Dear Suitcase, Where Did You Go? The story of my lost suitcase.

Dear Suitcase,

Where did you go?  My dear lost suitcase!  Were you hiding? Or, did you just want to go on an adventure on your own?  I looked for you!  I searched.  The airline I flew was searching O'Hare (Chicago), Denver and Salt Lake City.  I'd never been to Denver before.  At first, I was amused that you might have gone to Denver and seen the sights there.  Because, dear suitcase, I've never been there!

I was heading to a blogging convention.  My first ever!  And, I was so looking forward to it!   Can you believe it, on the tram ride from remote parking, at O'Hare (Chicago), I met Melissa?  A fellow blogger, also  going to the Build Your Blog Conference 2015.  How fun to meet someone and know at least one person before I arrived!  We were on the same flight.  Strangely, our boarding passes said we were at different gates.  We puzzled over this then went our separate ways, planning to meet up at Salt Lake City.   Ummmm, the lady at my gate wasn't happy.  She kept telling us that this gate was for the Tampa flight and she didn't know why all us 'other' people were there.  Well, I'm no dummy, I knew what gate my new bloggy friend Melissa was flying out of, so, I headed there. Yes, indeed, that was the gate I was supposed to be at (in spite of what my boarding pass said).  Melissa and I were amused as we were telling people, where the Tampa gate was, since their boarding passes had the wrong gate.  Oh well, gates change.  Don't they?

Honest, dear lost suitcase, I had every intention of taking you as carry-on.   But then I may have packed one or two (or 8) things too many and had to open up that expanding zipper.   Being the honest person I was, I checked at the ticket counter if you were still OK as carry on.   I think the ticket person didn't know how to refund me the $5.00 (carry on luggage was $25 but checked luggage was $20).   Yea, times have changed.  No free bag on this flight!  She told me not to worry about it and it would be fine.

But, dear lost suitcase, you know I'm a worrier.  So at the gate, I checked to see if you were OK to be my carry on.  You see, it was a full plane and I was group 4.  So, we would have been the last ones to board with a very full but small suitcase.  I didn't want to be 'that' lady who couldn't find room or lift her bag into the overhead bin.

The gate person asked me to put my bag into the bag sizer.  It did fit!!  I did have to give it a little (ok, big) push to get it into the bag sizer, but it did fit!  The gal looked at it and told me the flight was sold out and my bag was a little big and I'd have a hard time finding an overhead bin spot for it.  Would I PLEASE gate check it?   Whew!  I was relieved.  That was my goal.  I did double check that they wouldn't charge me extra and they said no, because I was THOUGHTFUL enough to check with them and then gate check the bag.  They tagged you, and gave me my part of the tag.  See, my dear suitcase, I was doing the right thing!  I was THOUGHTFUL!

I happily wheeled you to the door of the airplane and left you with the strollers.  The 'guy' who would normally be there wasn't.  So, being the worrier I am, I asked the airline attendant if I was leaving you in the right spot.  She told me it was the right spot and they would take care of my bag and get it into the plane.

And that, dear suitcase, was the last time I saw you.  For a long time!

Our flight was delayed.  Get this.  I haven't heard this one before!  The water in the toilets was frozen and we needed to be patient while they thawed them before we could take off.  Has anyone else ever been delayed for this reason?  It was actually kind of funny!  It should have been my first clue.

Dear suitcase.  It would have been nice of you to joined me at the conference.  I could have used my cloths, toiletries, business cards, and other essentials that you carried for me.  I was networking with 703 other bloggers and meeting with Brands who I was hoping to work for.   It would have been nice if you would have bothered showing up!   I asked the flight attendant where you were when you didn't appear at the gate check area, with the strollers, when we arrived in Salt Lake City.  She told me they usually put the luggage on the luggage carousel.  I was concerned about you though.  I told her I had gate checked it, not checked it as baggage.   A crew member came out (the pilot?) and we shared my concerns with him.   He opened the door and yelled down to the luggage guy to see if there was still a bag to come up and was told everything was out of the plane.

