Monday, February 11, 2008

Curbside Check In

Yesterday I returned from Denver where I spent the weekend visiting a friend of mine from grade-school. He actually grew up just down the gravel road from me as well.

After grade-school we played sports in high-school together. When I went off to UMD and he headed to the U of M, we stayed in touch. And when he moved out to Denver eight years ago, we remained good friends.

Though the men's Gopher Hockey team left with only one point (a tie on Friday night), the weekend was well received by all.

He dropped me off at the airport around 8:30AM. And as I expected the airport was pretty busy. The past few times I've flown I've used the NWA curbside check in. If you don't count the tip, it's free and usually the line is short. Oddly enough my flight back to Minneapolis was on United and I quickly realized their curbside check in is not free. It's two dollars per bag, plus tip.

My wife calls me cheap, but I prefer fiscally conservative. Given that, I decided to not pay the two dollars for my one bag and proceeded inside. There I saw a line that looked similar to those of American Idol auditions. That is, the line that runs from one county to the next just so you have a chance at embarrassing yourself.

It was at this point I decided to proceed back outside and pay the two dollars. I'm fiscally conservative, but was more than willing to pay two dollars so I could enjoy reading the morning paper instead of frustrating myself standing a hour (or more) in line.

Next time you fly, give the curbside check in a try. Even if it does cost two bucks, it's a great time saver.

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