Luggage

After booking the flights, the woman explained their luggage policy. Two pieces for each passenger - combined weight can be no more than 70lbs. We can have one carry on weighing no more than 15lbs - and women can have the biggest purse they want :) I have no luggage. I've never traveled to where I needed "luggage" so all I really have is a duffel bag. This weekend I went looking for luggage and found a lot of options.

Here's some of my requirements:

• Not Black or Blue. All of the websites I went to about the best luggage to buy all said that buying blue or black would be easiest in the beginning, but it would be difficult to spot in a sea of luggage that is also blue or black. I figure with four different luggage claims in our future I didn't want to make it any more difficult.
• If possible, matching set. Having a matching set would be the best for baggage claim and also for traveling in general. Hardware, colors, and fabrics would all be the same - consistency is the key!
• Wheels. Duh. In fact, I don't think I could have found a luggage set that didn't have wheels. Though a lot of people made it seem like the wheels were the wave of the future and explained the HUMONGOUS price tag.

I went to Overstock.com, where they had some really good prices, selection, and their policy is "no matter how much you buy, your entire order ships for just $2.95" - which was perfect for me because I hate, hate, hate paying for shipping & handling and I could only imagine how much it would be for large pieces of luggage. I found this set I was interested in, and bookmarked it.

I also went to Macys.com and found this number. I wanted it instantly - but finally my reasonable side got in control and I talked myself out of being so spontaneous. I told Paul though, "We should buy it! Then when we have kids, they'll eventually travel, and they can use it!" But of course, I didn't buy it.

Next I went to Target.com and found they had a decent online selection, but I thought that with the Target across the street I wasn't about to pay for shipping & handling (which average about $25+). We drove over the Target and their selection sucked in store - so I vetoed that.

Since we were out, we headed down to the mall. Paul remembered that there was a luggage store there. On our way off the freeway I noticed the TJ Maxx and decided to slip in there. I found that they didn't have a great many options so far as "sets" go - but they did have a lot. I found something that was perfect - though definately more expensive than the Overstock.com set I was looking at. As you can see, it's not blue or black, it's a set, and both pieces have wheels. The smaller one stacks easily on the bigger one, the fabric inside is removable (to an extent) to allow for cleaning, and it has a removable nylon drawstring pouch. The only thing I'm not wild about is how "stylish" it is - even if the style is old. I would have preferred something in more of a pea green and without the pink - but I'm willing to let that slide.

However, the price was more than we had anticipated in spending. We decided to buy it since it was the last set (so far as, they had a lot of the large piece but only one of the smaller piece) and return it if we found something better. We looked in the luggage store and realized that since they were "specializing" they were also "ripping us off" - $298 for one piece?!!! Hell no. We checked inside of JC Penny's and did find something there - but I think that Paul could tell that I liked the one I'd found and he decided to just let me keep it.