SeaTac
If it wasn’t obvious by now, I travel a fair bit. Like all of us who LOVE traveling, I wish I could do it more and I’m always on the look out for the next destination. Also like many travel lovers, I have my favorite airports and my not so favorite airports. The Seattle-Tacoma airport is by far one of my favorite (if not my favorite) airports in the United States. Yes, it’s busy. Yes, it is often out of the way to fly through. But it is one of the most pleasant travel stops I have encountered because it makes me stop and just be.
Right on the other side of security is this massive floor to ceiling window lit food court. The massive windows overlook the idyllic Pacific Northwest pine trees. Fog sets in just above the tree tops, mountains shimmer in the background, and it feels almost as if you're sitting on a cabin porch in the mountains breathing in the crisp air. Of course it is easy to pass by this view in the rush to arrive at your gate or to grab a bite to eat, but it is big enough that it causes one to at least glance. Just for one MUNDANE moment.
What I LOVE about SeaTac is not this view, per se, but how the airport cultivates a space to stop, breathe, and enjoy the view. Lining the massive windows are rows of rocking chairs, all facing out to the trees. Then there is an atrium full of tables to sit and rest or eat at placed right behind the rocking chairs. You might think, “Of course there is a space with tables, it’s a food court!” And of course you’d be right. But how common is it for airports to designate large spaces just for tables? Most of the airports I travel through anticipate you eating at your gate or on the floor. Not at a table. And even the spots with tables are restaurant style, enclosed structures, only for patrons of the specific restaurant. But this rather simple, or MUNDANE, idea of an open area designated for all travelers to pause completely changes the traveling experience.
You find yourself stopping to look, stopping to grab a bite and sit, stopping to maybe even breathe. And if you find yourself at the foot of the massive windows, on a rocking chair, staring at the majestic Pacific Northwest pines, you might even forget about rushing to your gate. You might feel as if you arrived already. You might be reminded of why you LOVE traveling, in addition to your LOVE of arriving.
It is the small things; rocking chairs and open spaces, massive windows and a view, that seem MUNDANE but end up reorienting my LOVE of traveling towards the travel and not just the arrival.
What MUNDANE things reorient you towards the travel?