"Don't worry," said the attendant.  "It's in the baggage area.  That's what they always do."   Since there was nothing else to do, I headed to the baggage area, hoping, dear suitcase, that you would be there, waiting for me!

I waited for you.  Sometimes I saw a bag that I thought was you!  But, disappointingly, you never showed up. I waited.  Until every last bag went away with their owner.   I saw the oversized area and saw lots of  big, bulky luggage coming off there.  A little glimmer of hope shone in me as I headed over there.  Hoping you would be there.   When the baggage guy put the last set of skis down, I asked him if there was any chance he knew where my bag was.   He was concerned about you, dear suitcase.  He went back and checked the plane.  He shook his head when he came back and told me that there was no luggage left on the plane.  It was almost 10pm Thursday night.

I checked in with the baggage claim office and gave them a description of my bag, told them what happened, gave my claim number and my contact information.   My new blog friend Melissa, and I, headed to the hotel.  Being brave bloggers, we used the Salt Lake City TRAX (city train system) and successfully navigated it to the hotel.  EASY!  On the way, the baggage claim guy called me because he realized I didn't have his phone number to follow up on my bag status.  He told me a flight was coming late that night and another mid-morning the next day and my bag should be on one of those flights.  That's when I found out that this particular airline DIDN'T SCAN BAGS!  They had no idea where it was and when it was last seen.

We checked into the hotel.  I told Melissa, I'd be fine and we went our separate ways.  I explained my situation to the hotel concierge.   She was sympathetic and told me of a 24 hour grocery store/department store which was less than 10 minutes from the hotel.  It wasn't comparable to  Neiman Marcus.  In any way.  I bought some necessities 'cause the next day I would be meeting over 700 new people!!  At my first blogging conference ever!!  I grabbed a couple of long sleeved t-shirts, a huge t-shirt to sleep in, a cardigan (clearance rack since winter is almost over), underwear, toiletries, makeup, and a curling iron.  All for about $100!!  Woohoo.  I was a good and quick shopper at 11pm in a strange city.  But, I was tired!   I went back to the hotel, let the front desk know my bag might arrive tonight and PLEASE bring it to my room even if it was late.

I woke up to my alarm with a start, realized no one woke me up to bring me my bag.  I called the front desk.  No bag.  Wow!  Good thing I did some 'just in case' shopping the night before!   At least I would be showered, clean with makeup on.    Then I took a quick brisk early morning walk to the FedEx/Kinko's store to see if I could get some quick business cards printed (not quick enough).  But, I had them make some color copies of my Media Kit (like a blogger resume).  At least I had something.

"Your luggage arrived!" said Melissa (my new blogger friend from the Chicago airport), when she saw me the that morning.

"Sadly, no." I responded.  I shared with her details about my late night shopping excursion.  Explaining I had bought a few items of emergency clothing.  And with those few items, plus a shower, changed my look.  And then, I asked for the business card I had given her the night before back.  So, I had a total of 6 cards.  She understood.

We then went to check in at our respective registration desks (split alphabetically) for the blog conference.  In that registration line I met Lexi, my second new blog friend : ).

After we attended our first awesome learning seminar, I was looking for Melissa.   There she was, talking to Lexi.  Funny, the three of us had never met before but enjoyed hanging out with each other for the rest of the conference.

Dear suitcase, I called the baggage claim office many times that day (Friday).   I was worried about you.  I missed you.  I did finally get a call from an agent.   They found you in Chicago and said they would send you to me.   That day.  Oh the joy and anticipation!   I told my friends at the hotel bell hop desk that I had heard my luggage was coming.  They were happy for me.   They promised to bring my luggage to my room no matter what time it arrived (if it was late, they would phone me first).  Three of the kind folks at the bell hop desk knew me by name by this point.  So did the concierge.  Who kindly asked for updates.

