I HATE Checking Bags

When I travel, I almost always carry my bag on the plane. Yes, it can be a little more of a hassle carrying it through the airport and trying to find room in an overhead bin, but it is much safer and less stressful than checking the bag....trust me.

Last week while packing for my Elmhurst trip, I realized there would be no way I could carry on my bag. I was very angry about this, and somewhat panicked about having to go through the whole "checking bags" procedure at the airport. Upon arriving at the airport there was no wait in front of the sky-cap so I checked my bag quickly and was at my gate 10 minutes after arriving. When the flight landed and I went to retrieve my bag, again I was lucky...I happened to be on a small plane where almost all of the people were heading to Germany, so there were only 6 bags at the carousel and I had my bag within 1 minute of getting to baggage claim...fabulous. I should have known this was all too good and that my luck would run out.

Today I get to O'Hare and find enormous lines of people standing outside waiting for sky-cap service. I thought to myself...silly people, why are you all waiting out here...you don't HAVE to check you bags outside. As I walked inside the airport I realized why they were standing out there...the lines inside were 10 times worse and United had no "Easy Check-In" baggage Kiosks, only kiosks for people carrying luggage on...grrrr. As I approached the line I was told the wait was approximately 50 minutes....again grrrr. So I head back outside and get in line with all of the people I had once thought were sooo silly. Thankfully the line only took 20 minutes and I got my bag checked in safely...or so I thought.

I arrive at the baggage claim after my flight and watch all of the bags drop from the conveyer belt, none of which are mine. After about 15 minutes I start to get severe baggage claim anxiety. My hands were sweaty, my heart was beating a bit faster....I was really worried about my bag! Of course minutes later they announce all the luggage from flight 599 has been taken off the plane and my heart sinks. No bag for me. I trudge over the the missing bags counter and file a missing bag report. I am assured my bag is "most likely" on the next flight out of Chicago and will be delivered to me as soon as it arrives. Awesome. Now I'm on the verge of crying and I feel like an idiot for not putting my address on the little name tag I stuck on my bag. I was overconfident...I assumed my bag would arrive with me so I only included my name and phone number. Crazy assumption I now realize.

To make a long story short, my bag is now in my possession. I went through 6 hours of worrying about that damn bag and I'm sooooo happy to have it back! This however is NOT the first time my luggage has been lost...this is actually my THIRD! Thankfully, all three times my bag got lost on my way home...it always makes it a little easier to tolerate. I know I can go home and still have things to wear. I couldn't imagine arriving for vacation without my bag...having nothing at all with me! I know I would have a severe emotional breakdown.

Mark my words....from now on, I DO NOT check my luggage.