It Came From the Chat: Unnecessary Baggage
You never know what's going to strike a nerve during our weekly chat. On Monday's chat, we asked for stories of completely unnecessary things people had taken with them on trips, and we got some interesting responses -- go ahead, pretend you can't relate.
Here are some of our favorites:
ROBE RULES: "I have a rule that I must wear everything I bring on a trip... My rule has caused me to pack carefully and led to some unusual outfits. For example, I wore my bathing suit while doing laundry on the Alaska cruise where it was too cold to swim, and I have been seen wearing a parka (think Michelin man), gloves, and ski cap during an unseasonably warm trip to Canada."
WEIGHTY MATTER: "Once, long ago, when we drove -- thank goodness we weren't flying! -- to an out-of-state conference, I packed my strap-on leg weights (5 pounds apiece) in my luggage to use while exercising in the hotel gym. My husband's never let me forget having packed these, as he got stuck hauling my bag up to the room. I pointed out that I really did use them, but he was (and still is) un-consoled!"
NOT ON THE REGISTRY: "My very thoughtful friends bought my husband and me a "wedding quilt" when we got married. It was a machine-made cheap tapestry of dogs playing pool, you know the one, about 3' by 5'. It came with instructions: take it on your honeymoon and bring back pictures of you, holding the wedding quilt, in front of different sites. So we did. Looking back, it was a lot of fun, mostly because it was so obnoxiously tasteless. We still have it too, 11 years later."
WORST SPRING BREAK EVER: "For winter break the senior year of college, I had big plans to write most of my thesis. I needed to bring all my materials from DC to Chicago, so I packed three suitcases for the three-week trip, one exclusively full of books. Since I had so much luggage, and quite heavy at that, I took Amtrak since I wouldn't have to pay extra for the additional suitcase or weight. Well, the train was delayed about seven hours because we got caught in a snowstorm and a train ahead of us was derailed and we had to stay to pick up their passengers, but that's another story. Anyway, needless to say I didn't work on my thesis at all, had taken a 16-hour train ride for no reason and had about a ton of luggage to get back to my dorm room (actually an on-campus trailer park) upon my return."
NOT THE BRIGHTEST BULB: "The most ridiculous thing I've lugged around is a lamp. I'll spare you the details of how I ended up with that as a (fragile!) piece of carry-on luggage. But after having to board with it two separate times before my original flight was cancelled, then re-boarding yet again the next day on a new itinerary that arrived at a time when I couldn't get a ride and had to make the trip from Dulles to DC by bus and metro, I was really, really tired of that lamp."
OH, BROTHER:" My sister and I drove to Maine for a long weekend. We met at my parents' house (where I was visiting) and she helped me put my bags in her trunk. After a beautiful overnight in Boothbay Harbor, we decided to stay there for the rest of the weekend, but had to move rooms twice, finally to the third floor of our shoreline motel. As we put our loads down, my sister said, "What do you have in this bag?" I said, "I thought it was yours." I opened it: it was our younger brother's suitcase -- filled with hockey skates, pucks etc. which my sister had kindly grabbed from our parents' front hall."
DTMFA: "Once packing for a business trip, my boyfriend put a very heavy hard-covered dictionary in my bag when I wasn't looking. I commented on how heavy the bag was and couldn't believe I had packed so much, but didn't have time to repack so I just left... He said later he thought I'd open the bag in the office before leaving and find the dictionary, but I didn't and wound up having to lug it for the entire trip. And no, we're not together anymore. He did stuff like this all the time, which can be funny unless you're on the receiving end. I did laugh when I found the dictionary, but I didn't want to always have to check for this sort of thing."
SPUD STUPIDITY: "For their first Thanksgiving visiting us, my mother-in-law said she would make her traditional mashed potatoes -- and she flew up from Memphis with five pounds of potatoes in her luggage!"
JUST TRASHY: "The most useless thing I ever packed on an airflight: Let's just say there are dangers to last minute packing on trash day. When I arrived at my destination, I discovered I had flown with my recyclables."
Miss the chat? It's not too late to admit what dumb stuff you've taken on a trip. Do share.
By Christina Talcott |
April 2, 2008; 1:01 PM ET
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Posted by: Red-faced | April 2, 2008 3:30 PM
Part 2 - and before you ask why I packed anything for a nudist camp..there were day trips planned for locales outside of the camp, where clothing was required.
Posted by: Red-faced | April 2, 2008 3:39 PM
DTMFA is a little harsh for the Washington Post. What would Katherine Graham think if you had to explain it to her.
Our worst packing was a pair of new hiking boots that my wife purchased just before a week-long trek. She had blisters before we got out of the car, which I reminded her of from time to time over the past 32 years.
Posted by: Tom | April 2, 2008 5:06 PM
My husband laughs at me, but I have a white noise machine that *has* to be packed. Without it, I simply can't get to sleep. It's not heavy or terribly bulky, but it is obviously an extra item to pack.
(Yes, I've tried the small traveling ones - the speed with which they break is proportional to how much I've spent on them. But my old $20 Homedics machine just keeps on hissing.)
I always pack it on the top of my bag so TSA can examine it if need be. And sure enough, there's always one of those "This bag was inspected..." cards when I open the suitcase on my arrival :D
Posted by: Chasmosaur | April 2, 2008 5:38 PM
Pack the peripherals
Forget the laptop at home
Posted by: Dan | April 3, 2008 2:25 PM
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Not kidding here...I spent a week at a "naturist" camp (for men only). One of the activities was a Formal Dinner night (just like on a cruise...only different). I packed my tuxedo (as a gentleman would do for a formal dinner). All that was required was a bow-tie.