Learning experiences

The gods of travel have always shown their light upon me.Never  truly shading me in the nightmares that often consume so many others... Being stuck in the middle seat of a plane parked on a tarmac... Missing my flight and having to wait in stand by... Nope not me. I have been given a blessing when it comes to travel. That was until this weekend.  I suppose all in all I shouldn't look at it as a disappointment and accept it as a learning experience.

Rather than writhe in blinded anger and spit venom about how a certain airline gave me the constant run around, lying to me, and clearly blowing smoke up my... nose... yes we'll go with nose. I'm going to shed some light on how you can avoid the headache I was dealt. Said headache was losing my luggage as I went to visit my main squeeze. Luggage I didn't see until I had been home from my vacation for a full day. I was foolish and roasted on what all I did wrong for the first day of my mini vacation.

So, ways to ensure, the nightmare will never occur:

1. Never under any circumstances, ever, do you part with your wallet. When traveling, at all times, keep your wallet (money, credit cards, ID) on YOU. You should never put it in your bag (even your carry-on), because you never know what's going to happen.
2. Pack a small duffel bag (yes even if you only have a rolling small carry on), with a change of clothes, and the "I can't live without's" ie; toothbrush, hair brush, underpants, and your phone charger. I know it seems like over kill when you don't necessarily need two carry-on's but trust me, you rather be over prepared than go four days with the same clothes, and just your cellphone... I promise.
3. ID tags. They are your best friends. I now plan on putting seven on each handle of my bags, writing out my contact information IN LARGE PRINT! The more clear who the bag belongs to, the sooner you will receive it!
4. Finally... When toting a carry-on, I know you don't think it's important to remove the old white tags from former flights, but it is... I swear it is. Because if you don't, you can bet the grumpy miss who begrudgingly tossed your carry-on onto your rather packed flight didn't remove it and when you get to your next destination they are going to reroute your bag to some unknown location, and you won't see it again until midnight the night after you get home from your vacation! Take the tags off!

It all breaks down to this my sweet underpants gnomes... When it comes to airlines, they are dealing with thousands of pissed off patrons every minute of the day, and you will only be a small voice in the ocean of complaints. Instead of being doomed to deal with the "resolutions" team who clearly have no resolve, protect yourself and go through ANY and ALL methods to ensure you have done all you can do, to make sure your travels go smoothly. Make sure to keep a very thorough record (who you spoke with, what time, when and where) so should something happen you will have a full recount of who helped you. Book your flights with plenty time for your luggage to make your connecting flights, clearly label your bag with all your contact information, and again, under no circumstances do you EVER part with your wallet.

Lost Luggage Department at Miami International Airport