Flying

I'll be back next week.

I have some flights this week, so I'll be too busy to weblog. Actually, I haven't flown since I went to Hawaii last December [fluggart.com]. I had heard about increased restrictions on carry-on luggage at airports, but I hadn't actually looked into specifics until a few days ago.

On TSA's website [tsa.gov], they actually outline that any liquids have to fit into a one-quart ziplock bag, and you can't have more than 3oz of any liquid. I was pretty surprised when I actually saw how small 3oz was. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find hair gel in bottles that are 3oz or less in size? (Not to mention that I probably use about a quart of hair gel per day.)

I basically had to go to Target and every other store in this area, walking up and down every aisle, until I was able to find toothpaste tubs, contact lens solution, hand moisturizer, etc. in sufficiently small containers. But hair gel was definitely the hardest one to find. And I never managed to find a shaving cream bottle that was small enough (although I can go a few days without shaving cream).

TSA's website still left me with a lot of questions, though. For instance, they list all kinds of electronic devices and whether they are allowed or not -- except for MP3 players (of which there is no mention). And there is no mention of moist towelettes (or Wet Naps, or whatever those things are called that you can use to clean your hands). Are they not allowed, or do they just have to fit into the one-quart bag?