Things to do in Denver When You're...Actually in the Suburbs

I just came back from a short trip to Denver. In all the times I’ve been to Denver I have never once made it to Denver proper. I drive from the airport to the suburbs and then back to the airport. I hear there’s a city somewhere, I think they may be lying to me...

This trip was made better thanks to my friend at work who introduced me to the deliciousness of Caribou Coffee. Think: Better tasting than Starbucks and environmentally crunchier. She also took me to a donut shop called LaMars. There appears to be a fierce debate around which is better, Krispy Kreme or LaMars. I did not settle this debate and chose not to compare “donut to donut” (aka glazed goodness) and instead got a Bavarian Crème donut that was slightly larger than my head. Since I was with coworkers I refrained from sticking my grubby little fingers into the crème hole to scoop it out by hand and opted instead to use a fork. It was delish but the crash after the sugar high reminded me why I don’t eat donuts for breakfast.

The true highlight of my trip was going through security in Denver. I’ll start by saying that a few weeks ago I discovered that the TSA had started a blog. I don’t know too many people that have a lot of love for the TSA. As a result, you have to give a little credit to these poor TSA bloggers who keep coming back for more abuse day after day. Anyway, I read about this new trial they’re doing in Salt Lake and Denver – self selecting screening lines based on “traveling skill”. Can you say BRILLIANT? Separate lines for experienced business travelers, casual travelers and families. Clearly I am a dork and I was super excited about hitting that black diamond line. I was also nervous about measuring up. I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about what I was going to do when I got up there. I needed to measure up as an "experienced traveler"*. If I got flagged for self selecting incorrectly I would never forgive myself. The TSA lady checking tickets at the front of the line wished me luck.

Here are some highlights...
No one screeched at me to remove my laptop from my bag
No one defined “liquids” 35 different ways
In fact, no one said a single thing to me - it was actually quiet
There wasn’t a single old lady or child in the line with me
The TSA people didn’t order me around like someone with special needs
The screeners seemed much happier than normal - I think I actually saw one of them smile
The time from shoe removal to shoe replacement was less than 60 seconds

Dare I say it was actually a pleasant experience?

According to USA Today ten more airports have expressed interest in the pilot program as well.

Finally someone shows a little respect for my perfectly packed quart sized 3-1-1 Ziploc bag. Rock on TSA, thanks for the love - right back at ya.


*For the record, I wasn't the only dork. We were all like crazy people trying to one up each other to get through security the fastest. There was quite a bit of shoe throwing & laptop chucking going on.