Travel Day

I like to travel, really I do.

I don't think I like airports though, I mean I used to, but not anymore. I think.

Maybe it's because I have been coming back to the same airport over and again and again for the past two months, I don't know. It just seems like a broken record whenever I come here.

I leave for the airport in plenty of time - insuring that I have just enough fuel to get me back to the rental return. Yes, I pre-purchase the fuel, and if you ever come to the Dallas Fort Worth area, I recommend you do too, because I have found the price I pay for fuel is at least sixty-five cents less per gallon, which is a lot in my opinion. I get to the airport in plenty of time - I had always heard to be there at least two to three hours before your flight, so I make sure that I am at least that early. Dropping off the car is a breeze - thank you Enterprise.

Riding the bus to the airport from the rental car center is likewise a breeze, very efficient operation they have here, honest.Checking my bags is a piece of cake, in fact the past three trips I had just left my bag here since I was coming back anyway and I didn't want to pay for the honor of having the airline bring my luggage along for the ride. By the way, I love how the TSA gives me a placard stating that they are not responsible for anything being broken in my bag, or the bag itself, even if they are the ones responsible.

Now for my only complaint here at the airport - the security line, especially at Terminal E the one responsible for gates E31-E38. Dudes and dudettes, when the line is stretching all the way back to the ticket counters, believe me this is a long line, maybe you ought to open up all your scanners and have more than one person check people in. Every single time I have been here, I have had a minimum wait of 32 minutes.

Yeah, I was clock watching.

Oh and this is for all you travelers out there that think you can get to the airport fifteen minutes before your flight, please don't get mad at the ticket agents when they tell you that the doors are closed and that you will need to take an different flight. It's not their fault that you cannot plan accordingly and get yourself there on time.

Coming down from the soapbox now to continue with my tale.

So I get through security and guess what, I have a long wait for my plane. Now some of you may be saying, "But Roger, if you get to the airport later you won't have as long to wait." To that I say, did you read the previous paragraph? If I try to plan on that I will end up stuck in traffic, running into a inconsiderate rental return person, a bus driver that takes me to the wrong terminal, oh and the inevitable, a long line at security. I know that I will have a lot of time to kill, I wasn't complaining about that. In fact, the only complaint I have, and it's really minor when you consider that it is there to protect us travelers, is security.

What can I say, I have first world problems. :)

So now that I have a lot of time to kill, what to do.  Well first I stake out a chair to claim, then I start to read my book, although I get interruptions with all these darn phone games like "Words With Friends" and "Dice With Buddies" - the horror, I know. After a while, my gum starts to taste stale and I feel the need to get a drink - here comes another complaint - wow do they really know how to jack up some prices! Some airports are worse than others, I think you know who you are *cough* O'Hare *cough* and you know what? They can do it, because they have a captive audience, and limited drinking fountains (they either have very low or no water pressure and generally taste like rat vomit (No I don't know what rat vomit tastes like)).

So begins my quest. My quest for something to quench my thirst, preferably something under $1.50. I will walk up and down the terminal twice, sometimes three times, in search of this elusive beverage only to fins out that everyone sells the same drinks at the same price. There's a tip for you, no need to comparison shop when looking for a beverage. So if you are thirsty and don't want to walk for miles, just grab a drink from the first watering hole you find.

After completing my quest, which will almost always include getting something to snack on, because, well it keeps my mind from wandering.

Squirrel!

I head back to my staked out spot, only to find out that it has been taken over by a family of stinky lobsters and their cache of crustacean buddies. I really have no idea why I wrote that, but it will stay because who has time to edit the ramblings of a travelling man, right? Although, for the record, I did have to go back and spell crustacean correctly, so there is that.

All that means, I have to find a new spot. That is when I notice that either my Kindle Fire (love this by the way, please feel free to send me Amazon gift cards anytime) or my cell phone, or worse, both have low batteries. Now DFW does have this going for it, there seem to be plenty outlets of which to charge up all these electronic gizmos that we all love so much. Kudos to them. So I head over to an area that has an available outlet and plop myself down and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

In the meantime I listen and watch people, when I am not reading.

I think I might have a story or two from these observances.

Your time is valuable and I do appreciate you reading through my screed - ha! that's why the blog is called 'A Screed In Time' after all. Funny, I think this might be my first one, and I'm not so sure it even qualifies.

Such is life.

Have a great day and safe travels!