I woke with a start to my alarm.  It was Saturday morning.  I had not been brought my luggage.  My calls to the baggage office in Salt Lake ended in voice mail.  I left messages all day that weren't returned.  It felt like I was in the movie Ground Hog Day.  I was so thankful I had bought the three pack of underwear Thursday night.  Sorry if that's TMI!

I went downstairs.  I saw Melissa and Lexi.  "Oh, you got your luggage!" they both said.

I shook my head and sighed.  "No, sadly, I didn't.  But do you like the $14.99 cardigan I bought Friday night at the 24 hour grocery/department store?" I asked.

I told my friends I was going to skip breakfast and head to the airport.  Because they still weren't returning my calls.  I jumped on the TRAX and headed to the airport.   Got to the airport and this is what I discovered.  This particular airline only has staff at the baggage claims office for ½ hour before and 1 hour after a flight leaves.  And, there wasn't another flight until late afternoon.  So, I went back to the hotel.  Fortunately, I didn't miss much of the session I wanted to go to and just quietly slipped into the conference room, sat down, and proceeded to take notes on how to improve my blog.

By late Saturday morning, there was no sign of my luggage.  Remember, I arrived on Thursday.  And, no returned phone calls.  I even started leaving messages at the Chicago O'Hare baggage office.  They didn't call back either.  And, Saturday night was the night of the Semi-Formal Gala.  And, I didn't think my jeans and my $14.99 cardigan would quite pass for semi-formal.  Sooooo, I missed a session, (which I heard was really awesome) and lunch, to go to Macy's to see what I could pull together for the upcoming semi-formal  evening.   In about an hour, I went to Macy's, bought a dress, shoes, nylons, a fancy wallet (that I used as a clutch), necklace and matching earrings, and got back in time to hit my next training session.  Ha!  Plus I got all of that for $130.  I couldn't buy anything short sleeved because the ball room was freezing. That left me scrounging on the clearance rack for something appropriate, with some kind of sleeve that fit me.  I DID IT!   Oh, I think I may have mentioned that there were quite a few fashion bloggers at my conference?  I'm guessing they didn't buy their outfits off the clearance rack 5 hours before the gala?

Made it in time for the last session of the conference.   Wow.  The last session of a two day conference was at 3:00 on Saturday.  Considering everything on my mind, and all the running around I did, I was amazed at how interesting and relevant it was to me.  It motivated me, inspired me and I filled pages in my notebook with "to do's".  That seminar reinforced that I was on the right track with my blog and that there were things I still needed to do.

Sadly, our friend Melissa had to catch a flight home Saturday night.  So, Lexi and I sat at a table at the Blogger Gala and got to know some other bloggers we hadn't met before.   It was a truly enjoyable evening!  The gals at our table talked about how great many of the sessions were and how they would help us with our blogging journeys.

After the gala was over, I decided to quickly print my boarding pass for the next morning.  I thought my flight was at 10:30ish in the morning and I was hoping to sleep in a little.  Imagine my surprise when I printed my boarding pass and saw my flight was at 6:30 a.m..  Ummmm, so much for the breakfast plans Lexi and I had.   AND, what the heck was I going to bring the few clothes and accessories I had with me home.  Because I obviously didn't have a suitcase!  And it was already after 9pm.  Then, I was thinking how annoying it would be if my suitcase arrived at 1am, and they work me up to bring it to my room, and I would have to get up at 4am to get to the airport and lug home a suitcase whose contents I didn't get to use.

Since I wasn't going to count on my suitcase arriving, I needed to find something to put my stuff in to go to the airport.   It was already after 9pm.  Oh boy.  So I went to the gift shop at the hotel and explained my predicament to the clerk working there.   There was a couple standing near us and the gentleman looked incredibly concerned.   He offered to drive me somewhere, anywhere, to buy a suitcase or a tote bag or whatever I would need.  Wasn't that nice?  I explained that I'll be wearing most of what I own, and I just need a bag to pretty much hold what I was presently wearing plus a few extra items of clothing and accessories (but not many).  Oh my gosh.

