[CedarDave]

Checked a 25 lb tote of work tools in Boise on Sunday. Southwest agent took me to TSA inspector who looked at the agent, she nodded something, and he put a cable tie on it and sent it to the baggage loading area. At the gate, the TSA inspector had me take my cell phone off my belt and said that I didn't have to take off my sneakers to go through the metal detector. My biggest hassle was finding a SmartCart to take my bags to the check-in counter.

In my travels, I have found that folks in the larger cities and those east of the Mississippi tend to be more surley, arrogant and more likely a pain in the a** than those out in the heartland. Could be just my liking my rural, western lifestyle, but maybe not.

[MineralMan]

"In my travels, I have found that folks in the larger cities and those east of the Mississippi tend to be more surley, arrogant and more likely a pain in the a** than those out in the heartland. Could be just my liking my rural, western lifestyle, but maybe not."


It does seem that way. I solve the problem, usually, by flying out of regional airports instead of the big city ones. The cost is usually the same, and you skip the traffic, parking, and other annoyances.

Further, I travel in sweats...a nice workout suit. I carry one carry-on and check one other bag. In it, I don't put anything suspicious, like big bottles of shampoo and the like. Just clothes.

I no longer take my laptop on most trips, since I moved my email to Yahoo, and can check it anywhere. If I need files, I burn a CD. When I go through security, I've moved _everything_ out of my pockets and into my carryon bag. No metal, no beep. I just travel clean these days and don't have anything anywhere that sets off any alarms.

Also, don't be the first to board the plane. Don't jump to the front of the boarding line. They seem to choose folks at the front for gate screening, almost exclusively.

But, the best tip of all is to fly in and out of regional airports. The folks working there are a lot nicer.