop off a bag at the airport curb with a skycap, who may work for the airport, the airline or a third company. An airline worker takes the bag at the check-in counter and passes it to the Transportation Security Administration, which then sends it to the airline’s bag room to be distributed to the correct flight. And while the workers loading the bags on and off a plane can be airline employees, at many airports, they work for subcontractors."

You can read the full article here.

Technology is largely the reason, but I'd like to think its because many of us no longer even check a bag, taking a tiny burden away from the system. I know, dream on....

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Planning, planning, planning....

As the holidaze bear down on us, today's New York Times brings us a nice article on coping with travel issues when you fly at this time of year. Read it, especially if you're going to be heading out to an airport. And safe travels!