The guy looked horrified at my predicament, then looked at me and said, "You don't know me."  He paused, and then told me, "My WIFE will drive you to the store!"   I just wanted to hug him he was being so concerned and so sweet!   In the meantime the store clerk found a wonderful reinforced plastic bag with handles which easily was roomy enough for all my possessions.  I thanked all for their concern, checked in with the bell captain that I would need a cab early the next morning, and that, no, my luggage hadn't arrived.  Ok, people.  This was a big hotel.  The bell captain told me that he can't remember someone not getting their luggage for their entire stay.  I'm special.

Can I state the obvious and say it didn't take me long to pack?

I folded up my $14.99 cardigan and left it on the desk with a note on it.  It said, "Just bought this Friday, wore it one day, and didn't have room for it in my luggage".  I didn't want the maid to think I had forgotten it.  I just truly didn't want to see it again!  And, honestly, I had a plastic gift bag and it would have taken too much room.

My alarm went off Sunday morning at 4am, my luggage hadn't arrived and it was day 4 for me being luggage-less in Salt Lake City.   Wearing the same jeans I wore most of the trip.  Because I didn't have time to buy new ones and I kept hoping my luggage would arrive like they had told me it would Saturday morning!

Oh, a tip.  If you are ever stranded, without a change of clothes, buy the three pack of underwear.  And some long sleeved t-shirts and some accessories to change the look.   And then every night, hang everything on hangers and totally steam the heck out of every item of clothing you have with in the shower.   By the morning, they will be dry and you can convince yourself they are all freshened up.  And, just in case you aren't 100% convinced, just used a little extra deodorant.   Oh boy!

Are you still with me?  Because this story isn't over yet.  I'm truly the person who, if something could go wrong it will!  So now would be a good time to grab yourself another cup of coffee or a little snack.  If you really are still reading this, I consider you my friend.  Because I've shared that I bought and wore a super clearance cardigan at a conference. And, I bought a complete semi-formal outfit in less than ½ hour for  $130 (including shoes and accessories, ladies!).   And, I steamed my few clothes each night to freshen them up.  But most importantly, I bought the three pack of underwear.  If I shared this with you, then we're obviously friends!  So, are you ready for the rest of the story?  Because I still need to get home!

Backing up just a bit.  The Saturday afternoon conference was talking about how important Twitter could be in contacting brands you want to work with.  Because companies are fully aware that their tweets are public and people can see them, they have responsible people handling Twitter accounts.   Since no one from the baggage departments of either Salt Lake City or O'Hare was returning my phone calls, I tweeted the airline.  Can you imagine my absolute shock when in less than 3 minutes I received a tweet back?  I had tweeted, "@######. Have been at #BYBC2015 since Thursday with no luggage.  Why won't you return my calls?

Please note, I am trying really hard to be nice and not drag this airline through the mud.  They will receive this information.  I hope they learn from it!

Honestly, the folks on Twitter responded to every Tweet.  But, they couldn't actually help me.  They spent lots of Tweets apologizing.  What a tough job.  I'm guessing that's what most of their day is.

So, arrived at the airport with my purse and my plastic bag carrying my worldly possessions.

I stood in line at ticketing and explained to the gal that I had prepaid for carry-on luggage.  Which they lost.  And they seriously couldn't charge me to carry on the gift bag with my few possessions in it.  She told me they hadn't charged me.  I asked her to check again and she said she did and she said I hadn't been charged.  Who was I to argue when it was 5am, I was wearing my jeans another day, I had a purse and a gift bag carrying my only possessions and was oh, so tired?  I made a mental note to check that when I got home.   Do you remember learning about foreshadowing in literature when you were in middle school?  Remember this.

