Denver International Airport

After a pretty uneventful 8-ish hour flight, we had to sit for about 15 minutes because there was no one available to guide us into the gate, but after that, we were able to deplane pretty quickly. It felt like I walked 5 miles to get to customs, but I was fortunate to not be pulled out of line to be searched. Bob the drug dog didn't think I smelled to sketchy, either. He checked out my backpack and then moved on to the family next to me who had tried to smuggle in oranges and ham sandwiches - a big no no, apparently.

While I was waiting, I went ahead an checked into my United flight and even managed to check my bag online. Once I grabbed my luggage, a nice lady helped me print my ticket and luggage tags, I checked my bags, and then had the pleasure of going through security yet again. For it being such a crazy, busy place, I was really pleased that everyone was SO nice. That's not always the case. The construction in the great hall made everything a little more challenging, but it was a lot easier coming home than it was on Dec. 21 when I first had to figure it out.

After a short train ride and another 5 mile hike (it sure felt like it), I found gate B56 and settled in. The only hiccup was that one of the seats was malfunctioning or they oversold seats or something and they begged for a volunteer to take a later flight, so there were a tense 5-6 minutes before someone took them up on their offer of a free hotel room and a $1200 voucher. I seriously thought about it.Read more