Plenty of us travelers gripe about bleary-eyed long, layovers, missed flight connections, and the ridiculous routes airlines can force you to take to arrive at your intended destination. We all know that the layover can be one of the most frustrating and risky junctures of a well-planned trip. There’s so much that can go wrong- the mechanical hold-ups, the weather conditions- not to mention that we really didn’t want to go stop at that middle city in the first place. What most of us forget, is that when so many things are up to fate, we call it “an adventure.”
It’s easy to forget that even stepping into an airport is its own adventure. There’s so many people to watch, all displaying the gamut of emotions. And when things go wrong, those emotions come out in full force, as I was reminded during the Valentine’s Day blizzard that hit New York on my way flying from Sacramento to Boston via JFK airport. As the snow fell, and the departure boards changed from “delayed” to “cancelled” people really started to lose their shit. The terminals got crowded and travelers started to claim the limited outlets for their precious cell phones and laptops, as if they were the last pieces of meat for a starving family.
But as that snow fell, and the crankiness levels around me rose, all I could think about was how much fun it would be to have a snow day in NYC. By the time my flight was the only remaining sign of hope- still with the “delayed” status rather than “canceled” like all the others- I knew my snow day had indeed arrived. Fortunately, having just packed a backpack that I had with me as a carry-on (the best secret of the well-traveled) I simply walked out of JFK into a beautiful snow storm and called some old high school friends living in NYC to see about a visit.
And for once, the streets of NYC were silent, dampened by the massive white blanket. Cars were few and far between, and most people had just stayed home (with the exception of the broad-shouldered men carrying dozens of red-roses, determined to make their Valentine’s Day deliveries regardless of the storm). After walking around to take in the scene, I met up with two dear friends, and despite my less-than-attractive travel garb, I joined them that night for a Valentine’s Day dinner with a fun group of very thin and fancy New York models. I spent the next two days playing in New York, and eventually forced myself to get on a train back home to Boston. I think there was a lot more fun to be had in this approach than that of the folks that stayed in JFK to yell at the airlines for not being able to fly in the blizzard (‘cause it’s their fault, right?).
Layovers can also provide a semi-planned adventure. Long flights are for sleeping, but long layovers are for exploring. On my way from San Francisco to Zanzibar, I had a six hour layover in London. Six hours was the perfect amount of time to hop on the Tube, get glimpse of Big Ben, and go cram into one of those old red phone booths. Okay, certainly I didn’t have the full London experience, but I did have a beer in pub, and that’s a good start for any adventure, and it sure as hell beat sitting in a terminal for six hours.
So maybe we need to re-look at the despised layover, and consider the potential for adventure. Yet, I’m a realist; I know that some layovers just flat out suck. I’ve spent my fair share of nights pretending to get sleep on an airport floor, while trying not to think about what I’m missing due travel changes beyond my control. Layovers are not always for the best. The point is that layovers bring you to another city that you perhaps didn’t plan to visit and put into question your original plans, creating the perfect, yet so often overlooked opportunity for adventure. So the next time you have to fly through Delta’s Denver hub, or the massive Chicago O’Hare, think about what you might do given the opportunity to take an adventure.
