Adventures at the Airport

Here's a funny and very embarrassing story...

On Friday afternoon, we headed home from spending Thanksgiving with my family. We were later than planned leaving for the airport and time was looking fairly tight. When we got to the airport we rushed up to the ticket counter (going to the ticket counter first is the only way to get Elena on the plane - since she is a non-ticketed "lap child"). The ladies at the counter were very friendly and very helpful, but slower than molasses. They were really taking their time - besides of just moving slow in general, they oohed and aahed over Elena for a few minutes and then completely ignored us as they chatted to each other about their Thanksgivings and all the gossip at work. They didn't acknowledge us again, but were still working on our luggage, so we weren't sure if we could leave. There was no, "Okay you're set!" of "Have a nice flight!" When we were talking to them we only had a little over half an hour left before our plane took off! But they either didn't realize that or didn't care. Finally we asked if we were done and they said yes.

So, we zoomed off towards the security checkpoint, with me pushing Elena in the stroller and leading the way. We entered the line (which thankfully was very short) and saw that there was only one couple with a little baby in front of us. As we got closer to them, I saw that they were stopped talking to a woman in plain clothes on the other side of the rope barrier. All of the screening and ID checking seemed to be happening around the corner from them and so I figured it was their mom saying goodbye to them before they went to security. Kind of annoyed at them being stopped right in the middle of the pathway and being in a big hurry, I scooted over to the right side of the aisle to get past and started to push past them. All of a sudden I hear, "MA'AM! MA'AM!!!" The woman who the young couple was talking to is screaming at me. I turn around and realize that she is NOT their mom - she is the TSA person who checks your ID against your boarding pass - and she is about to sick some security guards on me for trying to blow by her checkpoint. I immediately turn red and walk back behind the couple, apologizing profusely and saying, "I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking!" All this time, the security lady is eyeing me verrry suspiciously. The young couple finishes and we move forward. The lady takes my ID and boarding pass, checks them, and looks at my ID again for a little too long. After taking several more glances back and forth from me to my ID, she hands them back again with some instructions about how to proceed though security. After checking Eric's ID, we move on with the security lady still staring at me.


Wait, there's more. We put our carry-ons on the belt to be screened and everything seems to be going all right. Then Eric gets stopped by the TSA screener and questioned about what is in his bag.


TSA screener: "What is this liquid in your bag?"
Eric: "I don't know. What liquid? I don't think I have any liquid in my bag."


The screener then goes on the show Eric the scan that does indeed show liquid. It is a snow globe that we were bringing home from my parents, which we totally forgot about. We were planning on carrying it on for safekeeping since it is glass, but totally forgot about the fact that is has a lot of liquid in it. We even asked the ladies at the ticket counter if it would be alright to carry on and they said yes. Well, then the TSA screener escorts Eric back out through the security checkpoint to have him late-check the bag.

The funny part of this is that we had been so careful to make sure that all the liquid items in our diaper bag were under three ounces and in a plastic bag and that they got scanned separately. We were so careful and nitpicky about those little things, but we missed that one big thing.

Amazingly, we made it to our plane early. They weren't even boarding when we got there. Even more amazing than that is that we weren't detained and questioned for all of our shenanigans. Luckily, Heavenly Father was watching out for us. Sheesh - what a day!

P.S. To all of you English major types out there: I know that I changed tenses in the middle of this story. Shame on me. It bugs me too when people do that. However, I feel that the second half of the story tells better in the tense I changed to and I was feeling too lazy to go back and redo the first half of the story to make it match. But, check out the alliteration in my title. Maybe that makes up for it. ;)