Don't read into that quote too much Colm. Even after 4 days of travelling with you, I do not hate you. I'm sure you care. Truth is, Colm and I have become close friends by looking out for Colm's older brother (and my close friend) Liam. Here's a short story. Colm was a freshman at Babson College the year after Liam and I graduated from there. He was being "interviewed" by the soccer team and two things were factored in. One, he did not know Liam and I were in attendance on campus. Two, he really did not know who was there because it was dark. Don't ask. During the interview, the players asked Colm "who is your favorite Babson alumni?" Now, one would think that his recently graduated, model citizen and I'm-gonna-follow-in-your-footsteps older brother Liam would be his selection, right? His reply, hold your breath, was "Nick Richio". I was floored. This is a true story. After Colm realized we were there, I think Liam had a few choice words for his younger brother. Clearly the best part is that Colm did not know we were there. So he really spoke the truth. Sorry Liam. Younger brothers never look up to their older brothers after 14 years old. I'm joking.
Ok. So Day 4 started off in style. A very good breakfast cooked by Megan. I am going to spare Megan and her roomates by not posting the video of the breakfast. No one wanted to be on camera that morning! The breakfast was french toast, scrambled eggs, sausages and hash browns. I even squeezed in some holiday M&M's. They were mint flavored and quite good. I had to really because they still had Christmas themes in the house. And I say, why not? Keep them up and treat every day like it is Christmas. What a great meal and a HUGE thank you (again) to Megan and her Omaha friends for putting us up...and putting up with us.
On the road we drove, and drove, and drove through the very wide state of Nebraska. Here is a clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKz3Hi6Jkug. Couple things. First, pay no attention to my shirt. It is an old reversible jersey that I think my father used in his gym classes...when he taught gym classes 30 years ago!! Funny albeit a bit embarrassing for me to be sporting it. I was comfortable in it and that's what matters. To be honest, I packed some tshirts that very well should be thrown out, but that have some meaningful piece of my youth and upbringing. There have been others in my previously posted videos. Second, sorry again for the lack of audio. You can hear it, but it is faint. The jist is that Nebraska is flat, has lots of cornfields and huge aluminum irrigation systems everywhere you look. Lincoln, home of the University of Nebraska, looks like they dropped a town right in the middle of a corn field. In the good words of Anchorman Ron Burgundy, neato gang.
Beside my story to begin this post, here is second place winner for humor. Colm took over the wheel for the first time all trip and he had not driven a manual transmission for 2 years! It was part entertaining and part nerve racking. Here is a clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44I1xM674y8. Notice how he blows by an 18 wheeler in the beginning of the video. He apparently worked out the rust and I would agree with that statement whole heartedly...until our next story happened. After 2,000 miles and about 30-40 state troopers successfully passed, the one time we get pulled over, Mr "I can't downshift" was at the wheel. We we're in Colorado, I was post nap in the passenger seat and Colm was in panic mode. My reaction was swift, "Pop it in neutral, foot off the clutch and gas, just apply the brake" I was born to be a Formula 1 driver. Colm obliged and thus prevented the cop from seeing him try and downshift. That could have been a disaster. Anyway, we were pulled over for a missing headlight. I blame the small planet size pothole in Iowa. Looking back, I wish I had video of that whole episode.
After the cop incident we were smooth sailing toward the Rockies. Sad part is we did not see the Rockies becasue it became dark. Good part is we got to see this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_rN6UKVyV8. Everyone should see a Colorado sunset in their lifetime. An Oregon sunset is pretty amazing as well. Truthfully, any sunset can be amazing, but ones with the sun setting behind a mountain or over the water take the prize. We made it to Denver and in the interest of wrapping up this blog (I'm doing this for you, I could write all day) I will bullet point our night there:
- Got to hotel in downtown Denver and was tired. Needed a lift so we tried to motivate ourselves. Here's what we did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-UZCJLSO_Q This catchy song is "Shake It" by Metro Station. Though it was not planned out, we clearly went with the twist dance theme.
- Bullet point #1 worked so we went out for dinner. It was Colm's last night so we did the Denver Chophouse. Some steaks, drinks, baked potatoes and very deliciously warm cornbread. They had the good meal thing figured out there. Thank you Denver Chophouse.
- Bullet point #2 weighed us down, but we walked around for a bit and ended up meeting a friend of Colm's (Sarah) that he used to work with. She was with her friends and we ended up at a trendy spot in Denver called Suite 200. I'm old and did not have fun, but Colm did and that is what is important. I'm just kidding (not about me being old) I did have a great time and it was nice to meet Sarah and her friends. Latin, 24-7.
- Bullet point #3 involved those strong mixed drinks of the Midwest (and now West) so details for additional bullet points are not possible!
We had a great night in Denver and if there is one thought I will leave you with, it is this. Denver is a great city and you should visit if you have not been there. Sports biases aside, I always think Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston are my top five. Denver is now in the mix and with it being so close to the Rockies, it has an advantage. Speaking of the Rockies, my next blog (tomorrow) will take me into them. Take care and hope everyone is well.
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