Finding the Happy

I’m an avowed introvert. I know this about myself. My introverted nature can create an interesting challenge when traveling, because traveling generally means that I must leave my home and go out in public, with strangers. And there’s only so much of that I can take before I want to run and hide. I’m not shy; I just feel worn out around crowds after a while.

Sometimes, though, I will venture out and find myself in the midst of a crowded place, and remember why I enjoy traveling as much as I do.

Today was one of those days. I started off my day in a funk. We had a blizzard yesterday that dropped a foot and a half of snow on us over the course of a day. Today, we got to dig out – in sub-zero temperatures. Walking in to work from my car means trudging through snow in my warmest boots and layers and layers of clothing. I was leaving from work straight to the airport, so I also had my suitcase packed, my backpack to carry-on, my gym bag (for my lunchtime workout), and another bag with my dress shoes for the day. It was a lot of bags, a lot of fussing, and lot of hauling of crap through frigid temperatures and snowy everything.

Was it the end of the world? No. But it was annoying and a hassle.

I got to the airport and struggled with switching out from my snow boots to the sneakers I would wear on the plane while in the airport parking lot. The door to my car kept blowing open, and did I mention it was very, very cold? I made it to the airport and breathed a sigh of relief at the warmth, knowing I was on my way to warmer climates.

Then, the niceness started. First, there was no one else in line at the TSA Precheck lane, so I guess the TSA agents were bored, because the man at the metal detector joked that “you’re finally here!” I went through the metal detector and my new friend smiled and wished me a happy trip.

On my plane, I don’t even know how to describe the crew that boarded after me. I have no idea if they all knew each other or not but they sure all acted like best friends. They were cracking silly jokes while walking down the aisle to their seats, and when the plane lifted off the ground, there were cheers and “Whoohoooooo” coming from the back of the plane. Those of us in the middle of the plane couldn’t help but smile.  

I somehow managed to find the two nicest people to have as seatmates. Jason, the man in the middle seat, introduced himself and shook my hand. He then said that he was aware he had broad shoulders and he would do his best not to touch me but he was sorry if he did. No problem at all, I said. I get it. Plus, we had scored emergency exit seats and had leg room for days. All was well.

The woman in the middle seat was his girlfriend (whose name I did not catch), and we chatted a bit off and on over the course of the flight. They had a tight connection at BWI and asked if I was familiar with the airport. Ha, was I?! That’s my home airport, I know it well. I looked up their gate info on the Southwest app and told them they would have no problem making their flight. They were amazed at the app because they don’t fly much and didn’t realize there was an app.

When the flight attendant came by, they asked for two large cups of ice. She said they only have one size, but she would fill the cups as much as possible. She brought the cups and walked away. The next thing I know, my new best friend brought a full size bottle of rum out of his carry on bag and proceeded to fill his cup and his girlfriend’s. It was so funny I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he could get in trouble if a flight attendant saw that. After I finished my beverage, he offered to share. I took him up on it, because why the hell not?

As the flight went on, Jason was talking about the animals he used to work with at a zoo. I used to work at a zoo. He said he would still work there if it paid enough to live on. Me too, I said. He is Italian and his family is from southern Italy (me too) and he is now learning Italian (me too, me too, me too!).

It’s so easy to feel crammed into a metal tube, with little space, little choice, little freedom of movement. Often, airline travel is to be tolerated as a means to get to the final destination. But sometimes, the stars align and I meet others who are simply enjoyable. Then, I remember why I love travel as much as I do. Venturing out of my comfort zone does mean that I may encounter people whose company I do not enjoy, but it also means I could meet some enjoyable people who make me smile.

Christmas Really Is All Around

As I write this, I am standing in Boston Logan airport, grinning like a damn fool.

Preparing for this trip, I was … not nervous, exactly, but definitely apprehensive at booking a trip that involving flying in and out of Logan right at Christmas. I’ve gotten rather used to my small, regional airport in New Hampshire that is all of 6 miles from my house. Traveling from that airport involves all of half an hour to get from my front door to the gate. And that includes parking, walking to the terminal, and security screening.

I have traveled for Thanksgiving in and out of major airports before, and it wasn’t so bad, but Christmas can bring out the best in people, or it can bring out the worst. I wasn’t sure which to expect at Logan.

