the little jumble of shops and eateries and, if you're lucky, sometimes there's art exhibits or mini museums. I don't mind getting to the airport early and exploring the shops, though I almost never buy anything at an airport due to the high prices (there was the one time in LA when I realized I hadn't bought enough souvenirs for everyone...). I don't even mind the people, mostly, though there's always a few exceptions. I *do* mind the long lines going through security and having to take off my coat and shoes and worrying if my jewelry or zipper or bra underwire will set off the metal detector. And now that we often have boarding passes on our phone instead of having a paper in hand, I fear tech issues, mainly because that's exactly what happened as I was getting ready to board the plane in Charleston, SC on my way home from vacation. My boarding pass was right there and then it wasn't.
I'm also oddly fond of travel plazas like you see on toll roads.