Got on the plane.  Fell asleep until shortly before we landed in Denver for the layover.   Denver!  That's why they were looking for my suitcase in Denver.  Got it!

Texted one of my girlfriends with some more details of my adventures.  She thought my suitcase saga was pretty funny.

Plane was delayed.  Are you surprised?

Started tweeting the airline again.  Because I was tired, mad, bored, luggage-less and because they responded.  But, not with anything really helpful.

Finally got on the plane about ½ hour late.  Guess what people?  The plane was DELAYED even more!  Because the hose to fill the plane's drinkable water supply was frozen.   I think I giggled when I heard that.  Remember, when I was heading TO Salt Lake City, the water in the toilet was frozen?   Seriously, anyone ever had that issue??

We FINALLY took off, and I once again slept a good part of the trip.  I don't normally but I was a little worn out.

When we landed, I went to the baggage claims office at O'Hare.  I have lost my luggage before.  And, I know you can file for financial reimbursement.  And, at the time, you had to start the process at the actual baggage claim office BEFORE you left the airport.  I walked the baggage area twice, trying to find that particular airline's baggage claims office.  I asked at one of the major airline's baggage office and asked if they knew were the office was.   They thought I should go to ticketing upstairs.  OK, people.  I'm at O'Hare airport in Chicago.  It's a big airport.  And I was doing a ton of walking.  Then the lady in the ticketing line told me the baggage office was indeed DOWNSTAIRS.  I told her she needed to find out exactly where it was.  Sure, everyone knows that you need to go to oversized baggage and go AROUND the corner to the unmarked office.  I'm getting crabby now.  A security guard stops me as I'm marching into the office and points out the young girl who worked there.

Me:  You guys lost my luggage on Thursday, it's Sunday and I haven't seen it yet.  I'd like to start the process of a financial claim.

(We walked to the office and she sat at her desk.)  She didn't say anything so  I basically repeated the above.

Her:  Does it look like I have a form for that?

Me:  I don't know and I'm not looking for forms on your desk.  Aren't you baggage claims and, isn't this where you make a claim for expenses when YOU GUYS have lost my baggage?

Her:  {Staring at me blankly} You have to talk to reservations.

Me:  {After taking a deep breath} Okkkaaayyyyyy.  Is reservations the same as ticketing?  Upstairs?

Her: No.

And that's all she said.

Me: {Taking a deep breath}  OK, if they aren't upstairs at ticketing, where are they?

Her:  I don't know.

And, that's all she said.

Me:  How would someone, like myself, with missing luggage, get ahold of reservations?

Her:  You have to phone them.

And, that's all she said.

Me:  Work with me here.  Can you give me their number?

And she pulled a little  piece of paper out of her desk with the 800 number for reservations.

Me:  Can you tell me what the exact process is, for applying for a financial claim for lost baggage?

Her:  Well, there has to be a discussion with you, me and reservations and then we figure it out based on things like how long your luggage is gone.

Me:  Ummmmm, since you and I are here in your office, and you have a phone right there, how about you call reservations and the three of us can have that conversation?

Her:  It doesn't work that way.

And that's all she said.

Me:  How the heck (I may have said a different word) does it work then?

Her:  You have to call reservations and start the claim.

I don't think I said thank you when I left the office.  Actually, I'm quite sure I didn't.

So, I call this 800 number.   Keep in mind, it's Sunday afternoon at this point.  And, I've just had this wonderful conversation.  And I'm giving up hope of ever seeing my suitcase again.  And, the recording tells me that the particular extension I need is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 11am.  And then they hang up on me.  THEY. HANG. UP. ON. ME.

Then my husband calls the second they hang up on me and says, "###### Airlines Customer Service.  How can I help you?"  What I said, in response, I can't write on this blog.

Hey Friend, are you still with me?  Maybe we should be BFFs?  Because this post is LONG and you really must care!

