greetings from st. louis (day 1, part two)

The only slightly disconcerting issue of this trip was the border. I don't need to elaborate why. It is a very strange time to be traveling to this very strange country.

As some of you may recall, I've had some issues with US border guards: in 2009, I was targetted and harassed for my activism with US Iraq War resisters. That went on for a full year. Since then, we have crossed back and forth at least once or twice a year, sometimes more frequently, and have never had even the slightest issue.

We were fairly confident all would be well. An older, white, hetero couple on a sightseeing trip with a definite end date: that pretty much ticks every box for not being hassled. The stories of Canadians being searched or detained at the border are all from land crossings, which is typically where harassment takes place. And those stories are undoubtedly a very tiny percentage of crossings being made, even with the number of Canadians visiting the US plummeting.

And yet. The stories are horrendous, and there are no guarantees. So we had just a wee bit of concern, and were not looking forward to that bit. 

The upshot: absolutely nothing. Three flights, three rounds of security, and one border crossing: simple and completely uneventful.

The travel itself was about as easy as it gets. After our foray in Richmond, we spent the rest of the long layover reading and listening to music. That flight, from Vancouver to Denver, was delayed a bit, so we had less waiting at the next leg. 

On the Denver to St. Louis flight, we treated ourselves to a drink and a snack box, and enjoyed ourselves. Baggage claim was a breeze. Picking up the rental car was annoying and slow, but eventually we picked up a big, brand-new SUV, and navigated our way to the Airbnb. 

We're staying in an upstairs apartment in what looks like a beautiful, old, quiet neighbourhood of lovely brick houses and huge, leafy trees. The apartment is gorgeous, right out of an Ikea catalogue, beyond spotlessly clean. We are not exactly traveling light (we never do!), so getting up the steep flight of stairs with all our stuff was no fun, but we only have to do that once. 

The host has a lot of great information on St. Louis neighbourhoods. While I did the bare minimum of set-up, Allan went into tour-guide mode and has already found places to eat. (Typically, I do all the advance planning, and Allan does the day-to-day once we arrive. It works beautifully.) I just about managed to get enough done to be comfortable in the morning, washed up, and changed into fresh sleep gear before sinking into bed. I fully expect to be sore or possibly crippled from carrying too much stuff.

A general note about air travel

We all know air travel has gotten much worse. The airline industry seems intent on making travel as expensive and unpleasant as possible, cutting staff and service to the bone, and demanding fees for an ever-expanding list of necessities that have become extras. This is all well documented. And Canadians well know that Air Canada has always been ahead of the curve on this.

We have grown so accustomed to these extra fees that we may not always remember how ridiculously unfair they are. Why should we pay to check luggage? Luggage is a necessity of travel. Why should we pay extra for a necessity?? Congratulations to you folks who avoid fees by not checking luggage, but I find that incredibly inconvenient -- and mostly impossible, especially if I'm alone. We always pay for luggage check. And we're used to it. And we shouldn't have to be.

And now we have to pay for seat selection. For seat selection! That is completely insane! You might say that is optional, but if you've ever had a long flight in an awful seat, you might rethink. On this trip, I spent about $450 on seats. Is that nuts or what? And interestingly, you can't use points for seat selection.

I didn't pay for seat selection on the 45-minute flights between Vancouver and Comox. Who cares where we sit and whether we sit together for those. But for the rest -- Vancouver to Denver, Denver to St Louis, St Louis to Toronto, and Toronto to Vancouver -- I wanted to be reasonably comfortable in a decent section of the plane. 

More accurately, I wanted Allan to be more comfortable so I wouldn't have to listen to him complain so much! Allan doesn't love to fly: the discomfort of being shoehorned into a small space, and the proximity to so many people rates a very high irritability factor. We've all got our things, and this is one of his. On this trip, I paid extra for "premium economy" seats. I actually looked into getting one business-class seat for Allan for the Toronto-to-Vancouver leg, but it was prohibitively expensive. (I would have done it anyway, but I knew he wouldn't want me to spend the money.) The upgraded economy seats made a significant difference. Both flights yesterday were easy and pleasant. But seriously, $450??

I am willing to put up with inconvenience, discomfort, and bad customer service because travel. I expect it, I accept it, and for me, travel is always worth it. My craving to see and experience new places outweighs everything else. But looking more objectively, beyond my own equation, this is completely ridiculous. What other industry could get away with consistenly charging more while delivering less?