Thursday, June 18, 2009

Green with Envy

I'm always on the lookout for a bargain and the clearance rack gets me every time. Last December I was in dire need of a new suitcase. My old suitcases - black - like 99 % of the rest of the traveling world was disintegrating. Why is that? To fix this potential suitcase lookalike issue I used yellow duct tape and wrapped it around my suitcases. They stuck out like redneck luggage as they spun around on that baggage carousel. They did need to be replaced as all the plastic inside broke into tiny little pieces. Every time I opened the suitcase little black plastic pieces fell out.
Time to get a new suitcase and one that wasn't black like 99 % of the rest of frequent fliers. It was after the holidays and the sales were fantastic. I found a lovely (large) green suitcase. 75% off...wow.
I paid for that baby and went right out the door to go home and toss out that old relic with the yellow duct tape. The big green machine has sat silently in my closet until the summer trip. Delta airlines charges $15.00 per bag. What can you do? So I packed the new large green traveling bag and then tried to lift her. Couldn't.
I do a little research on the Delta Airline site and find out about baggage weight restrictions. 50 pounds. And then right there in bold print are the size regulations. What? Suitcases need to conform to a specific size? I got out the trusty measuring tape and - too big. My suitcase exceeded the regulation size by one inch. I was hoping the clerks were not too good in math calculations.
I then proceeded to take the hulking heavy mass to the grocery store to weigh the beast. She weighed in at 48 pounds. Whew - what a relief. But that does mean NOTHING comes back from the trip in my new green carpetbagger.
So, did the store know that the suitcase did not meet the size standards set by the airlines? Was that why the large green suitcase was 75% off?

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