At the Airport

Praise the Gods of free airport Wi-Fi!

So, it’s now 12:32 PM on the 23rd of December, and I’m sitting on the floor indian style, resting my back against a random column in the middle of the airport corridor, because it’s the only available outlet in which to plug my power-guzzling laptop.  For the last several days, the weather has been pretty miserable by most standards, and fully atrocious by Seattle standards.  On Wednesday night, we received nearly a foot of snow: something unheard of here.  The city of Redmond only own two snowplows, so they couldn’t dig anyone out.  Then, we got more snow on Friday, and another dumping of snow on Saturday. 

The airport has been at a near stand-still.  Horizon and Alaska airlines cancelled ALL of thier flights because they ran out of plane de-icer.  The mountain passes were closed, so neither the trains or the trucks carrying the de-icer could make it to the airport.  There were thousands of people stranded at the airport, and the Red Cross even had to provide blankets and cots for people who were stuck here for several days. 

So, it was with trepidation that I left my apartment to journey to the airport.  I’m going home for Christmas, dammit, even if I have to walk.  Fortunately, the airport is nearly back up to capacity, and the runways are cleared.  Most of the stranded have been able to make connecting flights, and this particular corner of the airport is blissfully quiet.  All in all, a pretty lackluster trip…except for the fact that my flight just got delayed an hour and there is a gate change that will very shortly have me trecking to the exact opposite side of the airport.

I love airports; always have.  I love the crappy food, the people watching.  I love to browse the junk stores and see all the overpriced stuff that I would never, ever consider buying outside of an airport.  (Does anyone EVER buy anything from Brookstone outside of the airport?)  There are even special airport traditions.  The only place I will ever eat a Cinnabon is in an airport.  In fact, I usually try to get to the airport early to walk around in an effort to find a Cinnabon stand.  But most of all, I LOVE watching the planes take off.  I realize that, at 30 years old, I should be jaded by the commonplace nature of commercial flight.  But watching these giant planes get off the ground still just amazes me.  I know the basics of the physical principles that make flight possible, but watching these behemoth machines that weight 108,000 pounds lift off is really exciting.  I guess beneath the layers of interior decorating and musical theatre, the little boy in me is still alive.

In any case, I can’t wait to get home for Christmas…even if I have to wait an extra hour or two to do it.  Besides, the trek across the airport will give me a chance to look for a Cinnabon stand.