Locator: 50252PDX.
Of the airports of which I'm familiar, and I'm familiar with many, but I'm very, very familiar with very few. Of the very few airports of which I'm most familiar, PDX (Portland, OR) remains my favorite by far.
In the big scheme of things, PDX -- a single terminal with one "supergate," five concourses and two TSA security check points. There is a single security checkpoint for concourses A, B, and C; and, one security checkpoint for concourses D and E.
PDX was one of the first to eliminate most of the “customary” / original TSA screening requirements. Today:
- nothing is removed from one's carry-on items; not one thing needs to be removed;
- no shoes or boots or footwear of any kind needs to be removed;
- X-ray scanning is often bypassed (this I did not understand).
- you pretty much throw your backpack into a bin and walk through.
Today the PDX TSA checkpoints were said to be 10 minutes (general boarding), 3 minutes (TSA pre-check). In fact, I walked right through, no waiting. It was almost eerie.
In many ways, PDX terminal is the Apple iPhone of the global airline terminals:
- "it just works";
- the terminal "supergate" is a destination, not an eyesore;
- past security, one has entered one of the biggest and best food courts in the nation;
- but you don't get to those "biggest and best" food courts without first passing the brand new Powell's Books bookstore -- a satellite bookstore for the biggest and best bookstore in the US -- Powell's Books bookstore downtown, more on this later, perhaps.
- once things get back to "normal" -- pre-1970s "normal" -- PDX has a very real possibility of becoming a nightclub destination -- light rail to the airport makes that even more likely
- neither the huge "supergate" nor the various concourses would be big enough to host a Taylor Swift, but I could see any number of indie Portland garage bands playing the venue after 9:00 p.m.
Powell's Books at the airport:
Powell's At The Airport has just re-opened after being absent for the past five years (?). It is so "new" that one of the "back walls" is still unfinished. Wow, what a pleasure.
The key to a successful bookstore:
- location, location, location; and,
- a curator who knows his/her customer.
Within minutes I had five or six books selected, but due to common sense, I returned four to the shelf, and kept two. I will list all five or six books on my literature site, assuming I can remember the ones I left behind.
