Tag: denver

How to kill 8 hours at the airport

Karen DLeave a comment

But before the misadventure, the adventure!

I only have a half day in Colorado left, so Caroline and I decide to spend a few hours at the Denver Art Museum, where I have reciprocal benefits from my membership at VMFA.

The first exhibit we see is the Northwest Coast and Alaska Native Art Galleries. I am wowed at the start (see, need better vocabulary!). There are ginormous wood carvings, a jacket woven from walrus intestine and Auklet feathers, intricately carved bowls and so many more fascinating items.

We go next to the Islands Beyond Blue exhibit, which opens with a huge installation created from leis and includes other works from the museum’s collection, including historical monumental sculpture, delicate bark cloth and intricate wood carvings.

Now starts the misadventure. Caroline drops me off at 1:20 for my 3:20 flight. I am through security and at the gate within 30 minutes, with boarding supposed to start at 2:40. At 2:10, we are advised that the plane that Delta sent is smaller than the one expected, so the flight is oversold by 19 seats. AND, the mechanics are on board “looking at something.” Another call for volunteers goes out at 2:20, and 2:30. By 2:40 we are now on a storm delay, because of lightning in the area. And the mechanics are still looking at that thing. At 3:00 we are still not boarding, and the “thing” is disclosed to be the computer system. Ok, sure, I’m down with fixing that before we leave….

3:20 comes and goes, the mechanics “believe” they have fixed the problem, but have to test it, and as I’m looking at my connection to see if I will make it, the departure time is changed to 4:35 and now I’m sunk. I go stand in line with the rest of everyone who will miss their connection, while trying to rebook myself on the app. I find space on the redeye, leaving at 1:00 am on Friday, a full 8.5 hours from now.

At long last, this is how you spend those 8 hours:

  • 5:00 – 6:00 find a quiet spot and listen to a podcast: Park Predators.
  • 6:00-6:15 get up and walk from Gate A39 to Gate A14. See a man doing Tai Chi.
  • 6:15 – 7:30 sit at the end of the terminal and charge all your devices. Listen to a podcast: American History Tellers. Hold back a scream when a miller moth spazzes by. Note that your original 3:20 flight has not left yet and is now scheduled to depart at 7:00.
  • 7:30- 7:45 walk from Gate A14 to Gate A39. Find a restaurant with space. See that your original 3:20 flight is now leaving at 9:00.
  • 7:45 -8:45 have dinner and a much needed and earned glass of wine. Realize after you pay that Delta has given you a $15 voucher for your trouble.
  • 8:45 – 9:00 walk from Gate A40 to Gate A52 because the people between A39 and A14 are sick of seeing you. Notice that restaurants, stores and kiosks are closing. Buy stress/boredom food with your $15 voucher.
  • 9:00-9:30 browse a bookstore to find a book to add to your TBR pile. Pat yourself on the back when you resist a purchase.
  • 9:30-9:45 walk to your gate. Only 3 hours to go! Realize that your original 3:20 flight is now leaving at 12:30 am and is at the gate right next to you.
  • 10:00 – 10:15 wonder whether your bag, which they pulled from the original plane, will make it onto your new flight. Wait at the original flight gate to talk to a gate agent only to realize they are not Delta representatives.
  • 10:15 -10:30 call and text Delta to talk to someone about your bag, which seems to be sitting on the tarmac at the old gate.
  • 10:30 – 10:45 walk to another Delta gate and get confirmation that your bag has been rerouted.
  • 10:45-10:50 walk back to your correct gate.
  • 10:55 check your watch to see if you’ve met your step goal. Pat yourself on the back because you have. See that your watch is showing medium stress while you watch the plane for your upcoming flight arrive. Only 1 hour and 15 minutes until boarding!
  • 11:00 work on your blog.
  • 12:00 boarding!
  • 1:00 you’ve done it! You are taxiing!

Here’s hoping there’s some sleep opportunity and smooth sailing for the rest of the trip!

Race day

Karen DLeave a comment

Yes, after all the adventures we’ve packed in over a week, we still have a race to run. Sort of the “point” of the trip is the Bolder Boulder 10k; we just used it as an excuse to take a trip to Colorado. I don’t think anyone of us is really feeling like running after sitting in the car for hours yesterday.

We stayed in a hotel about 15 miles away from Boulder, and with a start wave of 7:30, we figured we would need to leave by 6:30. Caroline had stayed at her house (probably happily away from us for a night!) so she picked us up at the hotel and we jumped on the highway where we sat in more traffic than expected. So, we missed our wave by 10 minutes, but the joy of this race is the 90 waves continue until 9:30, so we easily joined a later one.

I’m not sure if it was the long hours in the car, or not really having dinner, or lack of hydration, or the warm temperatures, but my legs were not feeling it. Vicki and Kim ran ahead of Carol, Caroline and I, and we barely made it a mile before walking. Carol wasn’t feeling well from a bout of food poisoning, so the fact that she was out there doing the race at all just proves she is the Braveheart that we said she is!

Soon we caught up with Kim, but Vicki was trucking along ahead. Kim, Caroline and I walked a lot after mile two…most of it actually, and it was so fun to take the time to see all of the shenanigans going on that I have missed in years past when I have focused on RUNNING!

There’s at least one Slip N Slide, a keg stand station, a cotton candy corner, someone cooking hot dogs for the runners, belly dancers, bands galore, a donut stand, a mimosa tent and many, many, many spectators offering shots of all kinds. And since it was hot, a lot of the spectators had their hoses out to lightly spray the runners, and kids had super soakers to help out.

Vicki, the little engine that could, kept running and finished 20th in her age group! The rest of us didn’t do quite as well and poor Vicki had to wait and wait and wait for us at the finish.

We finally all caught up with each other, got our snack bags and sat down in the stadium, but the heat and sun and tiredness had us taking off after about 15 minutes. We walked back to the car, which had overflowed its coolant upon our arrival earlier, by the way. We tried getting the radiator cap off but it wouldn’t budge, so we climbed in, crossed our fingers and headed back to the hotel to shower and check out.

There’s not much more to report for today. Carol, Kim and Vicki got to their hotel in Denver for their 5:45 am flight. I am staying with Caroline for a few more days of exploring. And yes, we’ve already taken care of the radiator issue, so stay tuned for more adventures!