August 13th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning. I just wanted to get a quick post up before I had to pack up my computer and load the car. My in laws are picking us up at 9:00 to bring us to the Philly airport. Look out Texas, here we come!

As you have probably heard by now, Hollywood took another blow yesterday. Lauren Bacall passed away at age 89. Don’t worry, I won’t be doing a tribute. It’s not that I did not like Ms. Bacall, she was an amazingly talented woman, and I loved many of her films, I just do not have an extra three hours today to be able to research, find photos, and construct another tributary blog. Ms. Bacall, thank you for the memories, and may you rest in peace.

Since today is a travel day, we have no plans set other than driving from the airport to our hotel, dropping our junk in our room and then heading to Wal*Mart for the stuff we couldn’t bring with us – shampoo, conditioner, body wash, sunscreen, etc. – because we are only doing carry-on bags. (I was not paying $3 for a travel size shampoo, when I could get a full sized one at the local store for $0.99. Even if we throw away what we don’t use up, it is still considerably cheaper.)

It’s bad enough the airline is charging us $35 per carry-on bag (I had never heard of such a thing), but there was no way I was going to pay $70 to check a suitcase, just so I could bring the full sized liquids. Can someone explain to me where these greedy airlines get off charging for a carry-on? I’m not even happy about checked bag charges; but I guess our bags take up the space they rent out to transport other things, so they are deferring their loss of income to us. (Not happy, but I get it.)

But carry-ons? They don’t even have to touch a carry-on. Plus, even though they are charging you for it, you are only allowed one carry-on (plus a pocket book OR briefcase OR computer bag) per person. If you come with any more, they will check your carry-on, charge you the $85 to check a bag in addition to the $35 for the one carry-on.

Oh, and did I mention, there is also a $15 higher fee if you did not pre-pay for your bags at the time you purchased your ticket. So, when I bought the tickets in April, I paid the $35 for my hubby and I to take a carry-on, and no checked bags. This meant I needed to get a week’s worth of daytime clothing, dinner wear, pool wear, sleep wear, shoes, and toiletries into one small bag. My hubby has to wear his sneakers to today instead of his sandals because the sneakers took up too much room in his bag.

My concern isn’t for our trip down there, it’s for the return trip. I got everything into our bags, but there is ZERO room to bring back any souvenirs. I may be mailing back the Dallas wear, just to avoid the $85 checked bag fee. USPS has got to be cheaper!

Okay, it’s time for me to boogie. It’s going to be interesting going from 68 degrees and raining to 95 degrees and sunny, and today is supposed to be the coolest day of our whole trip. Yee haw! (I’M NOT COMPLAINING.)

I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

You’re walking down the sidewalk and you find a coin. You pick it up. You walk a little further and find another, then another…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.