On Pearl Street in Boulder...

My trip to Colorado started last Friday from the Austin airport. I've only been to this airport once before...I've usually flown out of San Antonio. Since Austin is the "Live Music Capitol of the World," I guess they had to demonstrate that in the airport, as well. This guy was singing all to himself...no one was listening.

It rained hard as we were waiting to take off, but sunny skies were waiting in Colorado.

This is the first time I've flown with Frontier. It was uneventful flying out, but for some reason, I was placed in first class on the way back. The whole round-trip flight was only $250, so it's not like I paid a boatload of cash for the deal. So, on the way back, I got a complimentary bag of chips and salsa with one of those mini bottles of wine, so I wasn't complaining.

They have different wildlife pictures on all of their wings...

I got a window seat because I thought I was going to be able to get some good pictures of the Rockies from the plane, but I didn't even see them. The airport is on the northeast side of Denver, so they're not really noticeable as you're flying in.

Paul met me at the airport and we drove into Boulder so we could get something to eat on Pearl Street. For those of you not familiar with Boulder, it's home to one of the University of Colorado campuses. I had been there about seven years ago, but didn't remember how popular it is. It's about a five block walkway downtown with shops and restaurants. The neatest thing about it, though, is that it is a "stage" for people to play instruments, sing, perform various entertaining acts, as well as simply beg for money. You see all ages here...

And all the performers have some kind of box or container for tip money.


As we were walking across the street towards this little act, the guy turns around and starts ragging on me about taking photographs.

I don't know why he had to pick on me with a full audience to choose from...haha. It was all part of his act, so we felt obligated to stop and watch for awhile.

He was pretty good at getting up there on that unicycle. (I think the motorcycle riding class I took a few weeks ago was probably safer than riding this.)

And once he got up there, he was very good at keeping it balanced.

Of course, you have to add the flaming juggling bit to make it even more exciting. Anyway, he was very entertaining.

This guy was rolling this ball around between his arms and hands so that sometimes it looked like it was almost levitating. Weird...but entertaining.

All the restaurants have outdoor eating areas which are perfect for people watching. These guys were sitting nearby. (We think they were a 'little' toasted...especially the one in the middle. When I initially looked at this photo, there was a little white spot in the middle guy's eye, which I normally would have corrected with Photoshop, but I left it in because it really enhances his appearance in my opinion...gives him kind of that "glazed" look. Haha! If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you'll be able to see the "spark" in his eye.) Anyway, I can just imagine the dude on the far right telling his story... "Yeah, I was flying my Stealth Bomber and had to lean it a little to the right so that I could glide into my landing pattern." While the other guys are saying, "Whoa, Bob! We didn't know you could fly! Cool, dude!" Hahaha! You see a little bit of everything on Pearl Street.

To include living statues. We walked past this guy, and I said, "Hey...he's real." Then he starts messing with you and moves only when you look away. He was pretty cool.

The biggest thing that hit me about Boulder was how different it was compared to Texas State in San Marcos. They both have about 30,000 students and yet Boulder has an energy and personality that far surpasses San Marcos. Just in the few days I was there, you could tell that the area was much more diverse, progressive and interesting. San Marcos could use a dose of Boulder to kick it up a notch.

The next post will take us into the Rocky Mountain National Park...