San Francisco International Airport
October 20, 2005 | 2:30 p.m.

The one time I felt too lazy to schlep bags and instead decided to check them, United Airlines inadvertently sent them to Portland, Oregon. I had just landed in San Francisco after a flight from Seattle and had two hours to kill before they were to arrive.

While SFO in general is a dump of a gateway, the international terminal is spectacular (I may be a bit biased -- my brother helped engineer some of its beautiful glasswork.)  The soaring glass building is airy and cavernous, and offers the best food selection of any terminal.

The place was packed: it was European departure hour.