A case for undies

My husband, David, and I thought we were pretty savvy travelers. On an August ’07 trip (Aug. ’08, pg. 52), we packed a few things in each other’s bags, double-checked the destination tags the airlines put on our checked bags, locked the bags with our TSA locks and had our 3-1-1 baggies present and accounted for, but we still ended up in hot water when our bags did the Charles de Gaulle shuffle and failed to arrive in St. Petersburg, Russia. Our entire concept of carry-on bags changed in mere minutes.

We had quit taking large carry-ons when they got a little too heavy to lift easily. Small carry-ons were fine for holding all we needed on the plane plus our medicines. Why take large carry-ons that don’t fit easily in airport bathroom stalls, that bang against other passengers as we make our way down the airplane aisle, that are unwieldy to paw through while in the overhead bin, etc.?

We had rarely lost luggage, and cross-packing solved that problem, so why listen to all the fatalists who harp on carrying an extra outfit, underwear, necessary toiletries, yada, yada, yada? And with the recent toiletry size limits, it was time to put them all in the checked luggage. We could wait until the hotel to brush and floss.

Enter 2007, the year both our suitcases went missing at the same time. There we were in St. Petersburg with naught but reading material, cameras, our inflatable sleeper, snacks and meds. No airlines are represented in the arrivals area, so we received no survival packs to tide us over.

Fortunately, Delta Air Lines had placed a pack of travel goodies on each airplane seat. The tiny toothpaste and brush came in very handy. Too bad they omitted deodorant.

We made it through the next 24 hours until our bags arrived but not without the help of sympathetic new friends who shared. Other members of our tour group were not so lucky; their bags didn’t arrive until we were leaving St. Petersburg.

Lesson learned — carry-ons are not just for items needed in transit. Invest a little time thinking about the “what ifs” and be prepared for at least 24 hours of luggage-less survival.

PAULA PRINDLE

Orient, OH