denied entry on the plane

The only shots i take are of whisky. Kills everything.
 
been well over 10 years since i had a tetanus shot and still going strong.
 
my experience is that it is totally luck of the draw and completely dependent on who you run into (like most things in life; but policemen tend to wait until about 75% of the way through their "conversation" with you to remember that they have runner friends and have heard of barefoot running so maybe you're not in need of incarceration...). this has ranged from:
* polite ticket counter guys chasing me down in the boarding area to make sure i wasn't surprised that they're not supposed to let me on the plane without shoes (he was really nice about it; it was annoying, but he was doing his best)
* a flight attendant yelling down the jetbridge to me *after i got off the plane* to tell me how you can't fly barefoot (oh really? just like the plane will go down if you accidentally leave your cell phone on...)
* the gate lady holding onto my scanned boarding pass until i pulled out my really skimpy home-brew huaraches. "wow, those look interesting!" uh, they're called huaraches... and everyone waiting in line really loves that you are holding up the line by making me sit on the floor and put on my "shoes"... and i'm at the *front* of the line because i'm one of your frequent fliers....
* in the philippines, the ticket counter lady saying something about no shoes and i somehow countered with something about how it was raining outside and that got me out of that situation (and no further problems at immigration/security/etc.)
* the worried look on the "male assist" TSA screener after my manual security check who thought he had screwed up and missed or lost my shoes until i reassured him that i don't wear shoes

to absolutely no issue (often in the same airports as above, as well as malaysia, india, florida, abu dhabi).

i will admit to making sure i have some sort of shoes to counter the dreaded carriage contract issue. if the connection is tight or the flight appears exceptionally full, i'll sometimes put my backup shoes on just to avoid the risk of being an inconsiderate jerk to my fellow passengers who are more harried than i usually am. and also for annoying hotels (with pools!) that claim their insurance (or health code or whim of person on duty) requires you to wear shoes in the common areas. so they get to hear me scuff along in un-tied moccasins until i get out the door onto the "dangerous" sidewalk and go my merry way down to my job in the snobby part of downtown....
 
Today, I completed a trip to Des Moines with no shoes on US Air as I went from Oakland airport to Phoenix airport to Des Moines airport.

The worst part was that air conditioning was so cold on the flight to PHX that it almost made me put on my VFF ELX (which which I had as in my backpack as backups in case I needed shoes at anytime.) On the other hand, when I deplaned in Phoenix, the jetway was warm underfoot and felt very pleasant. It made me glad to be barefoot!

Follow travelers in the airport terminals stared at my lack of footwear but i ignored them. LOL. Lots of people in Phoenix wore flip flops and shorts. To me, those people were pretty close to being barefoot too. At least I didn't have to worry about a broken or lost shoe.

On the PHX-DSM flight, my row mate wore flip flops which he kicked them off once we were airborne - we were barefoot seat-mates on an exit row - we had plenty of leg room to stretch out and wiggle our toes.

My cab driver in Des Moines exclaimed "no shoes?" and I replied "no shoes!" After I got to the hotel, I put on shoes to have dinner with clients. Oh well. An almost perfect day.
 
My boyfriend Scott & I went on a dive trip in Cozumel over New Year. We flew out of Madison (MSN) & connected Chicago-O'Hare (ORD).

After we arrived at the airport & got into the terminal I slipped out of my flip-flops & put them in my carry-on. We checked in, then headed for the TSA check-point, where Scott took off his & put them in his bag. On a side note Scott had started going barefoot with me shortly after we started dating, but that's another story.

We got through security, then went to the gate area. While we got a few looks walking through the terminal no one said anything to us. We boarded & took off also with no problems, & during the layover of a couple hours we walked barefoot around the O'Hare terminal, also with no problems. The only comments were from a barrista at one of the Starbucks who asked us if we had forgotten our shoes & weren't our feet cold.

We boarded for the second leg of the flight, deplaned in Cozumel, went through Mexican customs & immigration, all barefoot & again no problems. We had a wonderful trip, living in swimsuits & bare feet.

The crowning event came a couple days before we left when Scott proposed to me, but that's also another story!
 
Congratulations on your engagement! We are looking forward to the barefoot wedding story :)
.
 
Missed you lately at Tribe Sports! Wondered where you've been!