…travel plans go awry! It can happen to anybody…you board a plane and as quickly as you get on you are asked to get off…the city you are flying to has been closed due to weather. Now to many this wouldn’t be a major problem unless your cruise leaves the next day….you are leading a business meeting…someone is extremely ill and you need to get somewhere. All of the sudden you are on the phone trying to find a way to get to your destination….so many things to think about! Cancel hotel reservation and make new hotel and rental car reservation if necessary…Be sure luggage gets transferred to the new flight… Be courteous to the gate agent as they will do more to get you where you need to go if you are patient and appreciative.
These items are critical…but sometimes a wrinkle can happen in the best laid plans. I experienced all these issues on a recent trip…including my luggage failing to arrive at my destination…Atlanta failed to put it on the next flight…I was told it would arrive at 8:00 am which would have been ok if I wasn’t leaving the hotel at 5:00 am for a three hour drive to my workshop….I had no clothes….toiletries…and the worst…NO MAKEUP! As I talked to the
agent about my woes….she went to the back and brought me a small black zippered pouch…When I arrived at the hotel with only my computer bag, I opened this pouch and discovered an oversized Delta T-shirt to sleep in…something plastic that resembled a hairbrush…only didn’t brush like a hairbrush…a toothbrush and toothpaste, a little container with a quarter size of deodorant that popped out used…and two q-tips (clean ears are essential in a situation like this!)…Trying not to end up in a puddle of tears…I begin to consider my options…surely I will see a Walmart in the town I am working in…I can buy a little blush, mascara and hair clip…and I do have lipstick in my small purse! Well there are some towns without a Walmart and I was working in one of them…my only consolation is that they think they have a new instructor on my return visit!
Travel Tip 1: Ladies always travel with a makeup bag that can get you through an overnight
debacle!
Travel Tip 2: Have phone numbers handy for rental car, hotel and airline customer service numbers.
Travel Tip 3: Take a deep breath…smile and be nice to the gate agent!
Travel Tip 4: Grab a cocktail….and remember “This too shall pass!”