My Favorite Layover Is Really Boring

Neatly made hotel bed with 4 pillows.

I’m currently writing this from my room in a hotel in Los Angeles. I have no view of the Hollywood sign, or of the ocean. I’m nowhere near the Chateau Marmont or Disneyland. What I am near, and I mean right up against, is LAX airport. I hear the rhythmic roar of constant departing flights coasting directly overhead as well as muffled traffic on the main road I’m located on. That road has a few burger joints, a Starbucks and a grocery store on it, but little else to offer recreationally.

It’s become one of my favorite layovers.

This sounds sad, and probably is, but it’s the truth. I know, however, I am not alone in the aviation world in my love of the boring hotel overnight. I do hate to sell this place short, as there are, in fact, plenty of things to do within a quick Uber or bike ride (a nearby hotel rents them) to the beach, but that’s not for me when I’m here.

Now, I didn’t get into flying just to sit around in a hotel room watching Netflix on my computer and eating takeout on the bed. I do love going out in different cities with my crew or local friends. But the nothing layover gives me time to enjoy complete removal from my life for a night. There is little to accomplish here, other than this article. I will go to the hotel gym, maybe stop in the local grocery store for something healthy for breakfast in the morning, and that’s where my “to do” list ends.

Being a flight attendant is such a social job, and summer travelers can be tough to deal with sometimes, and this season has been especially trying, with crowded airplanes, loads of kids and passengers a bit more ready to argue lately. I love my job and I enjoy the customer service aspects of it, but having my own personal silent retreat for eighteen or so hours is enough to cure all that ails me.

Here I have no errands to run, few phone calls to make, no commitments to keep. Far away from the nightlife of Hollywood, the temptation to make the most of the spoils of my job eludes me. I like to limit those trips, because I can do that any time. With my life so busy, the cocoon of the airport hotel feels like deep meditation that I couldn’t get with the distractions of home life or even a luxurious downtown hotel, where I would enjoy the bare minimum hours sleeping while taking the city up on all it offers.

So, surprisingly, the “boring” layover taught me a surprising lesson in my life: We are never as disconnected as we sometimes need to be from our daily routines. Despite our best intentions, we rarely make ourselves the priority. We put it off, thinking that we do this by taking that island vacation or booking an expensive spa package. But in reality, it can be easy as ordering in your favorite meal – what can’t you find on a delivery app these days? – and doing nothing, or at least very little, for just one day. It isn’t always easy to find the time, but I’m happy my job did it for me.

[Photo: Shutterstock]