Keep your bags close, and your boarding pass even closer
AUSTRALIA | Monday, 9 June 2008 | Views [614]
I write this after my lunch in The City Deli…LA International Airport’s poor excuse for an employee cafeteria that just happens to be open to the general public, and home to one of my top ten foulest restrooms in world history (it makes the Vietnamese squatty potties look like 5-Star Accommodations).
This year’s journey to Australia began at 4 am with a cup of yogurt and a hasty departure to another airport that harbors all of my ill will – Philadelphia International. After my mom and Elizabeth dropped off Bryan and I at the Southwest Airlines Terminal (which is, Terminal E) we checked our luggage, learned our flight was leaving from Terminal D, and headed through security without a hitch…or so we thought.
After being unable to find where our flight gate, we were informed that due to construction, the terminals were no longer connected to each other, and the only way to reach our flight was to go out of Terminal E, and go down these crazy twisty passages to Terminal D, and be hazed once again by the Philadelphia TSA. Crestfallen, we lugged Bryan’s seemingly tiny backpack, and my massive triple carry-ons to Terminal D.
A horrific sight awaited us. The airport’s width could not even contain the Terminal D security line, which ironically only had enough employees to keep 2 scanners working. The line of hundreds of angry passengers reached from the security gate to the parking garage, and was beginning to loop back around again by the time we arrived. Line cutters abundantly Fortunately, it was only 6:30, and we didn’t take off until 8:15, leaving enough time for TSA Round 2, but quashing all hopes of a relaxing, overpriced airport breakfast. After a painfully slow journey through the line, we made it to our terminal, mere seconds before boarding.
After boarding I crumpled under the weight of the four hours of sleep I managed last night, only to discover that the flight was having a stop-over in Denver, Colorado. While it did catch us a bit off-guard, it didn’t alter our arrival time and afforded many unexpected tourist opportunities, including a pretty view of the Southern Colorado Rockies (which pale in comparison to their northern Canadian cousins), and a low altitude fly over the Grand Canyon! As I have always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, I was quite excited, and took several photos that I will be posting soon. It was nothing short of incredible.
On arriving at LAX, Bryan and I gathered our luggage, and began a long search for some food, as neither of us had eaten properly all day. The LA Lakers were having some thing in the airport, and everyone was going crazy, but the hunger pangs spurred me past the madding crowd (and my historic track record of seeing random celebrities like the Queen). I asked traveler’s aid for directions (most food is inside security, and we are going out for dinner tonight with my friend Bev). After a long walk and our average lunch, City Deli closed, and we were forced to return to the Terminals to wait for Bev, not looking forward to the herds to tired passengers collecting their baggage. On the way we crossed paths with a man who looked like P-Diddy, but I sincerely doubt it was him, considering he’d probably have a limo, and security, and an underpaid butler to carry his bag.
While crossing in front of the impatient buses waiting for us to move out of the pedestrian path, I caught a whiff of something… could it be? The familiar scent of over roasted espresso beans! I looked up and staring me in the face was that immortal green mermaid, the personification of modern American coffee culture – STARBUCKS.
Quickly shifting gears, we got a table (where I now write), and after going to use a real restroom, I went to get my drink. While I do not hold Starbucks as the supreme god of coffee, nor do I hold myself to be an expert on coffee, I do think Starbucks receives a lot of unwarranted criticism. On many a journey, in all sorts of places, I have found Starbucks to be a warm port in the storm. I find it mildly comforting that in almost any country, I can walk in and order my Grande Soy Chai with one shot of Espresso, and it tastes exactly the same as the one I order at home. That kind of consistency is impressive, and the relaxation that I get from my over $5 hot caffeinated beverage (it was $6.66 today in LA..eek!) is worth the sub-par beans and the cliché image.
In addition, the (sometimes) provoking “Way I See It” tidbits on the cups can be mildly inspirational, and particularly so today. I am often asked how and why I travel so much. I often find it difficult to explain why, and have gotten a lot of looks when I start talking about how I don’t even travel as much as I would like.
The words of Katy Croff (an archaeological oceanographer and National Geographic Emerging Explorer) sum it up precisely:
“People often ask me if it is worth it to work at sea, isolated from the world, far from loved ones, seasick, and running on three hours’ sleep. To lay eyes on something never before seen by anyone, to learn something new about our planet, for that one moment of discovery – yes, it is all worth it.” (The Way I See It #274).
I’m officially off to dinner with Bev, and Sydney! More to come soon…
