resqgeek

Airports - Dulles Airport still has some of the worse organized security checkpoints I've ever seen. After getting our boarding passes in Denver, we discovered that the line for security completely filled the Mickey Mouse lines and stretched out across the concourse. Our initial groans quickly disappeared as we noticed that the line moved quickly and steadily towards the security check points. The same lines at Dulles would have taken at least three times a long to travel the same distance. The signs at Dulles indicate that their ongoing remodel of the terminal will include an entirely new security screening facility, which hopefully will provide some improvement when it opens in 2008. The other improvement that is underway at Dulles is an underground train system to connect the main terminal to the mid-field concourses and replace the ungainly "people movers" they have used forever. If the Dulles train system works like the one at Denver it will be a great improvement. My only complaint with the Denver trains is the short dwell time in the stations - the doors start trying to close long before everyone has had a chance to exit and board the trains.

Weather - In spite of all the big weather news from Colorado last week, we only had one light snow flurry in Steamboat Springs. Each day, the staff and instructors would talk optimistically about the fresh powder skiing we would enjoy when the storm arrived. Unfortunately, it never did, so we never got to enjoy any of that famous Rocky Mountain powder skiing. The sunny weather made for beautiful scenery, and the warm temperatures were more comfortable, but the ski area really could've used some additional snow. While they have way more snow than anything here on the East Coast, their base was really thin in places. In fact, a couple of times I skied over some exposed rocks, and there was plenty of grass and weeds poking up through the snow.

Being out of touch - Somehow, when I'm on vacation, I completely loose touch with what is happening in the rest of the world. Last week, I did manage to catch the news that James Brown had died, but I was completely unaware of President Ford's death or the execution of Saddam Hussein until the end of the week. It some ways its nice to forget about what's going on in the rest of the world, but reconnecting after several days is surreal. I normally at least skim through my newspaper everyday, so I'm not used to finding out about major news events days after the fact.

Old skis - My skis are about a dozen years old, and I'm finding that they have become a conversation starter on the mountain. The newer skis are shorter and shaped differently, so my skis now stand out as decidedly retro. Many people seem to think that I must be a really good skier to use them, but in reality, I don't really notice much difference between them and the newer skis I've rented overseas. Since my skis are still in pretty good condition, I don't see any real reason to replace them. But with each passing year, they become more and more unusual on the mountain, and I expect I'll get even more comments next winter.

Some miscellaneous thoughts from last week