Can I just go on a rant for a minute??

Yesterday, I started to think I would never make it back home.

Earlier this week I flew out to Vegas for a friend's wedding. It was a great affair, the second destination wedding I've attended, and it was a blast. But the travel to and fro...well let's just say it left a little to be desired.

I wouldn't be complaining except for the fact that all of my travel experiences in the last year have been rotten... frought with , flight delays, over booked flights, rental car breakdowns, poorly serviced hotel rooms--you name it, and it's probably happened to me in my travels over the last year. I'm a frequent traveler, so my rant here is well-founded (or at least I'd like to think so).

Now I'm not so narcissistic as to believe that I am the only one suffering. Last night as I waited through a five hour flight delay at the gate, I saw the same frustration on my fellow passenger's faces-- that "Here we go again" look of disgust that turns into resignation. What can you do except wait? Once you're checked in and at the gate for your flight, you're totally at the mercy of the airline. Just two weeks ago, while renting the car that eventually broke down and left me stranded in the middle-of-nowhere upstate New York, I noticed several other cutsomers at the rental counter, waiting for cars in driveable condition to be available.

So, what is going on? Is this just the state of the US travel industry now? Are airlines, rental car companies, and hotels to financially strapped to do better? Can they no longer provide a guarantee of quality service or product? Or is this just a temporary trickle down effect of the economy? I don't know the answer to these questions, but I'm defintely off the travel scene for a while, in the hope that when I return things will be better.