Things were looking pretty good, I got my three bags down to two after my daughter Cait laid down the law (no mom, you don't need that many pairs of pants or that many t-shirts!), and I had a ride to the airport! Then I woke up Saturday morning to find an e-mail ... my flight had been cancelled. Not sure why, maybe weather somewhere else?
The flight was rescheduled for Sunday morning at 6:30, arriving in Belize city at 4:00. The weather in northern California was crap and I didn't want anyone getting up at some ungodly hour to get me to the airport in Sacramento at 4:30 a.m. So I asked my friends Dee and Kim to drop me at the airport Saturday night.
You know, that is a really good idea, no biggie to me where i just sit and do nothing much, except I should have planned better. By the time I got there, the whole airport was pretty much shut down, no ticket agents so no checking my bags in, Starbucks outside of security all closed up tight. Hmmmm. Well I settled in with my book and I read and napped and read and napped some more til about 4:45 a.m. when the ticket agents showed up again.
As I said, I got my three bags down to two, and that wasn't re-pcacking stuff, it was actually being brutal and choosing not to take as many clothes, leaving a few things behind to be shipped at a later date. But I did it, two large bags, I weighed them carefully with my digital travel scale, one came in at 42 pounds and the other at 48 and a bit. Add to that two carry-ons, one roller and my backpack, I was kind of good to go.
Okay, maybe not. I had checked in online, no big deal (except i got lousy seats when they re-booked my flight ... oh well), I put my first bag, the lighter of the two on the scale and it says 50 pounds on the dot. I panic just a little bit. Um, I'm used to the airport scale and my scale being about 2 pounds different, I always try to give myself a little cushion. But really? EIGHT POUNDS????, I put the big bag on the scale, nope not 8 pounds different, the bag I assumed would come in at right about 50 pounds weighs a whopping 60 pounds according to United Airlines.
I admit, I am "that customer" when I look at the guy and say, "that can't be right, you sure that scale is right?" Like he really is going to say to me, oh sorry ma'm you're right, our scale must be 10 pounds off, no problem. Yeah, no. He says instead, it's right, you need to take out 10 pounds. WTF?????? So now I am really "that customer" that we all hate, I have my suitcases open in front of the ticket counter as I rummage around trying to figure out how to lose 10 pounds and figure where i"m going o put them when I take them out of my suitcase.
I'm not even sure how I did it, but I took a bunch of stuff out of my suitcase and stuck it in every available nook and cranny in my carry on luggage, including rolling up a full 5mm wetsuit and stuffing it into my backpack. Got that bag to 50.0 pounds.
A Starbucks mocha and a croissant later and I'm ready to roll. So off I go, leaving Sacramento with the tiniest bit of sadness and I'm headed to Belize by way of Houston. And they gate checked my roller bag so I'm looking like I'm a good traveller with only a backpack as a carry-on. Hah! Have them fooled. Oh, but i do have a middle seat in the absolute last row of the airplane ... really? Really no leg room, no arm room.
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| Boarding group 4 out of 5, in the very last row and a B seat is a middle seat ... but I do have TSA Pre check! |
But wait .... I'm on my way to Belize! It is all just fine.
Next post: Belize city to Placencia then my first foray out on the town, okay, out in the village.
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