Less than two weeks from now, I will have the privilege of visiting family in the Philippines. Most of you know how I love airports – which, for me, translate to travel. And why not? Every gateway that I go through means adventure – be it the first or the nth time to that specific destination. How appropriate is it then that focus should be on what happens within the time that we step into that check-in area of the airport up to the point when we get on the airplane?
The minute we get off the vehicle, we rush to unload what luggage we have, ensure all travelers get off the car safely leaving nothing behind, and bid farewell to our driver. We look for the huge board that tells us which counter our airline was assigned to check-in passengers, then make a beeline for it. Like a herd, we shuffle through the cordoned area until we are called to go to the counter and have our documents inspected, verified and approved and/or accepted. With the big bags out of our hands, we proceed to the first gate we’ll need to get through – with passport and boarding tickets in hand. Past that we either proceed to the restaurants for a meal or go straight to the Duty-Free stores to see what else we can bring as gifts. We proceed to the second gate which is the TSA screening where depending on whether you have the ‘pre-screened’ code on your boarding pass or not, you still go through that x-ray equipment or choose to be patted down by a TSA agent. Phew! And finally, we get to go to the REAL gateway to the airplane that will take me to “lands [well] known”.
Whoa! Hold it! It does not have to be such a “boring routine”! Allow me to take you back! As the car glides to a stop at the curb of the Bradley International Terminal, I jumped out of the car and herded my group towards the airline counter. Excited chatter follow me all the way to the front where a helpful agent immediately beckons me (and my group) over to start the process of checking us in. At this point, reality sets in! Yehey! We’re on our way to another trip of discovery!
I strongly encourage everyone to look forward to every trip as a step over the threshold of yesterday to the wonders of what’s out there.
Once in the ‘inner sanctum’ (a.k.a. that winding path that leads to your assigned gate) brightly lit advertisements entice you to make a detour to visit the stores and restaurants that seem to be ‘calling’ to you! Yes, wherever you look, temptation crops up. Does that challenge you? It does me! Except for that cup of coffee I would definitely buy, I come out a winner when I take my seat by my airline’s waiting lounge with no purchases in hand.
Yes, do NOT be one of those people who look bored (or pretend to look it) nor be one of those who feel harassed by all the hoops that each traveler need to jump over to get to our destination. Remember that the trip begins the moment you decide to go so the trick is to make it fun.