Diagonal
The trip I am on now is a delightful mix of cities and countries. I just spent the previous two evenings in Toronto, tonight I will be in Boise and tomorrow will take me to Puerto Vallarta. I love trips like this where each of the cities that I go to are so completely different from one another.
Because several of my flights on this trip include international destinations, I spend more time than usual walking between the international and domestic gates. There are usually large distances between gates (sometimes even a mile or more) that need to be covered in short periods of time, especially if you need to grab a bite to eat or use the restroom (any restroom other than an airplane lav is a welcomed treat during the day!). The distance in itself isn’t really a problem, but trying to walk a mile zig-zagging through the crowds while dragging your luggage behind you can get a little hairy. You learn how to do this “airport walk” over time with speed and grace. The one thing I never get used to, though, are the “diagonal walkers”. You know, the person you end up walking behind who is on their cell phone or is just looking around trying to figure out where they are going. The person who walks diagonally in front of you, limiting your options to get around them smoothly. I haven’t yet figured out this phenomena, but it is so prevalent in the travelers of today’s airports that there must be some link between walking and distraction that causes people to walk in a diagonal. Would it be rude to stop somebody one of these days and ask them if they realize that they’re walking diagonally? I’m just curious!
There are also the people who just stop in the middle of the concourse. The “stoppers” I really can’t complain too much about since we are all guilty of that one! 
Also on this trip I received my first stamp in my shiny new passport! Of course, it was from the U.S. The one stamp in my passport at this very moment is from the United States….apparently I should have asked Canada and Mexico for a stamp. Next time!
I am so jealous. I haven’t been on a vacation all summer so I really have the urge to travel right now.
Comment by Julia — August 28, 2008 @ 9:13 pm
Diagonal Walkers! I’ve never thought of naming them, but you are so right on the mark. They really keep a person from getting where they need to go. Apparently these people didn’t have elementary school teachers that came from the same school of thought that all of mine did. We were taught to line up in the hallways on the third tile from the wall, single file, an arms distance from our “neighbor”. I still look down when I walk sometimes!
Comment by Melanie — August 30, 2008 @ 8:47 am