Trip to Greece and Italy -- we reach Denver

The day began to day at exactly 2:31 a.m. for me, shortly after for Concetta. Although my son Rob makes fun of us for wanting to be at the airport two hours early, we like the comfortable space of time just in case anything goes wrong. So Rob agreed to stay over night and drive us to the airport. We were on the road by 3:30 a.m. and reached the Reno airport thirty-seven minutes later. The new check-in facility is just wonderful. We walked right up the United counter, a very pleasant man met us, took our passport and flight information sheet, and did all the touch-screening for us to accomplish our check-in. Almost before we knew it, we were on our way to the gate.
The flight was far from full this time, though we did have a neighbor in our three-seat combo. I worked pretty hard in the planning stage of this vacation to make sure I had assigned seats, which put us near the front of the plane. Concetta and I always observe the "one carry-on, one personal item" airline mandate, which they were very vocal about enforcing as we neared boarding time. Once again, almost before we knew it we were on the plane and airborne. If you intend to be an air traveler sometime in the future, think seriously about investing in some expensive ear phones for listening to the in-flight movies and TV shows. Even if you don't intend to watch that sort of visual drivel, you can tune into the airplane's sound system while you read your latest Tom Clancy novel. We have found that they're well worth the money, especially if you need to drown out any screaming infants. The flight to Denver was smooth and pleasant. We took advantage of the free coffee and water, but did not buy any snacks. I always pack a granola bar in what my buddy Victor Anderson would have called a "purse" that I keep at my seat so I was good for calories for this shortest leg of our journey. The coffee here at the Caribou Coffee place is pretty good, should you have occasion to be strolling the Denver airport anytime soon. In just over an hour we will be boarding for our flight to Toronto. I always-always-always schedule two hours between flights. Most of the time you can get by with less, but when you need those two hours you really need them. Last year on our trip to the U.K., we sat for over an hour on the tarmac at the Reno airport while they figured out how to "boot up" the airplane's electrical system. Had we not had the two hour layover in Salt Lake City, our who trip to Edinburgh airport would have been scuttled. So, for now, I'll say adieu. I'll try and connect again in Toronto.