I guess I should be a bit more specific since Atlanta is a big city and technically I'm really not in Atlanta. I believe the city I am in is Hartsfield, or something like that. In fact I am not even in a city, I am in an airport. The Atlanta airport to be exact!
About a month ago my wonderful son, Kyle, called and asked if I would like to come to Atlanta for a visit. Never one to turn down an opportunity to travel I of course said YES ! Even better . . . Kyle bought me a round trip ticket.
Today was the day to fly to Atlanta so naturally there were storms covering all of Georgia and Florida. The 7:35 P.M. flight from West Palm was delayed an hour and a half which put me into Atlanta at 10:40 P.M. This would have worked out fine if Kyle's flight out of Chicago hadn't been delayed over 3 hours. He was in Chicago on business and we were supposed to both arrive in Atlanta about 20 minutes apart and then drive home to his house together. So much for that well thought out plan. My plane landed just about the time that Kyle's plane was taking off. So here I sit amidst half the population of the state of Georgia, waiting for my boy to arrive. If you have t be stuck waiting at hour this is the place to be. I just want to know how there can be sooooooo many people awake at midnight. There are families with little kids, bunches of people with dogs and loads of REALLY strange characters wandering around. Maybe the population of Georgia doesn't sleep? It is sort of like "Night of the Living Dead". Maybe this is why the TV show The Walking Dead was set in Atlanta. Apparently these people do not sleep.
If you have never been to Atlanta's airport I must tell you it is made up of about 8 separate terminal buildings that are connected by a subway train that runs continually. When you get off your plane you walk forever to get to the escalator that takes you down to the train. When the train arrives you get to cram yourself in with all the other travelers who, unlike me, are ALL pulling "carry on" bags that are twice the size of my bag that I checked. What is it about air travel that people can't let go of their damn bag ? Watching people trying to cram a duffle bag into the overhead compartment on a plane is more entertainment than a comedy special on HBO. And then when the plane lands you have to wait while all the idiots find and pull down their bags only to have them hit you in the head in the process. But just in case you avoid getting injured on the plane there are multiple opportunities to get run over by an out of control roller bag as you travel from the plane to baggage claim. Baggage claim at this airport is an adventure all it's own. There are 2 baggage claims, one domestic and one international. They are labeled "Baggage claim North" and "Baggage Claim South". Not very creative but I guess they had to keep it simple considering the average IQ here. Within the baggage claim areas there are at least 8 HUGE carousels spitting out luggage at an incredible speed. Trying to grab my bag as it whizzes by is something like the "Whack a Mole" game at the local carnival. Once you get your bag you now have to maneuver through the throng of travelers who are milling around the area. I don't understand why there are so many people standing around because most of them alrady have their bags.
Once I got my bag I wandered around the airport for a while just looking at the strange sights. It is a crazy place to spend the night.
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