It is in the bag

Happy Saturday, Amigos. I'm practicing my six word Spanish vocabulary in advance of another trip to the land of tacos and sombreros. Dos cervases por favor. Gracias. I think I have it covered. This will be my third trip to Mexico since the start of December. Unfortunately, it is work, not vacation. On the bright side it will be near 80 degrees as opposed to 18. There is that. Warm sunny weather always helps brighten my attitude.

I had to get a new suitcase. The airline broke one "spinner" wheel when I went to China a couple of years ago. A second wheel was damaged coming home from Mexico in the days before Christmas. The trip last week demonstrated the bag just won't roll well with two broken wheels.

If I have learned anything in more than 25 years of travel it is that decent luggage is worth it. The last suitcase was not the cheap WalMart stuff, but it was the low-end model from a reputable company. The bracket that holds the wheels is plastic; thus the breakage. The new bag has the "skateboard" spinner wheels mounted in a metal bracket, a far more robust design.

I cannot really complain much about the last bag. It took me to China twice, Mexico twice, two cruises, a trip to Hawaii, and a couple of times to Florida on vacation in addition to countless miles throughout the country on ordinary business trips. In and out of trunks, backseats, overhead bins and bellies of airliners is rough. Trust me, those pavers in hotel entryways and the transition from floor to carpet and up and down curbs is hard on the little bearings in the wheels. It is amazing the suitcase lasted as long as it did.

Geez, just thinking about where that suitcase has been makes me reflect that I have travelled a lot more than your average bear. I cannot remember exactly when the wife bought it for me, but that bag has been to at least six countries and maybe 16 or 18 different states. I guess I shouldn't be surprised it is starting to fall apart.

The wife is not thrilled I will be travelling on the upcoming Hallmark Holiday. I better go get something nice this morning to have ready when I get back. I don't think a chocolate sampler is going to cut the mustard this year, especially since my Christmas gifts were a little lame*. Heck, I might even get a card.

Ah Joe, you romantic devil.



* see above, I travelled basically the whole of December for work. My shopping time was limited to pretty much the weekend before Christmas.