I drove home.  Two hours.  And was never happier to shower and change my clothes.  And be with my family.

Dear Suitcase.  It's been 5 days and I haven't heard from you.  Have you travelled the world?  I still miss you, and have not given up on you!

Sunday evening.  After a wonderful family dinner.  And a LONG, HOT shower and CLEAN CLOTHES, my cell phone rang.  I recognized the number.

"Hi Susan, it's C### from the Salt Lake City baggage claim area.  Your suitcase just arrived here in Salt Lake City."

WOW!  But, I wasn't in Salt Lake City anymore.  My conference was over the day prior and I was home (near Milwaukee, WI).  But my suitcase was found.  Can you believe it?

C### was the baggage claim I guy I first talked to when I learned my luggage was missing in Salt Lake City.   Who had called me to make sure I had the SLC baggage claim phone number (that goes straight to voice mail and no one returns calls).  That aside, someone was actually helping.  He had called because he knew it had been a few days and wanted to make sure I was still at the hotel.

I gave him my home address.  He said it would be FedEx'd overnight.  But it would have to go out the next day (Monday) for delivery Tuesday, since it was too late to get sent out that night.

Mentally, I was wondering why they wouldn't use their own planes to fly it to Milwaukee, much closer to my home.  But, I was smart enough not to say anything.  I really, really wanted my bag in FedEx's hands!

Tuesday I had plans for one hour with a girlfriend.   I told her that I would still go, but I couldn't do lunch, as we had planned.  Because my suitcase was supposed to arrive.  Her response was, "Oh my gosh.  I shouldn't laugh but this is just SO funny.  That your suitcase has been floating around the U.S. for 5+ days."

I left a note taped to my garage door for the FedEx guy.   I'm sure you understand my paranoia that the moment I left my house would be the time my bag would get delivered, then not delivered because I wasn't there to sign for it.  My note said, "Dear FedEx Driver.  I went to a conference in Salt Lake City but my suitcase didn't.  It's been 5 days since I've seen it.   PLEASE, PLEASE leave it here, outside my garage. It will be safe here and I'll be back by 11:30am.  I also left my cell phone number on the note.

I came home.  My suitcase was there!  WooooHoooo!!!!   My note was gone.  He either accepted it as my signature or took it with him as proof that a weirdo lived at that particular house : ).

Dear Suitcase.  I'm so glad you are home.  I didn't realize how much I valued your contents.  Actually, I had been really concerned about some nice jewelry that I had packed in you for the Blogger Gala.  But, fortunately, everything was there.  Nothing was missing.  My suitcase had some signs of wear.  But, that was OK.  I don't buy expensive suitcases.

Now, I'll submit my receipts for reimbursement.  Hope C### at the Salt Lake City baggage claim area sees what a thrifty shopper I was!  Oh, and I DON'T have to go through reservations for the claim!  But that conversation at the O'Hare baggage claim area took up time in my life that I can never recover.  And, never forget.

Thanks for hanging in for this story of my suitcase adventure.   I wrote essay's longer in high school!  You are awesome for hanging in here with me!

Now I'm just worried that my girlfriend will be too nervous to travel to London, England with me in May.  To have tea at Downton Abby!!!   It's going to be so exciting!  We are already planning our carry on luggage : ) !  We will be sharing our adventures on Instagram.  Then I'll write some blog posts when I get home.  I promise.  So, if you are a Downton Abby fan, follow my Instagram and this blog.

Oh, and if you want to meet some awesome new bloggers, you have got to check out my new blog friend's sites.  They are awesome!  Awesome people and awesome bloggers.

Check out Melissa's blog at: Kid Friendly Things To Do   - Super cute kid activities and kid friendly recipes!

And Lexi's blog at:  Joyful Mamma's Kitchen - If you like recipes, check out this site!

P.S.  Even though I've washed the jeans, they have found a new home!