Despite having family and friends, many people choose to travel alone. I am one of them, mostly. Professor Constanza Bianchi, from Queensland University Business School in Australia studied the matter. She reported that when solo travelers leave home they are choosing “freedom, uncompromised fun and meeting new people” over the companionship of a friend or spouse. I have just returned from a trip to Austin, Texas with a friend to see a friend. My travel companion Joan and I have been friends since childhood. We met Susanne while in college. She lived in the Chicago area, but now lives 30 miles south of Austin with her husband, Randy. They have been Texans for only a few months. Joan and I promised to visit when they got settled. Due to time constraints we didn’t take the train. Before leaving I ruminated about why I like solo travel. I questioned how the Austin trip would go and how it might be different if I traveled solo.
The difference started at the airport security line. I have TSA PreCheck, meaning I can go in the shorter line and don’t have to remove my shoes. Joan has no such clearance. We marched to the longer line and waited as people moved slowly towards the security scanners. Joan is not the most agile person. She clumsily removed her laced shoes while balancing her bags that began leaking a make-up compact, keys and a few coins. She failed to mention her metal knee replacement to the security officer. She got pulled out of the line and waited to stand spread eagle while a female attendant searched her body head to toe. She was giggling during the body search and mouthed to me, “Take a picture.” I didn’t take a picture.
“They don’t like people taking photos,” I told her. “They have authority to detain us for whatever reason.” I viewed her actions as folly to keep any frustration at bay.
