The photo was taken at 4 a.m. Yes, 4 a.m. Who in their right mind gets up at 4 a.m.? My father to catch a plane. He's hyper-vigilant about getting to the airport early and on this lovely morning he woke us up at 3 a.m. and put us on a bus from Downtown London to Heathrow to catch a 7 a.m. flight to Spain. He was worried that we might hit traffic but the roads were eerily vacant and our bus driver whisked us through London as if we had a police escort driving ahead to pave our way.
Yes, we arrived at the airport three hours early and when we walked up to the ticket counter in a sleepy stupor and realized that it was closed and wouldn't be open for two hours, the only thing I could do was bust out laughing. I was delirious, with only a few hours of sleep under my belt, at that point. All I could do was laugh, as my husband and kids fell to the floor in frustration.
I'm afraid that I've adopted my father's arrive-early attitude. It's in my blood. I don't get to the airport three hours early, as he always does, but I always aim to get their two hours ahead. I hate nothing more than sitting stuck in traffic in a cab wondering whether I'll make my plane. Travel is stressful enough as it is. I'd rather give myself plenty of time so I can move at a leisurely place and not fret if the shuttle van taking me from the long-term parking lot to the main terminal crashes into a car. That happened to me once but I still made my flight because I'd given myself plenty of wiggle room. Plus, I enjoy hanging out at the airport, watching the people pass by, the jets taking off, reading junky celebrity magazines.
My husband on the other hand likes to cut things close. He hates nothing more than browsing airport gift shops and eating over-priced food. He wants to arrive just in time to make his flight and spend as little time at the airport as possible. As a result, he sometimes misses planes.
What about you? How early do you like to arrive at the airport before your flight?
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