Here is a sample of the unusual carry-on luggage at JFK airport, which I saw just after the X-ray machine. I think the owner was allowed to carry her dog through with her and just put the empty bag through the machine by itself. The dog was very cute and surprisingly well behaved.
We took a "direct" flight from JFK to Denver ... which stopped for an hour in Las Vegas. Why? Who knows. All I know is we didn't get mileage credit for the gigantic detour. But now I have been to Las Vegas. The airport was very exciting, with palm trees, slot machines, obnoxious bartenders, and the slowest fast food this side of Texas (at Chilli's, we were told it would be 55 minutes to get our meal). They made up for it, to some extent, with views of Egypt. (I guess my prescription lenses are stronger than I thought!) But seriously, there's a lot to love about this picture. Not only do we get a pyramid, sphinx and obelisk with a mighty mountain range backdrop and planes parked in the foreground, but there is also a helicopter hovering at the upper right corner of the hotel.
The pilot did eventually take us to Denver (with a little fly-over of Phoenix, why not?), so I suppose I shouldn't complain too much. Denver International Airport has long been a favorite of mine. One of the coolest things about checking bags through to Denver is that there is a series of sculpted paper airplanes to direct passengers to the baggage claim area. Here's a closeup of one, suspended from the ceiling and pointing in the direction of the escalator:
Here's a shot looking down the "up" escalator, with the airplanes pointing the right way:
And of course, who can forget the tent-like roof ... or is it a series of sails? .... of the airport. From the inside, it certainly looks like a mast and sail arrangement, complete with crow's nest:
Alas, all good things come to an end. We eventually had to pick up our luggage and exit the paradise that is Denver International Airport. On the way to Breckenridge from the airport, we had a lot of troubles with our rental car. Alamo didn't have the car we had reserved (a 7-seater SUV), and so they offered us a 5-seater instead. A 5-seater with no pickup on the highway through the mountains. So, as we drove 100+ miles to our destination, we entertained ourselves by contacting Alamo's Customer Service department. When we asked if we could have a whopping $20.00 off the week-long rental charge for the smaller car, Alamo's Customer Service representative told us we should be grateful they didn't charge us $250 more for the smaller car. She would not transfer us to her supervisor, and when we asked for her name she hung up on us. We called back and reached another Customer Service representative, who suggested that we could drive to Alamo's next nearest location (Las Vegas, perhaps?) to get a 7-seater. We told her that, much as we would ordinarily love to spend our vacation driving around aimlessly to see if Alamo might possibly have our car at some other location, we had actually planned this as a ski trip and would not have time to undertake a road trip as well. We also advised her of the lack of pickup -- at which point, she promptly transferred us to Roadside Assistance. We rehashed the entire story again for the record with Roadside Assistance, and then we also held up the phone in the car so she could hear the engine strain to go 50 miles an hour when we floored it.
As navigator during a slow trip down a highway with no turnoffs, I had plenty of time to record the spectacular scene though the windshield as the sun set. These heavy clouds seemed fitting during our rather surreal conversations with Alamo.
The sky lightened as our journey continued.
To some extent the sky opened up as the sun set.
The next day, we skied. Along with 20,000 other people. And Breckenridge (one of two resorts open in the vicinity) had only one peak open. Apparently, it was 70% of their maximum ski crowd ... with only 20% of the trails open. There were tremendous lines at all four of the operative lifts. At the Mercury SuperChair, it was as bad as European lift lines -- everyone jockeying for position before the actual line began.
This white guy stood out in the crowd, with his rasta hat.
Nonetheless, Breckenridge was serene.
The second day was much more overcast, but much less crowded. In fact, the lift lines were more than reasonable - just what you'd expect pre-season!
Some brilliant sunshine broke through the clouds now and then, though, as we rode up the lifts again and again.
We got a lot of skiing in on day 2 - much more than a usual day - because the lift lines were so short! Had to take an extra-long lunch... and then snuck in 5 or 6 green runs at the very end of the day as the few remaining skiers trundled off home. I caught one of the last 10 chairs up the slopes before they closed the lifts.
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