I REALLY enjoyed this trip report. I felt like I was alongside you.

I agree that taking bags to the hotel is the best thing to do with luggage. But I've often done the "leave it at the airport til ..." trick. I'll only do it if I have nothing of real value in the bag, and could deal with it being stolen, or subjected to TSA "actions".

jpc13, I was considering the same problem when I was going to Detroit for a game and staying overnight. Decided to stay at an airport hotel, but you might look into shipping your bag.

Just now, I went to ups.com and put in the zip codes for ATL (30320) and Fenway (02215), chose 20 lbs as the weight and various sizes.

With a size of 24x24x24 inches the 3-day shipping, guaranteed by end of day, costs $30.60. At those dimensions, it can be up to 70 lbs for that price.

At 24x24x12 inches you can ship 30 lbs for only $16.45 (3-day, end of day, Hartsfield to Fenway).

When I used 36" as one of the dimensions the lowest price was over $100.

Ship it so that it arrives the day before, or day of, your arrival.

This is almost as good as the package delivery system they have in Japan.

I exaggerated: it is not nearly as good as Japan where you can ship a bag for $20 and it will be delivered the next day.