Notes to my traveling self

There seem to be things that I systematically forget, to my traveling detriment, so I will try and enumerate them for further remembrance:

When traveling in a pair, the other half needs at least a half an hour to get going at any godforsaken hour in the morning. Seriously.

Try not to eat out the night before an early departure. If you must, try not to eat: too much, anything greasy, anything extraordinarily spicy.

Driving to/from BWI really only takes 55 minutes when there is no traffic. CALM DOWN.

The Daily lot at BWI is worth the extra $2/day.

Gold (lot) 21. It's where the family parks at Dulles!

There really isn't any significant wait for security at BWI at those ridiculous hours of the early morning. Heck, the lines to use the boarding pass kiosks at Southwest aren't all that bad, either. Still, it's nice to try and remember to check in (and print out the boarding pass) as close to 24 hours ahead of time as possible to get a better line assignment.

Eating McDonald's breakfast is delicious and extremely filling.

Eating McDonald's breakfast makes me feel greasy and slightly ill.

Fear not, there are Dunkin's at the MHT airport, both before and after security.

Especially for morning flights, do not count on Southwest to be running late.

For Southwest flights, STOP WORRYING that's you'll miss the flight. Worst-case scenario, they put you on the next shuttle. All other airlines, keep worrying away!!'

(When I started this post I didn't intend it to be a BWI/SW commercial, but I've had some wonderfully smooth experiences with them lately. They still can't do anything about the screaming babies, though.)