Planning for my Travels

FYI: Before you read, this is my 2nd time starting this post because I accidentally lost my first draft... so I'm sure my sarcasm in this post went up by 10 points.

I have only been on one trip where I had to fly in an airplane and that was when I was 16. I had no clue there were any rules to flying and just packed a couple suitcases and jumped on the plane. I was the dummy that packed all of my bottoms (shorts, skirts, and pants) in one suitcase, and then all of my tops in another. Plus my bags were lost, and it took 2 days for the first suitcase to arrive, then another 2-3 days for the other suitcase to arrive. This time I want to be more prepared.

After I purchased my tickets for my upcoming trip, I noticed a little message that stated I have to pay for my checked bags. It is $25 for the first bag, and an extra $35 if I want to bring a second bag. I rushed out to a store and bought a huge suitcase to make sure all of my items would fit in one bag. Then my husband raised the question, "have you looked at the size limitations on luggage?" Ugh... size limitations... what is this blasphemy? So, I went on American Airlines website, and pulled their size requirements and measured my suitcase. Here is what I found from their website:

The verdict: My bag meets the requirement, and fortunately my duffel bag on wheels meets the requirements for a carry-on bag!

However, I realized they had so many rules! It made me miss being my 16 year old rule breaking, non-caring self! (Just for sh**s and giggles, here is a picture of myself around that age... I clearly look like I was going through the phase where I just thought I already knew everything lol)

I found out that all of my liquid and gel items (lotions, soaps, shampoos, deodorant, etc.) have to be in a 3.4 ounce container or smaller, plus they have to all fit in a quart size ziplock bag, and must be carried in my carry on bag. Well... there goes most of my personal care items. I need to go shopping and buy travel sized everything if I can find it, but I still doubt that will all fit in a quart sized bag lol.

This time, like a smart big girl, I made sure to pack a couple of outfits in my carry on bag just in case my checked bag goes M.I.A., and I put rest of my outfits in my one big suitcase all together. Who wants to be the person with just a bag of shirts? Trust me, it sucks, if you are new to flying remember this story and do not repeat my mistake. I love to try on my outfits before I go to make sure they look good and to keep myself from over-packing. I had my own fashion show last night. It is exciting because I get to wear clothes I don't usually get to wear when I am at home (a.k.a. the conservative Bible Belt).

Except for this outfit because this is probably what I will wear if we go riding ATV's in the desert. My husband wants to do this activity, and I did my research on that too (like the nerd I've become, always researching things now lol). I found that it is suggested to try and cover you skin with clothing in the desert, so I got the thinnest material clothing I could find. Oddly, I read that black is better than lighter colors. I would have thought the opposite, but I guess I'm going to find out! I still have to find a wide brimmed hat, but I plan to do that before I go!

Now I must hurry and end this post to thoroughly clean my home because my Mother-in-law is going to be checking in on our cat. Usually she looks around in every room when we go out of town, and I've gotten criticized for not keeping up with the womanly standards of cleanliness that she thinks I should hold a few times. 🤷‍♀️ 🤣 So this will be a busy couple of days for me before I fly out. :)