K&A’s Airport Philosophy
Travel makes you better. You get better at travel with practice. Practice can occur anywhere and everywhere.
K and I LOVE airports! We believe that time at the airport is an important part of our travels/vacation. We aim to be there early so that we can relax and enjoy all the airport has to offer. It doesn’t take much time to research the airports you will be visiting and we find that it is always time well spent.
I try to find unique food/bars that will allow us to enjoy a little local flare, extra points if it is close to our gate. If that is not possible, I look for bars that offer at least one local beer. We spend most of our airport money on booze but we will add in a snack or two if something catches our eye. Overall, we have found the booze more enjoyable than the food. We enjoy relaxing at a bar and getting to know the bartender and/or other patrons. You usually find people in a good mood around their vacation and sharing in that joy is a lot of fun. If we aren’t feeling the bar vibe, we will whip out our deck of cards and enjoy a game or two. I feel that most people see the airport as a necessary evil that stands between them and their vacation. I say why waste that time not enjoying yourself? The people watching alone can entertain you for hours upon hours.
To be clear, yes, my wife and I have had long layovers, canceled/delayed flights and everything in between but some of our best memories have come from those hiccups. We can’t control the airline industry but we can control how we treat each other and how we decide to handle the unexpected opportunities for an adventure. Sometimes that means being excited that you found that one bench without the armrests and other times it means having a grand adventure in NYC.
PRO-TIP: If you are on a flight that gets canceled and you and all the other passengers are redirected to the ticket counter, CALL the airline IMMEDIATLEY. Be INCREDIBLY nice to the person you reach and work with them to rebook your flight. Be open to early morning flights and different routes that might include a layover. This trick saved our weekend trip to Chicago in 2016 and we had a lovely unexpected margarita at Nacho Hippo in Myrtle Beach’s airport along the way. We were flying out of LaGuardia and took advantage of NYC’s great public transit and the fact that the city never sleeps. We went into Manhattan for a late dinner and got back to the airport in time to grab a couple Zzzs on the floor before our new flight to Chicago via Myrtle Beach.
