Travel fun
Over the years I've written a few of these blog posts from the international terminal at Logan Airport. And just for good measure, here's another one.
This may have been one of the easiest processes I've had going through security, checking my bag and the whole nine yards. I got here a little after 4 p.m. for a 7:40 p.m. boarding figuring I may find a few long lines. I was pleasantly surprised.
With a little bit of luck, I found a parking spot in the economy garage literally two rows away from where the shuttle bus picks us up and drops us off. I hopped on the bus and got to terminal E in a few minutes and was surprised that there was absolutely no line at security. I showed my passport and then went through security. The only drawback was that I needed to get the full patdown treatment for whatever reason. It probably would've just been easier to go through the security checkpoint naked so they could see I didn't have any dangerous weapons. But, got through and am already at my gate at 5 p.m. for a flight that takes off in three and a half hours. I see some food in my near future.
However, the quick passage through the security process has me remembering a few other Olympic trips that weren't quite as fun.
On my way to PyeongChang in 2018, somehow I dropped my cell phone and couldn't find it anywhere. I used my iPad to text a friend (thanks Jay) and he called my cellphone, which was answered by a nice man at the gate. Evidently someone had turned in my phone at the gate and he was able to get it to me pretty easily, tragedy averted.
Tokyo 2020 (or 2021 technically) had a couple of great moments, one on the way and one on the way back. I arrived at Logan for my flight from Boston to Toronto and on to Tokyo only to find that the economy garage was not open (fewer flyers during COVID kept it closed). The wonderful lady at the central parking garage told me I didn't hear it from her but there was a hotel up Route 1 where you could park and fly. So I headed there only to find they were booked solid. They told me to go a bit further up Route 1 and I got to another place that had space and I was on my way.
On the way home from Tokyo I had possibly the worst travel experience I have ever had (and I have not flown Air Canada since). Our flight from Tokyo was delayed with no reason given (the crew was in the gate area yucking it up with members of the Canadian Olympic Team) and we arrived in Toronto with only about an hour to spare until my flight to Boston. They rushed us through security and customs, then changed the gate for the flight about three times before eventually just cancelling the flight. However, because we had cleared customs, we were technically in the US already and we couldn't stay in the airport to get on the rebooked flight in the morning. There was one poor guy manning the desk facing hundreds of stranded upset travelers. I felt for him. They put us up in a hotel in Toronto, however, we had to pass back through Canadian customs to go into Toronto and then pass back through US customs in the morning before getting on the flight home. And of course, with all that, my bag didn't make it back to Boston until a few days later when it arrived on my porch.
Beijing, also in the COVID era, had a few hiccups too. First, we had to take special flights into Beijing that could only arrive from selected airports. I found one from Paris only to have my Boston to Paris flight cancelled less than a week before I flew, which sent me scrambling to find a way to get to Paris while also getting the timely COVID tests that Beijing required before we arrived. It eventually happened though I did have to spend a night in an airport hotel at Charles De Gaulle Airport. And then on the way back, I had to get a COVID test to get back into the US, so with the help of a friend (thanks Tamara) who spoke French, I navigated the web site of the testing provider at the airport and booked a time and confirmed. However, once I got there, my phone wouldn't get to the QR code they needed and despite me being at the front of the line when they opened, I couldn't get in. Eventually, a guy inside who spoke English was able to get me through and I got my test, but I thought I might end up like Tom Hanks in The Terminal.
So, as I wait for this flight and my first leg on the way to Milan, I'm hoping for more time like the 2024 flights to Paris instead of the wonderful few Olympic experiences that preceded it.
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