Stateside

Last Sunday morning I woke up in a hotel in Amsterdam and went to sleep at my grandma's house in Iowa. It felt really nice to land on American soil again, but it was bittersweet because Jay still isn't here. It was also bittersweet because neither one of my suitcases made it! (They did get here on Tuesday, though {all in one piece} so I'm thankful for that).

My day Sunday looked like this:

Up at hotel: 6 am (11 pm Central time in US on Saturday night)
To airport: 7:30 am
Flight to Dublin: 9:30 am (2:30 am Central time, Sunday morning)
Flight to Chicago: 12:50 (6:50 am Central time)
Flight to Cedar Rapids: 5:50 pm Central time (12:50 am in the Netherlands)
Arrive at Grandma's house: 8 pm Central time (3 am Monday in the Netherlands)

It was a long day.

As I was being herded onto and off of and onto more airplanes, I had the chance to notice some very interesting behaviors of my fellow fliers. Originally, I had planned a snarky post, but I waited too long and I've caught up on my rest and binged on Diet Dr. Pepper, and my feelings aren't quite as strong as they were a week ago. These two stuck, though.
Two pieces of advice/information that all travelers should follow:

1. If you need a cart to lug your CARRY ON luggage around the airport, perhaps you should check it. Seriously. If it's too heavy and cumbersome for you to manage between gates, save yourself (and everyone else around you) the trouble, and just pay the $25 to check it. This also applies to being able to lift your luggage. You shouldn't depend on other people to put your luggage in the overhead compartment for you. Nor should others be whacked in the head and/or shoulders because you can't get your bag down in a controlled manor.

2. Be prepared. It is NOT a new rule that you have to take laptops out of bags before being scanned. It is NOT a new rule that there are liquid/gel restrictions. You will NOT be allowed to board a flight from Chicago to Cedar Rapids with a boarding pass from your previous flight. You WILL have to take off your shoes in the US to get through security. Please don't act surprised or indignant about any of these things. They are not going to change the rules for you. You will end up looking foolish, and you are slowing things down for everyone else.

Whew. Getting that off my chest and getting fueled with my DDP, makes me feel so much better. Glad to be back in my homeland! Ready for Jay to be here too!