Check Your Bottles of Water

The restriction of liquids at airport security check-in points has alter the way we think about how we stay hydrated when we travel. In past travelers would pack one or two bottles for the plane ride and before we became slaves to bottled water we probably packed a favorite soft drink instead.

Today after passengers get through the airport check-in point, they become prisoners of airport concession prices to make a purchase of bottle of water that is likely to be around $2 or $3. Of course passengers can wait until after boarding during the flight drink service (when it is offered) and re-hydrate that way. By the way there's nothing wrong with carrying an empty beverage container and then filling it with water at an airport fountain. Some airports like the new terminal in at San Francisco International have water stations (pictured below) specifically constructed to fill beverage containers.

One common practice I've adopted is to pack two or three extra bottles of water in my checked bag. I noticed that drinking a lot of water in addition to a quick shower and a short nap helps to fight the jet lag after a long a flight and after checking into my hotel room. Since a convenience store may not be immediately accessible I'll have at least one bottle ready until I can purchase more during my trip. This also helps if you have to maintain a regime of maintenance medications.

To avoid any leaks in checked bags, put each bottle in a gallon freezer bags such as those made by Ziploc and Hefty. It's important that these are freezer bags since they are thicker than storage plastic bags. Then I place the two or three bottles together in one gallon freezer bag and then a second bag just to be on the side of caution.

The water refilling station at San Francisco International Airport's Terminal 2.
(image: apartmenttherapy.com)