Last weekend I was able to take a trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. Here are a few of my thoughts from the trip regarding transportation.
1. SFO - San Francisco International Airport.
My only other experience with this airport was when I flew here from Salt Lake City, Utah, to connect to a flight to Munich, Germany last December. I remember being appalled at how disorganized the airport seemed and how far I had to walk to get to my connecting flight. It turns out there is an electric train in the sky that circles the entire airport and makes it relatively easy to get around. So what was a "wag of my finger" has turned into a "tip of my hat" to SFO, with the caveat that they need to advertise the train a little more clearly to hurried passengers trying to make it to the international terminal in less than 15 minutes.
2. BART and mass transit
Outside the U.S., public transportation is very much a way of life. Growing up in the U.S. though, I very rarely had any encounter with any form of public transportation. The question of public transportation has been a tricky one in Seattle. I would be pleased if we arrived at something similar to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). This electric train system made traveling around the bay area quite simple and cost-effective, especially as gas prices continue to rise.
3. Airports
I've loved airports since I was a kid. Maybe it had to do with the fact that my dad took me flying when I was a kid. Maybe it was because there were escalators and huge indoor spaces to run around and play in. Maybe it was because of my fascination with airplanes. Whatever the reasons, I loved it.
Things have changed in the past 20 years. Security restrictions have closed off most of airports to only those who hold a boarding pass. Gone are the days where you could meet your loved ones as they walked off the jet bridge, or see them off at the gate. The security aspect of airports has made them more and more a genuinely unpleasant experience. This is really unfortunate, as I feel it would be impossible for a kid growing up today to have the same experience in an airport that I had as a kid.
No other place has the same appeal of reuniting loved ones and connecting people all over the globe. Even when you see someone off at an airport, it reassures you that they are really only a flight or two away. They really have made the world smaller. And for me personally, they bring back those exciting memories from my childhood.
Seatac's central terminal is a great place to sit back and watch the planes takeoff and land. This was originally supposed to be open to the public without a boarding pass. Security said otherwise, which is a most unfortunate blow to aviation and the public's opportunity to enjoy it. I still love airports, but it makes me sad that we're forced to give up something special in the name of security. The awe-inspiring world of aviation has been limited, and I can only hope that after another 20 years, we won't be continuing down this same path.
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3 comments:
I definitely agree about airports. I remember when I was a little girl, we used to watch my dad's flight take off from the tarmac right outside his gate when he had business trips. That was fun.
And I definitely agree about trains. As a member of non-car-owning minority in the US, I have come to really appreciate efficient public transit. The Moscow Metro is perhaps the best I've seen so far. I hope that the currenty gas/energy "crisis" will give cities and citizens the motivation to invest in public transit.
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