I remember standing in front of the guard at Heathrow a few years back. A gruff man whose first language was definitely not English. “You’re going to have to throw away the chocolates,” he told me flatly, pointing to the sign with the liquid regulations. Tears welled in my eyes, $100 worth of Bavarian liquor-filled chocolates purchased as gifts for others down the drain. I’m not sure if he took pity on me or was joking the whole time. “No, you’re fine,” he finally smiled, letting me through.
Flash forward to today as I pack for Kauai. Going about my business, oh, wait, all of this frickin’ sunscreen we just bought is in containers larger than 3 ounces. Shit. Google to make sure the ban still stands. Yep. Alright, options, options. Try to find same “naturalish” sunscreen in Kauai, ehh… Okay, what else… Smaller containers!
So you’re telling me that I can have the same bottle of four ounce sunscreen divided into smaller containers? What is the f’ing difference? Seriously. Why not just set a limit on the TOTAL number of ounces that can be carried on, or to whatever can fit in that dumb ziplock bag? Is that so difficult?
I know what you’re thinking, just put it in your checked bags, but there’s where you’re wrong. My husband and I have a commitment to avoid checking baggage at all costs. Too many bags lost or delayed or damaged along the way, not to mention the time lost waiting for your delightful goods to come around that magic circle. No thanks. Hawaiian Airlines now charges $25 per checked bag, too. Insult to injury. So, for now, all I have are my rants and my thousand little containers of sunscreen.
What’s wrong with this picture? Pretty sure the pile of sunscreen containers on the right is the same as the nice, protected container of sunscreen on the left… Too bad TSA doesn’t think so.
oliviaobryon 