Just had Sal drop me off at the airport for an emotional goodbye as I won't be back for 30 days :-( I'll spare everyone the details of my mood swings; lots of emotions as we've never been apart this long in our last 32 years.
I have a crazy jumble of stuff in my carry-on bag; a variety of wires, batteries, micro-controllers, crimpers, watermaker, 2 laptops, 1 iPad, a micro Windows PC, steaming light(replacement), stainless steel screws, countersinking drill bit, screwdrivers, and that's just top of mind. I'm a bit worried that TSA is going to not allow the manual watermaker aboard in my carry-on and I don't have enough time in my schedule in Madrid to check any luggage. The watermaker is made of a metal tube and handle about 18 inches long. The watermaker is a requirement for the transatlantic rally safety check, and generally just a good idea to have aboard, especially if one ends up in a life raft due to some calamity at sea.
I approach TSA precheck with bravado, but it rapidly dissipates when I get "the look" from the x-ray tech who announces " bag check on precheck!" With a bit of disdain in his voice. Oh no, here it comes...
The bag check guy asks me if I have a cable device in my bag. I tell him there is a crimper in there. He informs me it can't be taken onboard if it's over 7 inches. Of course it's much longer than that or they wouldn't have flagged it anyway.
I say "no prob, just throw it in the trash" but they seem (sincerely) concerned and tell me I can check the bag instead. I tell them no big deal thinking "thank god it's the 9-inch, $20, crimper, not the 18-inch, $400, metal water maker.
If I check the bag, I likely won't make my connecting flight from Madrid to Tenerife as I'll have to wait for baggage, then go through security again. I missed my flight the last time I did that.
I'm pretty happy with only a $20 penalty. FYI: contrary to TSA's guidelines, if you ever find yourself physically threatened by two people, one carrying a crimper and one carrying a watermaker, I recommend battling the one carrying the crimper.
-Greg
Love your blogging and as always your sense of humor. And yes, TSA. Hmmmmmm. Madi got stopped for her boomerang that we had bought in the airport in Sydney. lol But after customs in Dallas (didn't think to stick it in our checked luggage) had to go through security again and she got stopped told it needed to be checked. (I had five in my carry-on, I was right in front of her, not stopped) Paul took her boomerang back to check it, turned out to be a real hassle, so he just went through a different TSA checkpoint, came through no problem. ;-)
ReplyDelete