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Travel tips for the Occasional Traveler

A couple of travel hints for any newbies out there trying to get around the US by air these days;
  1. Check the airline or airport web site to see how far in advance of your flight you should be at the airport. Taking an hour for breakfast at the airport restaurant and then trying to shove your kid's stroller through the long screening line, saying you are about to miss your flight - is NOT going to get you anywhere.
  2. You cannot take your 2 liter bottle of soda/water/liquor through security. So start chugging now.
  3. Don't complain about the lines to get through security - unless you are willing to go to work for TSA. Maybe there is a reason that only 5 of 10 screening lines are open.
  4. If you packed the bag - you get to carry it (and lift it in and out of the overhead bins). If you can't - maybe you should travel lighter.
  5. Buy a watch to tell time on the airplane.
[the last one is my fault. My favorite watch fell apart a year or so ago - and I got a cheap one as a stopgap. I am picky about watches - it took me more than 2 years of looking to find that last one. The cheap one died a couple of months ago - and I figured I didn't really need one - since I always have my cell - and it shows the time just fine. But when I was travelling yesterday - I realized why I need a watch. Because you don't have to turn off your watch while the plane is in flight!]