It started out as a beautiful day New Jersey. I guess I should have recognized the irony in that. Usually when I get to the airport, I'm already stressed because I'm 30 minutes later than I had planned, I don't know where to go, and I hate flying. But today was different.

I woke up, finished my packing (without forgetting a thing), and started the drive to Newark, a solid four hours before my flight was scheduled to take off. Due to the lack of traffic on the Merritt, I decided to take a route I'd never taken, down the Hutch and just followed it to the GW. I wasn't sure where to go, but I figured if I ended up someplace crazy in Manhattan, I'd find my way out to Jersey. This is where the story is supposed to go wrong...but it doesn't. I made it to the bridge, hopped on the Jersey Turnpike, and made it to Newark in plenty of time. I think the sheer lack of stress on my arrival to the airport locked me in a relaxed mood that got me prepared for the flight. So I sat for two hours at the gate, and eventually boarded the flight.

Ding. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking," pre-departure banter is my favorite part of the flight. I'm not sure I've ever met, make that seen, a member of the flight deck, but they always sooth me with their voice and confidence in the cockpit. This has to be a prerequisite for all pilots: 20/20 vision, check. Aptitude for flying a big object, check. Soothing voice, check.

"It seems that we have a bit of a problem with our instrumentation, we'll be looking into it and get back to you shortly. Thank you for your patience." Now let's backup here, why is he thanking us for our patience already? There is clearly something he's not telling us. After two hours and several updates, it was determined our flight's landing instruments were bad and couldn't be replaced so we are waiting for the weather to clear in Denver before takeoff so we can have a "line of sight landing". And my subsequent adventure beings.

After exiting the delayed plane for some stretch time during our wait, I called up Jon and I informed him I wasn't going to make it to Gunnison, our meeting place, tonight due to the fact that flights don't operate at night from Denver to Gunny Municipal. A conundrum easily fixed. When my flight finally departed from the east coast, Jon was on his way to Denver where we met up.

Huge fan base or not, I assure you Jon Sheldon Across America is still just Jon Sheldon, and that became apparent to me as I walked towards him while he was sitting near baggage claim, chatting on IM or whatever it was he was up to on his laptop, unsuspecting of the travelers as they passed. Beard or not, I immediately smiled knowing this is where my travel happenstance was going to turn into an "adventure".

United Airlines was gracious enough to set me up with a hotel which Jon and I shared at the Denver Radisson. After checking in, we sat at the martini bar, got some food, and began catching up. I think the great thing is that people that are true friends, the conversation style doesn't change even after not seeing one another for three months. Jonny and Keith-o, shooting the shit. This is where the plan began.

Now before I get into my day of "Jon Sheldon Across America”, let me just give some props to UA for being really awesome with me. Yes, they delayed my flight (for safety reasons), but they paid for my hotel, refunded the part of my flight I didn't take, and even still flew my luggage to Gunnison so Jon and I didn't have to haul it around in the already cramped Grey Ghost. I was impressed with the customer service.

After a good night's sleep, we headed to the shadiest establishment I have ever been to for breakfast, a Waffle House placed nicely next to a redesigned Denny's. Now if you ever want to turn your average day into an adventure, simply say to Jon "where ever you want to go is fine with me." Seedy establishment or incorrect direction is a predictable outcome. Nice looking Denny's? Nah, the Waffle House looks perfect. The nice thing was they gave us a choice between the smoking section and the non-smoking section separated by...well, nothing, but at least they gave us the choice. Our waitress's nervous toothless smile clued me in that quality was not necessarily the number one ingredient here (I'm still searching for the number one ingredient). This place was so shady, I tried to snap a picture which you can see below. The quality of the shot is directly proportional to the quality of the restaurant, so it is safe to say that you are not missing much.


Seedy in any city

During breakfast (I got an egg white omelet for health reasons, it came out smothered in butter. Yum.) we discussed out plans. First stop was to Coors Field to get tickets for a Rockies game, and then onto the U.S. Mint for a tour before the game. Plans are nice thing to have and an even better thing to disregard. We got the tickets for $7.00 (much less than I was expecting) and headed towards the state capital (covered in 250 ounces of 28 carat gold leaf from the mines in Colorado). We parked on Broadway and walked around the capital park area through beautiful fields of flowers surrounded by classical architecture. The mix of Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns in this setting was incredible and I wish I could have spent more time taking pictures, but Jon was tired of the area as he has seen tons of similar buildings on the trip, so we pressed on. As we walked towards the mint, it occurred to me that they were probably closed on Sunday, and my suspicions were right. So we continued to walk around the parks.

One cool thing about Denver is the mix of classical and modern art and architecture...plenty for the eye to see. Here are a few of the photos I took to display the contrast, please bear in mind this is all within two city blocks of each other. A buffet for the eyes.

  
 

Next was to the game, Red Sox hats on for Rockies versus Cubs. Jon continued to root for the home team, and I rooted for the Cubbies. One thing we could agree on was whenever Garciaparra came up, we yelled "NOMAH!" as loud as we could to disrupt everyone around us. One Cubs fan seemed to enjoy it as he egged us on asking for more Bostonian inflection the next time. I wish I could have worn my Sox 5 t-shirt as this would have probably been the only remaining appropriate time to do so (well, besides changing my oil).

After the game we headed out on the road towards Gunnison. Here I got a feel for what Jon's trip is all about: the open road and beautiful weather. While we talked and listened to the Red Sox game, it started to make sense. I understand why he is doing it and realize that I will probably never get to follow suit, but I at least had this one day. I got a break from reality while watching the red landscape and low sunlight create a perfect backdrop for doing exactly what I hoped to do on my vacation, relax. The drive was a perfect ending to a great adventure.

  
 

After we arrived, we had dinner with my father and sister, met the roommates, and walked around Crested Butte. The next day Jon Sheldon Across America was off again without me, and I smiled as the Galant drove off as I realized I got to be a part of something special.