Baggage Magic

/ roughwighting

baggage magic, suitcase, airplane baggageIt all started with a gift.

Last year when we visited our son in CA, he was horrified that his dad, my guy, still refused to use a suitcase with wheels.

“Real men carry their bags,” my guy declared.

Undeterred, Sonny Boy gifted my guy with a suitcase. And not just any suitcase. A HUGE suitcase with wheels that turned any which way.

My guy hated the bag, but someone (wink wink) told him that he was being cranky.

My guy checked the bag’s measurements and compared them to the numbers on the airline website, sure that the gift was too large.

Nope.

So, when we took our winter get-away to CA in February, we used the new bag. monster, baggage monster, airports and baggage

“Only one bag charge!” I declared triumphantly. “We can fit a bunch in the Beast (named by Mr. Cranky), roll it so no one gets injured, and use your old green duffel as our carry on.”

On paper, this was a brilliant idea. In actuality, it was a horrible no-good, clueless, idiotic idea.

Why?

Because when we delivered the Beast to the luggage check-in counter, the muscled man placed the suitcase on the scale and scowled.

“This weighs over 50 pounds. No can do.”

“Please?” I squeaked.

The baggage man showed his dimples but stood firm, whispering, “if it was 52 pounds, I’d take it. But can’t at 55. Just pull some things out and put them in your carry on.”

extra-large suitcase, overweight bag, baggage troubleSo, in the middle of the airport with hurried and harried humans surrounding us, we grabbed things – any things – out of the Beast and stuffed them into the green duffle bag.

“50 pounds!” the baggage man shouted as he re-weighed, as if he was the one who did all the frantic re-packing. My guy just grunted, because now his duffel carry-on weighed about 53 pounds.  

Nonetheless, we arrived to CA. While visiting Sonny Boy and his family, I sweetly related the bag Beast story. Shortly after, Sonny gave us an old, battered bag. “Take my small roller too,” he insisted. “This way you won’t overload the big guy (I think he was talking about the Beast, but …) and the return trip won’t be so stressful.”

We did exactly that, Phew. Checked the Beast (48 pounds) decorated with an Irish green ribbon and red flowery name tag and also checked Sonny’s small suitcase (35 pounds).

But halfway across the country, up in the big blue sky, I suddenly realized: we never decorated Sonny’s nondescript brown bag with a ribbon or even a name tag! How would we find the thing as thousands of suitcases circled the baggage carousel?

Mr. Grumpy’s response? “No worries.”

As we stood waiting for the bags to thump down the steel runway, I figured we’d be checking every single brown bag for a long, long time.

Splat. Splat Splat. Three brown suitcases rolled down. Splat splat splat –  dozens more brown/black bags spat out of the carousel/monster’s big black hole. Splat Splat. dancing bag, baggage carousel, baggage magic

My guy sprinted toward one, ignoring all the others, and carried it like a victor with his spoils. “Got it!” he yelled.

How the heck?? But the ordinary little white tag that’s given to every bag spelled out my name: Pamela Wight.

SPLAT! We both gasped and turned to watch the next bag purged.

Our Beast.  Baggage Magic.

happy suitcase, baggage magic, baggage trouble

And YOU? Baggage Magic or Luggage Trouble?

121 thoughts on “Baggage Magic”

  6. We did something similar. We were going on a cruise from Miami and I thought it would be a good idea to just take one large suitcase instead of two medium sized like we always did. So we shared a suitcase. Those were the days when I took books on vacation, usually three or four. When we checked in t the airport, the bag was overweight. So all the books had to come out as well as a couple of pairs of shoes, and put in our carry on bags (mostly hubby’s as mine was already full) We’ll never do that again! Live and learn.

    Liked by 3 people

  13. Where can I get a bag like those? 😉 Yup, I’ve developed a talent for packing exactly 45 pounds and can’t believe I used to haul those buggers without wheels for years. Great story – love The Beast.

    Liked by 2 people

    • I am praying that I can acquire your talent – knowing exactly 45 pounds. FANTASTIC. I need more experience but right now I don’t want to travel again for a LONG time!!! Yes, putting wheels on bags was a great magician’s trick and not to be ignored. :-) Thanks so much for enjoying my story. xo

      Liked by 1 person

  14. My biggest takeaway is that you can make baggage into a fun story Pam! 🙂 I’m glad Sonny Boy and Mr. Beast played along with the baggage magic. Thankfully, I haven’t ever lost my luggage, so I guess the baggage fairies have looked out for me too. I aim to travel light with just one carryon. To fun and safe travel adventures!

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    • Brad, I laughed and smirked at your comment as soon as I read it – sorry it’s taken me awhile to answer back. Yeah, it’s pretty bad that I can make baggage troubles into a story, but hey, you gotta admit, the BEAST has quite a personality!

      One carry-on is the way to travel. I know I know and I always fail to learn my lesson. :–0

      Liked by 1 person

    • Your Instagram and FB photos have REAL beasts and mini-beasts in them, Robbie, which are so awesome (literally). My Beast is not real, and yet, he seems to have acquired a personality. 🙂 I think decorating our suitcases to fit their personality is a great thing to do. ❤

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  18. Pam, imagine me cheering at the end of your story, as your guy lifts the suitcase in success! Oh, I felt for you having to take things out at the check-in desk and glad the flight back went well. Now, will Beastie be invited out for further trips?! 😀 Wishing you both a lovely weekend, hope Spring is slowly coming its way to you. Hugs xx ❤️

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  19. While I get the notion that we men don’t want our man-card carrying privileges revoked (I’m the same way as your guy about a lot of things), common sense occasionally prevails. Now, where did I put my map? Why use Google maps or ask someone, when I’m still capable of getting us lost? 🤣

    Hope you’re having a great birthday, my friend.

