Does Size Matter?

Big or small, carry on, or checked, does size really matter? In the new world of travel it has become very important what size luggage we use. 

   On a trip to New Orleans I was determined to carry on and not pay the $25.00 check bag fee. I went to the airlines site and got the correct size bag to fit in the overhead.  I limited all my liquid items to 3oz or less; put them neatly in a zip lock bag ready to be pulled out to be scanned at security check point. I thought I was doing great until I checked in. I was told my bag was still too large for this commuter flight and forced to pay the fee to check my bag. What really got me, friends on the same flight got their carry on past check in then at the gate they were told it wouldn’t fit and the gate agent checked it for free. Since then I noticed this is a new game played at the airport to get by without paying the fee.

  This trip was going to be different or so I thought. As always I am an early packer, that doesn’t mean I am a good packer, just like to get it done. I had just finished stuffing my duffel bag when I realized there was still a pile of things on the floor behind me that haven’t made it in the bag yet. George got us each new snorkeling gear that we really wanted to bring, plus there were shoes, beach towels, & some other items that would be nice to have on the trip. It was decided a bigger bag was the way to go. The thought of a bigger bag was not something I was happy about as it seemed to scream to much baggage in my baggage. It was decided 1 duffel along with 1 larger bag should do the trick. In theory this was a great idea until we put it on the scale, 54 pounds. I have seen the horror at check in when the bag is overweight, people frantically removing items from their bags, shoving items in other people’s bags, putting on extra cloths, all to avoid the fee which can be very high. On a flight from Cabo it was $150.00. This was not something I wanted to experience. 

Time to rethink & repack once again, something was terribly wrong as no matter what we did we still either could not fit the stuff between the bags or went over in weight. I have read all the lists how to pack right, what to bring, pack smart, pack less, which is all good but what was out I wanted to bring. A second big bag was needed. This really screamed too much. How can we move around Costa Rica with not just 1 but 2 giant bags but after 4 hours of shopping, packing, weighing, repacking, a bigger bag won. Now the moment of truth, scale time, and both made the cut under 50 pds. I thought we were finally done with this madness until I walked into the bathroom and saw the zip lock bag filled with stuff needed for the trip. 

  Oh well I will learn to pack better next trip.