It was amusing, but the Unclaimed Baggage Center could hardly live up to our fevered pre-trip musings. More a thrift business than a vacation destination, it's the country's largest final stop for lost luggage. Unclaimed at the airports, given a decent waiting period, UBC is a bargain free-for-all.
Foolishly, we imagined it would resemble a mega-baggage carousel area, mountains of suitcases, duffel bags, and backpacks swirling by on automated belts, sold cut rate with their contents intact. Not quite...
The UBC is a sprawling one story building northwest of town. An open crate near the entrance marked "Free! Take one," is filled with cheap portable metal luggage carts. Thoughtful, and the better to carry away your spoils...
Inside, items are arrayed like a large thrift store or discount outlet. A floorplan directs you to sections of electronics, books, sports equipment. Clothes are neatly displayed on racks, everything cleaned and pressed. Yes, bargain prices -- though perhaps not as low as one might expect, given this is all salvage.
The UBC Museum of unclaimed treasures is small -- some glass cases in one of the few areas not jammed with bins and clothing racks. The best item is the "Hoggle," a decaying character used in the film "Labyrinth." Other Labyrinth. props in the case also show signs of rot from years of display. These items are not for sale.
In most areas of the store, you can put aside thoughts of human horror and despair that no doubt accompanied the loss of prized outfits, favorite snowboards, cherished jewelry. Every attempt is made to remove evidence of personalization -- no family photo albums or personally recorded videocassettes are sold (We did find a 3/4" format videotape marked "Elephant Slaughter," but had no way to view whether it was location news footage or some band's concert performance...). Still, UBC sells unclaimed original paintings, worn-looking embroidered caps, electric guitars -- personal totems that may carry the ghostly aura of a previous owner.
There are piles of eerily anonymous personal devices: racks of Walkman cassette players separated from their headphones, bins of orphaned remote controls(avg $4), shelves filled with tiny cameras ($25). Books and paperbacks (priced as marked). Music CDs ($3.50). Clear plastic tubs contain unclaimed audio cassettes snatched from traveler's music pouches. For $4, you get a dozen cassettes -- from Elvis Presley's Greatest Hits to How to Quit Smoking, Pt. 4. Great road trip gift!
Nothing at the UBC is salvaged from plane crashes, in case you were wondering.
Souvenir of Choice: The Unclaimed Baggage Center T-shirt is well-done, and not too expensive. It's the perfect item to wear the next time you're flying anywhere.