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  22. I have become less and less of a travel fan as my life has gone on, and this reminds me why. That being said, I did fall in love with the “Beast” picture at the end of the post. Now THAT’s a travel bag I can go to airlines war with Pam, and I want it to look just like that.😃

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  23. Are you going to paint them like Mr Beast and Sonny Boy? If I ever get that kind of suitcase I’m coming back here to get ideas for faces on them. Never lose one again.

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    • I think it could be a really fun idea to paint faces on our suitcases. Wish I knew the kind of paint that would stay on. In the meantime, for the story I used Bing Copilot designer for the illustrations. So much fun!

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Mr. Grumpy is my new friend. Last summer I caved in and bought a rolling, soft padded suitcase. For years I’d been toting a quilted duffle that weighed a million pounds with barely anything inside. Walking through airports with this beast on my shoulder was like carrying a dead body. My new one on wheels is bigger, a zillion times lighter, and so easy to use. Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

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  26. Good story, Pam.

    I did a lot of traveling when we lived overseas, so it didn’t take me long to learn I needed a bag with wheels. My daughter’s in-laws were slower to catch on. For some occasion, they bought me an expensive suitcase without wheels. Such a shame! I’ve never used it except to store things. I kept my younger daughter’s wedding gown in it for a while.

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    • I had to smile at your comment. Sorry I read it and talked to you but in my mind. Isn’t it shameful when we get a beautiful gift we can never use? I love the idea that that suitcase is holding your daughter’s precious wedding dress. 🥰

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  27. Your beast is quite a character, Pam! 🤩 We don’t check in baggage anymore when we do domestic travel. We went to Seattle from CA once, lost my bag, it went to AZ before going back to Seattle. Another time, one guy took my bag instead because it’s the same color. The airline service drove to chase him to swap bags and brought to our hotel.
    We now travel light with one carry-on per person. 😆

    Liked by 2 people

    • I swear to myself that I will learn my lesson and your lesson and only take carry-on bags. Would you remind me that, on my next trip? One business trip my guy came home from London, picked up his bag and drove the 45 minutes home to get a phone call that he picked up the wrong bag. He turned around, even though I had dinner waiting and candles lit, and drove back to the airport to exchange, the identical- looking black bags.Ugh. From then on, we’ve used fancy name tags with lots of color and flowery design.

      Liked by 1 person

      • OMG! Your guy drove 45 minutes each way to the airport to exchange the bags!! I hope he made another candlelight dinner for you to make it up!!
        There are so many look-alike bags! We got the medium size of bags for international travel. I decorated the bags and also.

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  29. Love the magical baggage images, Pam! That must have been embarrassing, pulling things out of the big suitcase at the check-in counter. Thank goodness for those ordinary little white tags… traveling can be so exhaustingly complicated!!!

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  31. It’s like the purse conundrum; i.e., the larger the purse, the more we put in. So, the Beast, being bigger, it is so easy to go over. I may have had more than one occasion where there was some shuffling of stuff from one bag to another…. joy oh bliss.

    As for the baggage in the caroussel; we have red bags and my hubby put a big-ass white maple leaf sticker on it. No mistaking it for any of the other red bags 😉

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  32. I had the same experience of going over the fifty pounds. We had to pull some stuff out too and put it in our carry on, which was in my camera bag and laptop. After that I got a laggage scale… lol Glad it all made it to you after the trip! Xo

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  33. 😂 I enjoyed reading this. It reminded me of an aunt who always had to remove items, at the airport, from her suitcases because they were overweight. It never failed. In my 20s, I felt embarrassed watching her do it. Then, I grew up and had to do the same once.
    I attributed it to the inaccurate home scale. And the airline counter staff wouldn’t budge.
    But then, when the baggage is weighed and it falls 5-10 pounds short, I kick myself of the items I wished that I had packed. It’s always a good idea to have a spare bag just in case.
    Sonny Boy was proactive.

    Love your suitcase image too.

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    • This is funny. Number one, it proves that overpacking bags is genetic. I figured somewhere in there I could blame my mom. Thanks! And secondly, exactly! It is almost disastrous if we under pack and could’ve added that extra blouse, or pair of shoes, or eye liner. ☺️💗

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  36. How embarrassing! Poor you having to unpack with an audience! We bought luggage scales when we flew for the first time with my younger daughter because she always overpacks and insists on taking everything, plus the kitchen sink, everytime she leaves the house. We haven’t regretted it!

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  37. LOL. It’s so funny how guys (and gals probably) get fixed on something and find it so hard to let go. My husband has no problem with wheels on this luggage and we finally got a good wheeled set last year that we love. And their big, since the man needs to bring his own pillow wherever we go. Teehee. I’m glad you have a nice visit with your son, too. Hugs.

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  40. Hi Pam. I LOL’d along with your story, as I recently returned from my winter getaway and was faced with the same situation at checkin – 5.5 pounds overweight and humiliated as moving dirty laundry to the carryon. Sorry, but glad I was not alone. LOL. 🙂 ❤

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