Thursday Thirteen Domestic Travel Tips

I've been on the road enough in my 36 years to have picked up a few tips and tricks along the way. So here are 13 tips I've gathered for domestic travel.

1. Carry on your luggage in something other than a roller bag if possible. Use a backpack or some other squishy bag that will fit in between the cracks of the roller bags to avoid having your bag gate checked.
2. Going for just a couple of days - pack several contact lens cases, each filled with solution. It doesn't take much solution, and you don't have to figure out the liquids thing with the carry on stuff.
3. Pack matte jersey clothing. It rolls up into a tiny, squishy ball, and doesn't really wrinkle.
4. Avoid the security lines with the old people. (Sorry old people) They can have trouble with the shoe thing and can often be seen complaining to TSA about it. This takes too much time. Follow a crew through if you can.
5. The key to packing light is in the shoes. Try to match all your clothes to one or two pairs of shoes so you aren't stuck with an extra set of luggage just for shoes.
6. Pack your belts, jewelry, etc in the front of your carry on bag. Do not wear it to the airport. Dress after security has cleared you and you have your latte in your hand.
7. When your stuff exits the x-ray belt, grab it and take it elsewhere to reassemble. It is quicker and less annoying to everyone else who has better things to do than watch you redress at the belt.
8. A small hand sanitizer spritz bottle is nice. Seatback tray tables and seat pockets are the germiest  places in the plane, and it's always nice to use after you're forced to shove stuff in those.
9. Bring your own bottle of water. Good luck getting a beverage, and if you do, good luck getting more than a few meager ounces amidst the clunky cylindrical ice pieces.
10. The hotel irons are usually terrible and sometimes stick to your clothes, causing big problems and should be avoided. But they are good to substitute as steamers. Just leave your clothes on a hanger and keep pushing that steam button.
11. Get an aisle seat within 5 rows of the exit. They're the safest places on the plane.
12. If you've missed your connection, ask the first airline employee you see where the customer service desk is and run, yes I mean run, to it. If you've missed your connection, so have a bazillion others, and you do NOT want to be at the end of that line of ornery passengers.
13. Sit at the bar in an airport restaurant. The bartender is usually quicker with getting the food out and will give you more insight on what is and is not worth ordering.