Every airport is unique to the city that owns it. The roads leading to the parking lot are completely unique, and only the signs keep the traveler from being lost forever in the network of arrivals and departures. After the life-changing parking decision is made, the next challenge is to figure out how to enter the building. This is the first time the traveler realizes that he packed too much.
Once inside that first doorway, after the eyes finally adjust from the bright sunshine, the search for the right check-in counter begins. The ticket counter sought is always at the farthest point from the door. Only when the time is short will the line be longer than the refreshment line at the nearest stadium. One common feature in every airport is the straight line of counters that stretch farther than the eye can see, and then every passenger returns to the central passage way to pass through security.
The heart begins to race as the departure time draws near. Security checkpoints are always the most unpredictable station. A line of fifty people could move through in just a few minutes while a line of five can make the difference between eating lunch in this terminal or the terminal at the other end of this flight. The mind jumps to all the possibilities and choices ahead. Which line do I choose?
Having passed through security and gathering everything the traveler brought with him, the next set of decisions jumps to mind. The race for the gate is the easiest decision after the right concourse is located. Every airport has a different layout of concourses to keep passengers searching and wasting precious time.
When the traveler finally finds the gate, looks at his boarding pass, and finds a chair to wait for the boarding process to begin, the adrenaline eases. That adrenaline will return only when the plane is first in line for takeoff. The destination is no longer in the traveler's mind for now.