Yes, you read that correct... I spent the night in the Charlotte airport.
Now first I'll answer some questions I am sure are running through your mind:
1. Yes, it was frustrating.
2. No, it wasn't as gross/weird as I thought it would be.
3. Yes, I slept on the floor.
4. Yes, I felt really, really dirty for an entire 24 hours after; even after I showered.
Okay, now that that's out of the way here's what happened and more importantly, what I learned.
So to set the stage: I flew to Salt Lake City last Thursday for the first leg of my July trip out west. Well, I guess it's more accurate to say that I left Atlanta last Thursday.
I had a layover in Charlotte because well, you have to go east to go west, right? Normally I would avoid a layover at many costs, but since I am not traveling round trip to/from SLC but instead I am going to Las Vegas later this week (intrigued about my trip now??) I had to book a one way flight to Salt Lake; and a one way direct was astronomical price-wise.
Thus my layover in Charlotte. Worth the $250 savings? Jury's still out.
While this was in no way part of my Fourth of July plans and not exactly an enjoyable experience, it was strangely a positive experience. Here are 4 things I was surprised to learn from spending the night in the Charlotte airport:
1. Be kind. You can't imagine the amount of rudeness I saw during this experience. Well, maybe you can. Maybe you've been on the giving or receiving end of this sort of treatment at some point in your life. I can't say that I am so angelic that I haven't been, in fact I know I have probably been just as rude. But watching someone basically verbally abuse someone else who's at no fault and who is simply trying to do their best to help in the middle of the night at the airport, well, you start to see this sort of treatment in a different light.
This is a lesson I constantly am reminded of so I tend to write about it a lot, but I think the fact that it pops back up so frequently simply speaks to how important it is.
2. Less fuss = less stress. This is a big one for me. Maybe it's for you too.
At times I can get easily worked up about, well, a lot of things. And while I'm usually a positive person I tend think through all possible scenarios, including all the things that can go wrong. To ease some of my concerns I fuss to other people. Sometimes this can be helpful but sometimes, in situations I simply have no control over, it just intensifies things making the situation seem worse.
Since my stay in the airport was late I didn't have my usual go-to people to complain to (aka my mom). All I could do was throw up my arms, relax, and not let the fact that my travel was delayed get to me.
I have to say, I really think this improved my experienced. I decided I would just relax and go with the flow. This was interesting to me and something I will most definitely try in other areas.
3. Things could be worse. This can sometimes be an annoying one to hear especially when things are really going badly but at the end of the day, things [usually] can always be worse.
Take my little extended stay in Charlotte... Sure, I was stuck in an airport overnight and I won't lie, there was a small moment when I got frustrated and could feel tears welling up in my eyes, but then I realized that this really was not all that bad. I had already been reassigned to a new flight and that flight was at 8am not 8pm the next day. Yes, my suitcase was separated from me for a couple of hours but I got it back just a few hours after my flight landed, not three days later. Yes, I slept on the floor but I had a pair of eye patches to block out the horribly bright airport light, had just bought a new travel pillow in Atlanta, and was wearing a maxi skirt that covered most of my body if I stretched it enough (yes, I was quite the sight). I was safe and would be alright.
4. Think through all your options. This one is a little embarrassing but I have to include it... I didn't realize until I had landed in Salt Lake early Friday morning that one of my best friends in Atlanta was at her parents lake house (which I knew) that is thirty minutes outside of Charlotte. Now, I knew she was headed to North Carolina, I knew she used to live in Charlotte herself, and I knew she was headed to their lake house for the Fourth. While I had no idea just how close she was going to be to Charlotte Thursday evening if I had thought through everything maybe the possibility of her being around would have crossed my mind.
So I made it to Salt Lake. And while I can't say that it happened without a hitch it happened. And after being in the city for a couple of hours the memory of my extended stay in North Carolina was a fleeting memory, but what I had seen and gleaned from it has stayed with me.
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