Top Ten Weird and Wacky Travel Stories of 2009

We love to travel and to see the world, but let’s face it — sometimes, getting there can be quite an experience in itself.  Traffic jams, flight delays, and lost hotel reservations can really start a vacation on the wrong foot. But think about the big picture: are those relatively common travel annoyances really so bad? Not when you compare them to some of these strange and sorry travel tales of 2009 — most of which (surprise, surprise) are related to air travel:

TSA Touché: A mom blogger ranted in a long, emotional post about the “nightmare” experience she had in airport security in Atlanta and claimed TSA agents removed her toddler son from the screening area. Only the TSA fought back by airing YouTube video showing that Nicole’s son was never out of her sight.

Dumb Tourist Award: A German visitor allegedly said not once, but twice, that he’s got two bombs in his backpack at Orlando’s Magic Kingdom security checkpoint. He landed in jail with a $10,000 bond.

Viral Videos: United Airlines broke a $3,500 guitar in transit from Nova Scotia to Nebraska. Too bad it belonged to a creative, funny band-man who produced two hilarious revenge videos on YouTube — racking up more than 7 million views.

Cranky Kids Can’t Fly: A mom and her two-year-old son were removed from a Southwest Airlines flight before take-off because the child wouldn’t stop screaming. “We just can’t tolerate that for two hours,” a flight attendant allegedly said. Southwest later apologized and gave the mom a $300 travel voucher.

Athletic Clothes=Coach Class: A man was denied boarding in the first class section of a United Airlines flight for wearing a track suit.

Watch for Nude Drunks in Your Hotel Bed: A wasted, naked 29-year-old wandered into a presumably unlocked hotel room, surprising occupants. They did not press charges.

And Naked People in Airplane Aisles: A 21-year-old exposed himself to a female seatmate, punched her and then stripped down. The plane had to turn around so the dude could be arrested.

Asleep at the Wheel: Why did those Northwest pilots overshoot the runway in Minneapolis? We’re they napping or merely distracted? Now they’re blaming it — in part — on air-traffic controllers.

Foot Fetish: Apparently people like to see actor Danny Devito’s stubby-toed “troll feet” in various locations around the world. Follow him on Twitter, along with 300,000 other people, to witness this bizarre display. Or watch the video.

Not That Button! A civilian passenger on a “joyride” with an Air Force pilot in South Africa accidentally ejects himself from a jet – and survives.

Sure, one of the The Vacation Gals moved her family from sunny Arizona to (currently) frigid Minnesota by car this year, and another endured the dreaded Thanksgiving holiday air travel across the country. Neither of these dreary experiences quite compare, though, to the weirdest and wackiest travel stories of 2009.