LAX security

LAX, of course, is the biggest airport in L.A. where, purely irrationally as far as I can tell, they make you go through luggage inspection before you check in. So you stand in the first line to get your luggage inspected. Since you cannot touch your luggage after it's been inspected, a dedicated handler then ferries you and your luggage (reuniting the right people with the right luggage is fun and involves lots of shouting) over to the line by the checkin counter, where it is shoved in the luggage corral running parallel to the line. If you are like me, you will valiantly try to retain visual contact with your luggage for five minutes before looking away for a minute and realizing that you have no idea where it is. At the head of the line, I cursed the fact that I've got a red and a black luggage -- just about the least distinctive colors. Somehow, I managed to identify my luggage from the sea of other red and black luggages. Another baggage handler now hoisted them up to the counter for check in.

My stress level could have been halved if only they did things like every other airport -- check in first, then take your bags over to security yourself.

My trip to the U.S. and Canada was worth it though. Lots of yummy ethnic food in L.A., lots of lazing by the pool in North Carolina and a great family reunion in Vancouver, B.C. I even got a tee shirt for Gene that said "Canada eh!"