Daily Stats
Rental Car Starting Mileage: 10,199
Rental Car Ending Mileage: 10,204
Our Car Starting Mileage: 38,995
Our Car Ending Mileage: 39,105
Flight from Anchorage to Seattle: 1,444
Miles Traveled: 1,559
States Visited: AK, WA
The morning did not get off to a great start due to another ridiculous airport security experience.
I am all for safety measures. But I'm also for common sense. At many airports, there seems to be a clear lack common sense in a desperate attempt to give the illusion of safety.
Take off your shoes.
Take off your hoodie.
Take off your jacket.
Take off your sweater.
Remove liquids from your bag.
Remove electronics from your bag.
Empty your pockets.
For me, my hair is too thick and I must be hiding something in my bun and therefore need to get physically examined almost every single time.
Let me tell you...today was a new level of complete nonsense.
In addition to all of the "rules" listed above, the lady was barking at everyone, "Do you have any food in your bag?" and if anyone said yes, she ordered them to take food out of their bag and put it in a bin to go through the x-ray machine. WHAT?!? When it was my turn, I responded, "I have some M&Ms," and she said in a rude voice, "Take them out of your bag and put them in a bin."
Since when do passengers have to remove food from their bags? What kind of stupidity is this?!?
Airlines don't provide snacks and airport snacks cost a small fortune, so people bring snacks in their carry-ons. This is not news. But never, EVER, have we been ordered to take food out of our bags at security.
It gets better.
As my bag was moving along the conveyor belt, this same employee grabbed it and said, "This isn't allowed. It's a weapon."
Obviously I was taken aback because what kind of weapon did she think I had?
This kind:
Yep. A plastic glittery keychain of the Star Wars Rebel Alliance symbol that I have attached to one of the zipper pulls.
I stared at her. Then I said, "Are you serious?"
Her reply? "This could be used like brass knuckles."
I continued staring at her because I honestly couldn't believe what she was saying. Literally one of the most ludicrous sentences I have ever heard.
She ordered me to take it off the bag and said it had to be inspected, so we stood there, beyond annoyed and holding up the line, while she waited for a "supervisor" to come over. I was prepared to engage in a loud and ugly argument, but thankfully, the supervisor looked at it in her hand for less than a second and told her, "It's fine. It's a keychain."
She had no choice but to put it in the bin with my bag and let it go through the machine. You know, along with my shoes, sweater, laptop, liquids, and M&Ms.
I just cannot with this foolishness.
A plastic glittery keychain is a weapon?!? Along the lines of brass knuckles?!?
Pens are allowed on planes and I have no doubt someone could do some pretty terrible things with a pen if they wanted.
Antlers are allowed in carry-on bags.
Artificial Skeletal Bones are allowed in carry-on bags.
Bicycle Chains are allowed in carry-on bags.
Bobby Pins are allowed in carry-on bags.
Bottle Openers are allowed in carry-on bags.
Bowling Balls are allowed in carry-on bags.
Canes are allowed in carry-on bags.
Coat Hangers are allowed in carry-on bags.
I stopped looking after scrolling through the A, B, and C listings, but you get the idea. All of these things could be used as weapons in the wrong hands!
Frankly, I'm more concerned with the mental health of my fellow passengers than what they have in their bags.
When I was a counselor at a residential treatment facility for teenagers, I saw firsthand how a person's mental health and the decisions they make when they have access to an object, not the object itself, are what pose a potential threat to others.
The good news is that once we were finally through security, the rest of the day was great! We had an empty seat between us on the plane, the flight was uneventful, the flight attendants were very nice, and both boarding and deplaning were smooth and efficient!
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| Alaska, I love you! |
We were thrilled to get back to our own car because we only traveled to Alaska with two backpacks (and my "personal item" with the dangerous keychain on it), so we'd really had limited clothes and supplies for the past week compared to what we have in our car!
Once we were back in our own car, we drove to my friend Dan's place and picked him up. He and I met 21 years ago when we went to Space Academy for Educators together in Alabama! We hadn't seen him since our last visit to Seattle in 2016, so it was awesome to hang out with him! You know those people that you just feel like you were destined to be friends with? That's him for me. I adore him and C thinks he's pretty great, too! The three of us went to Snoqualmie Falls and then out for Thai food and had fun catching up!
After we dropped him back off at home, we drove to our hotel and spent some time unpacking and organizing. Tomorrow we are back on the road!
Happy Tails to you!
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