Excess baggage

Generally speaking, I'm not a light traveller. I figure if I've got to pack a bag, I might as well fill it right up, and checking luggage on flights seems like a convenience rather than a waste of time.

But this week I'm on another super-quick trip - this time to Boston - and I'm relatively unincumbered by work-related gear. (I'm usually carrying BC-related items, like 50 packages of smoked salmon, or chocolates shaped like totem poles, or, like that one memorable trip, beautiful candleholders made from tide-tossed rocks from the beaches of Tofino. Really. And in answer to your question: no. I do not recommend travelling with your luggage filled with rocks. It's a terrible idea.)

So anyway. For this trip I thought giving the carry-on-only method of travel would be worth a try. I was motivated by this recent article in the NY Times. As my trip is about a third the length of the 10 days outlined for the the sample bag, I scaled accordingly and packed a bag 1/2 the size of the standard carry-on. Plus, I had to make room for running gear, a laptop, and various other electronics rechargers for my camera and phone which were overlooked in the NY Times' suggested packing list. So I think we're even, and the good news is rolling your clothes does really make everything fit better (the jury is still out on the wrinkling issue.)

However, the time I spent packing for this trip made up for any saved time not waiting for checked baggage to show up on the carousel. I probably spent about an hour last night trying to extract sample-size containers of my favourite potions from the regular-sized bottles to be able to get them through security today. We're talking mainly specialty face and hair items (requirements when you're on this side of 30) - I didn't even try to bring the basics like shampoo and conditioner (which reminds me, I won't be wearing my contact lenses here until I find a travel-size bottle of solution).

Meanwhile, actually going though airport security - twice today, by the way, as I had a connecting flight in a badly designed airport (yeah, Toronto, I'm talking about you) - wasn't exactly simplified by the extra gear. And duking it out with other passengers for overhead bin space in the aircraft wasn't pretty, either. I've only just unpacked here at the hotel, so it's hard to say how it's worked out... but I've got a sneaking suspicion that I'll need to find a hairbrush tomorrow along with the contact lense solution. Not that I can bring it or anything else back home with me: there's no space to spare (sorry Scotty, no prezzies from Beantown for you).

Soooo, I'm probably not a convert to the carry-on approach. Heck, if I could travel with steamer trunks (and accompanying staff) I probably would. But as airlines appear to be rapidly converting to charging for any and all checked luggage, please save me all your sample-size cosmetics. I'm gonna need them.