Despite the airport itself being huge and somewhat hard to navigate, it somehow didn’t seem crowded. My TSAPrecheck status helped me breeze through security, but even without it, the line at security wasn’t that long.  I did my usual routine – find my gate and then wander to find food and get some steps in. With 7 hours of sitting ahead trapped in a metal tube, I wanted to make sure I had both sustenance and exercise.

I stopped at a Hudson News shop to buy a postcard for my friend, L. She has been in the hospital for some time, and has some time of recuperating yet ahead, so I have been having fun finding new cards to send her in an effort to brighten her days. I found a Boston post card in the shop,  and then asked the newsagent if there is a post box within the terminal. I told her I had a stamp, and I was hoping to mail the card today. There is no post box within the terminal, she said, but she offered to mail the postcard for me from home, when she got off work.

Really? I asked.

Sure, she said. If it had been a letter with a sealed envelope, than she would not have offered. And she said she wouldn’t be able to do it until she got home, because she couldn’t leave her post.

Of course, I said. I understand completely.

I wrote out the card, stamped and addressed it, and handed it back to her, again with my thanks. She placed it in the clear plastic bag that she had to use as a purse (given her cash handling position), and again assured me that she would mail it tonight, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

I headed to my gate, and as I did, a TSA agent walked by wearing a Santa hat. I looked around. I started seeing Santa hats all around me. Passengers at my gate wore them, people walking by had them on. There were wrapped packages peeking out of some people’s carry on bags. I noticed more smiles than usual, and less stress. Even a call from the gate agent for volunteers to take an upgraded emergency exit row seat was met with courtesy and civility by all, as everyone queued up politely.  

The flight was overbooked by two, and how the flight attendant managed to find room for everyone, I have no idea, but he did it. Airline personnel there, and at my connecting airport, were friendly, and fellow travelers seemed relaxed. It was as if everyone was in a good mood. 

Sometimes, to find a little Christmas, one just has to look around. 

The best $17.99 I have spent in a long time

With every trip, I try to overthink my sartorial choices a little bit less. On my most recent trip, it was a weekend visit, so I didn’t need to pack much. The catch was that I was leaving right from work to head to the airport, so had to decide either to wear office clothes comfortable enough for travel, or bring an extra change of clothes. I ended up bringing both, because of course I did. I tell myself that one day I will become a packing minimalist, but really, I doubt it.

I ended up being more comfortable on the plane than I had anticipated. A pair of dress pants and turtleneck, a nice scarf, and my Fyre leather boots felt pretty good as I boarded flight one of two. Pretty quickly, though, those boots got uncomfortable. I took them off on the second, longer, flight, and enjoyed my book. Upon landing, though, I realized why leather shoes and airline travel do not mix. I could barely get those boots back on because my feet had swelled so much. In hindsight, I think I have always had swollen feet on planes, because I will routinely need to loosen the laces on my sneakers once we're underway, but because sneakers have go much give, I never noticed the swelling. I just figured my feet were tired and loosening the laces made them a bit more comfortable. 

This time, though, ugh. Struggling to get those boots back on my feet as we deplaned was not pretty. Luckily, the next day I was able to buy a pair of compression socks in a local travel store. I don’t fully understand how constricting clothing helps your blood circulate better, but I have read good things about compression socks, and heard good things from others who wear them.

I was ridiculously excited about these boring socks. Black knee highs? Not exactly attractive and certainly not fun. I was also nervous that they would be too tight and end up uncomfortable. But, I wanted to try them because my trip home involves five hours on one plane and anything to help with the swelling is welcome.

As I type this, I’m sitting on that flight, wearing my super sexy knee highs. So far, so good. I didn’t have to loosen the laces on my sneakers so perhaps there is hope. We’ll see how I feel in four hours.

Update: The socks rock. I never needed to so much as loosen a lace. My feet felt normal and comfortable on both flights and for the rest of the day. I am sold on these bad boys. Now, the trick will be finding some that are a little less boring. 

"Please spread out"

There are 137 seats and only 53 passengers. The crew said that for balance reasons, no more than 37 people can sit in the front ten rows, so please spread out. 

"You'll probably never hear this request again, folks but unless you're traveling with someone, please sit in an empty row."

Boarding took hardly any time at all. 

Bonus: it's a brand new plane! Everything is shiny and new. The seats have adjustable headrests and everything. Fancy.