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First Leg: Denver
Jul. 20th, 2007 01:18 pmSo up at 03:30, quick shower and dress, out the door and to the airport. Camera bag took the longest in x-ray. No bobble over the roller or tripod bags. Popper rode with the camera bag and shifted later, he was a bit grumpy when I woke him this morning.I'd folded the rainjacket and stuffed it in back vest pocket. No visual inspection called on anything. Mildly surprised about that, I expected it.
So when travelling by air, one must divest oneself of certain things to go through the security check. No jackets, no shoes, empty all pockets (no metel), and of course no water. Heh. So the Photo Vest, bumbag, shoes, plastic ziplock bag containing shampoo, toothpaste, etc all went in one tray. Laptop always goes into its own tray. Post assembly on this trip proved mildly awkward, I'm thinking to transfer the bumbag contents to vest pockets which is something I frequently do anyway. This is one less item to juggle then. Getting shoes back on, laptop collected, baggie of goodies collected, vest (and bumbag), and bags and trying not to block the line (despite the fact that as early as it was, things were moving well anyways) requires some streamlining. I don't mind grabbing shoes and walking away a bit to put them back on, but I definitely am not leaving camera bag or laptop unattended.
So Popper shifted into one of the cargo pockets of my shorts after we cleared TSA, and everything re-seated into the roller bag and stacked. Caught the shuttle train out to the concourse. Food outlets were not open yet, I bought my water from a bookstore. They announced that the on-board coffee brewer was down so there would be no coffee on board unless one purchased it. I didn't; I figured to sleep the trip anyway. Boarded on time and put all bags in overhead which preserved legroom for me. Sometimes I get away with this, sometimes not and I've got to put the camera bag under the seat.
Then we sat at the gate for an additional 30 minutes while there was some maintenance done on one of the after heads. Still, Wheels up at 06:40 and touchdown in Denver at 08:10.
Not having to make any connections, I took my time clearing the plane, keeping out of the way of those folks feeling rushed by the late departure to make their connections. Heh. Ambled down the concourse to the central hub, and ate breakfast in Concourse B at 'Pour la France' a 'french restaurant'. Decor was. Maybe some of the food. My theory was I'd arrived long before check-in and I was hungry. So I got the 'Country breakfast', 2 eggs overeasy, sausage, potatoes. Figured after eating then to ground transport and the hotel should arrive approx 10:00 is good time for check in. May still have to wait a bit but in a better mind frame.
Didn't have to wait for check in. It's high overcast here today, partially cloudy, and very hazy at ground level. Couldn't see the Front Range from the airport, and still can't from the city. Need to check with my bank; for some reason the card was declined. Should of been a payment made yesterday, what's up with this. So of course, once I'm into the room and onto the 'net, the bank site is 'experiencing some difficulties'.
Overall though, a good start to the trip. Popper stimulated a couple conversations (as an ot-tar is wont to do) but was mostly quiet. I expect that's related to getting him up so early.
So when travelling by air, one must divest oneself of certain things to go through the security check. No jackets, no shoes, empty all pockets (no metel), and of course no water. Heh. So the Photo Vest, bumbag, shoes, plastic ziplock bag containing shampoo, toothpaste, etc all went in one tray. Laptop always goes into its own tray. Post assembly on this trip proved mildly awkward, I'm thinking to transfer the bumbag contents to vest pockets which is something I frequently do anyway. This is one less item to juggle then. Getting shoes back on, laptop collected, baggie of goodies collected, vest (and bumbag), and bags and trying not to block the line (despite the fact that as early as it was, things were moving well anyways) requires some streamlining. I don't mind grabbing shoes and walking away a bit to put them back on, but I definitely am not leaving camera bag or laptop unattended.
So Popper shifted into one of the cargo pockets of my shorts after we cleared TSA, and everything re-seated into the roller bag and stacked. Caught the shuttle train out to the concourse. Food outlets were not open yet, I bought my water from a bookstore. They announced that the on-board coffee brewer was down so there would be no coffee on board unless one purchased it. I didn't; I figured to sleep the trip anyway. Boarded on time and put all bags in overhead which preserved legroom for me. Sometimes I get away with this, sometimes not and I've got to put the camera bag under the seat.
Then we sat at the gate for an additional 30 minutes while there was some maintenance done on one of the after heads. Still, Wheels up at 06:40 and touchdown in Denver at 08:10.
Not having to make any connections, I took my time clearing the plane, keeping out of the way of those folks feeling rushed by the late departure to make their connections. Heh. Ambled down the concourse to the central hub, and ate breakfast in Concourse B at 'Pour la France' a 'french restaurant'. Decor was. Maybe some of the food. My theory was I'd arrived long before check-in and I was hungry. So I got the 'Country breakfast', 2 eggs overeasy, sausage, potatoes. Figured after eating then to ground transport and the hotel should arrive approx 10:00 is good time for check in. May still have to wait a bit but in a better mind frame.
Didn't have to wait for check in. It's high overcast here today, partially cloudy, and very hazy at ground level. Couldn't see the Front Range from the airport, and still can't from the city. Need to check with my bank; for some reason the card was declined. Should of been a payment made yesterday, what's up with this. So of course, once I'm into the room and onto the 'net, the bank site is 'experiencing some difficulties'.
Overall though, a good start to the trip. Popper stimulated a couple conversations (as an ot-tar is wont to do) but was mostly quiet. I expect that's related to getting him up so early.
