Real Life Travel - Circling Logan Airport…in My Car, Awaiting a Pick-up - by John Hendrie
We read about the traveler’s travails, but what about we who serve that weary traveler and pick them up at the airport.
I would imagine that Logan Airport serving the Boston area is no different than most Metro airports – always under construction, a mirage of signage, full parking lots at a distance, buses spewing noxious fumes, people running late for flights, and traffic.
We used to be able to sidle up to the curve at the arrival terminal, casually looking over the crowd for our appointed passenger. Well, that era is gone, as we have the no-nonsense gendarmes, “suggesting” you move along. So, you have two choices – find a niche somewhere (I have one, but it is secret – good for 20 minutes), keep the car in idle and hope that cruising police do not really see you or get back on the airport loop and start circling the terminals, feeling a bit like the mythical Charlie stuck on the MTA.
The airport loop is a good alternative, if you are paying attention and the traffic is sparse. However, you have too many choices – parking, terminals A-E, hotel, etc. and too many chances for error (like the old dodge-em cars at the amusement park). You may find yourself now headed for the airport exit and two quickly approaching directives – Boston or Revere. I have taken the Revere option twice and could turn around, finally, near Suffolk Downs, and reenter the interminable Airport loop. I also have taken the Sumner Tunnel to Boston, three times at a cost of $5.00 per, to have the return selection of again enjoying the Logan merry- go- round.
Believe me, I understand the security aspect with idling cars and anxious faces. However, I am not a bomb-carrying terrorist, only a simple country boy picking up a passenger from far away lands (actually, only California). Limos are allowed to park, buses run the terminal gamut, as do those hotel and rental car company jitneys. Most of us try to coordinate our arrival time close to the plane’s estimated “touch-down” (estimated is the operative word here). Also, most of us have figured that a cell phone connection works well, too, with an alert “I have landed and am at baggage claim”. So, we get back in the terminal queue and hope that the State Police will give us a momentary break. At the end of this ordeal, we should get some travel miles!
So, by the time you do in fact pick-up your loving passenger, you are exhausted with this game of cat and mouse at Logan Airport and actually look forward to the next challenge – the clogged traffic artery on Route 60 to 1 North. Free at last!
Interestingly, my lovely passenger is aghast that I would suggest the Logan Express Bus to Newburyport, MA, where they actually serve bottled water and let you watch returns of “Gilligan’s Island” on your ride. Who would’ve thunk this option makes sense! Don’t all raise your hands at once. And, do not get me started on the signage to Logan Airport. If I were an international visitor, driving to Logan, I would end up in Peoria, Ill. - stunned, confused and with a massive headache.
