So the first time I was on the road to Texas this month I survived the horror of losing a critical document (my drivers license). You would think after that the travel gods would be smiling upon me, right?
No…
…because we had to book this trip so late (it was based on how well the first trip went, and the first trip was sucessful in some aspects, not so much in others) I ended up not taking a direct flight. This meant layovers in Phoenix.
Because this was a shorter trip I was able to pack smart and fit everything into a roller case which would fit in the overhead. No problem right? WRONG. I was in boarding group 5 and of course it is a full flight (of course it is) so there was no more overhead space at about group 3. So they offered to check my bag through to my final destination at no charge. **tip to travellers, if you have a short flight, and can fit everything in a roller case, do it, the airline will check the bag for free at the gate, to keep overhead space available. although after this story, you learn to do it ONLY if it is a direct flight or you have a good feeling they won’t screw it up** I had a really bad feeling about this but really had no choice at all, my bag was not going to fit under the seat and i had my laptop bag. Against my better judgement, I did it.
Once I arrived in Dallas Fort Worth, I got off the plane, went to the baggage carousel and waited, and waited, and waited. My apprehension was right. I went into the US Air baggage office and handed the worker my tags asking where my bags were. They were on another plane that was not reaching DFW for another 2.5 hours. So after filling out a couple forms, my bags were going to be delivered to my hotel later that night.
Now a new fear had crept its way into my head. I have a good friend who “lost” a couple of really nice items from a checked bag. All I could think of was his experience (Thanks KH!). Not that I really had anything of high value in the bag, but my garmin was in there, and as a runner, you live and die by your garmin, whether that is good or bad.
I kept waiting for my bags and finally went down to the front desk around midnight. The front desk guy said when airlines drop lost luggage it is usually around 3-4 in the morning. I went to bed in hopes my luggage would be waiting for me when I got up. Sure enough the bag was there at 5:30am and after I got it upstairs, my stuff was all shifted but the garmin was there. Never more relieved to see my poor little battered bag.
So after these past couple little travel mishaps i am due a good trip.