Your Favorite Airport

I’m going to be traveling to Arizona in a few weeks, and I’m anticipating a fun trip through some of the country’s less appealing airports. The thing is, I love airports. Call me a nutjob, but I like hanging out in the terminals, watching people either bored out of their minds, or running to catch a connecting flight. The kids, the trams, the blur of the departure boards, the noise, and sometimes even the quiet, they all combine to form an experience like no other.

Charlotte Douglas Airport (CLT) in North Carolina has rocking chairs for weary travelers. Some airports were born better than others. There’s really no way around it. Some airports are utilitarian and sparse, like Newark, New Jersey’s EWR. Some are tiny and quaint, like Madison, Wisconsin’s MSN. Some are ginormous and flashy, like Minneapolis, Minnesota’s MSP. And some have rocking chairs, like Charlotte, North Carolina’s CLT. No matter which airport you’re stuck in, however, they all have one thing in common: no one – aside from the workers – is staying there very long. Airports are like giant malls where no one is there to shop, and you have to take your shoes off to get inside.

Despite the craziness that accompanies all airports, there is something simultaneously exciting and soothing about them to me. It may simply be the attitude I go into them with, but I actually enjoy airports. I think my favorite one so far has been CLT, if only for the novelty of the rocking chairs.

No matter how much we complain about air travel, it’s nice to step off a plane and enter a cool, fun, interesting airport where we can relax comfortably for a bit, grab a bite to eat, and recharge our batteries – literally and figuratively. What’s your favorite airport? Which one has the tastiest restaurants? The best shopping? The The most interesting design? Leave a comment and let us know.

Chris Cavallari

About Chris Cavallari

Chris is a longtime digital content producer based in Maine. Since 1999, he has been an early adopter and active participant in blogging, podcasting, and social media, and has been guiding small and mid-sized businesses in leveraging video, social media, and digital publishing to the fullest. With an avid love of travel and the outdoors, Chris started PartTimeVagabond.com in 2009 to give him a platform to showcase his outdoors and travel adventures, and to help educate others in doing the same.