Hello Again, Denver

Since February began, I have spent less than 72 hours in Colorado. Three separate occasions all kind of manifested at once and left me traveling back to back to back, clambering to do laundry, re-pack and sleep for about 12 hours between each.

New Orleans was fantastic. I saw a lot of what I visited the first time around, but also traveled to Mississippi for one day and hung out on Bourbon Street for a bit. The Spotted Cat on Frenchman St is still my favorite, I still don't understand the hype over Magazine Street, and I got to eat the best fried chicken of my life. By the end of the trip my pants barely fit, but it was well worth it. Coast visited: Gulf; timezone: Central

Hand Grenades: dangerous

After a quick superbowl watching (back in the Mountain Timezone), I was back on a plane headed for Seattle. Two morning meetings in Fort Lawton and Everett were fairly short and allowed us almost the entire trip to dedicate to sightseeing. I ventured up into the Spaceneedle, visited Pikes Place market, bought a coffee mug at the first Starbucks, did the Underground tour, and generally enjoyed a relaxing work week. Coast visited: Pacific; timezone: Pacific

Picking the nose of the Fremont Troll

Thursday night it was back to Denver, with a turnaround time of only 7-8 hours. I managed to throw in some laundry, take my bike to Kyle for fixin', get some groceries, and sleep a wee bit before catching my 6 am flight to Philly via Chicago. Dad picked me up at the airport and we had a beer or two at the local watering hole before surprising Mom at her happy hour in Skippack. She had no idea that I was flying home for her 60th birthday and her reaction was priceless. All three Byrons burst into tears and it was well worth the trip! We saw True Grit (really good!), ate waaaay too much food (Ruth's Chris - NOM!), and before I knew it, I was back on the plane for Denver, via Chicago. I lucked out and the plane from O'Hare to Denver was an international-sized one with individual TV screens. I settled in to watch 127 Hours (cringe!) and was home before I knew it. Coast: East; timezone: Eastern.

Surprise!!!

All three coasts, all four timezones, all within 10 days. I even managed to sneak in a few runs, although not as many as I had hoped for. Now I'm back in Denver without any travel in sight but busy weeks ahead.