welcome to ...

the Decker Journey

mark of Jan Broersen Decker

My Journey

July 2009

I wasn't sure what to say about July.  This has been a busy summer, and it is flying by.  So I figured I would talk about my most recent trip - which was Denver, Colorado.  Of the four cities I went to visit this summer, this one is the only one that didn't begin with the letter 'S'.  Maybe that's not significant, but when I rattle off where I have been, the alliteration is easily apparent until I get to Denver.  Either way, it was (overall) a great, short visit.

First off, the purpose of this visit was to attend the Cisco Academy Conference.  This is an opportunity for those institutions to share ideas, and changes, as to what we teach in computer networking, security, and such.  Secondly, this isn't my first time in Denver, but the first time I made it out of the airport and actually got to snoop around for a few days (arrived on Monday, left on Thursday).

OK, so the conference wasn't in Denver, it was outside of town at the Denver Marriott - Tech Center.  This turned out to be a good thing, although I did temporarily lose my cell phone on the first day.  OK, it wasn't lost - I knew it was in the van that delivered me from the airport, but it was separated from me for a short while.  After that, I needed food (after the flight and lack of food there), so ended up at the restaurant/bar in the hotel for a burger, fries, and soup (why not - I can eat soup while I wait for the burger).  Oops.  The burger & fries came out first.  Well - it was the bartender who asked if I wanted the soup out first (yes) and it was also him who acknowledged (while holding my burger & fries) that somebody messed up.  So.. no soup and 10% off my meal.  What a day so far.

Monday night was the welcome reception for the conference, and although I don't normally care much for these, this year it was really good.  Good food (prime rib even!), and a good opportunity to chat with people that I last saw at last year's conference (Saratoga Springs, NY).  The sessions at this year's conference were also very good.  The appreciation event was at the Denver Zoo, which also turned out to be more entertaining than I had expected.  More good food, and snacks.  Although I should have left the cotton candy alone.  It's hard hurrying around a zoo on a scavenger hunt, taking pictures, and eating cotton candy (sticky fingers) at the same time.  There was a bit of rain off & on, so we ultimately got to see a double rainbow that night.

Wednesday night was the night that I was waiting for, and had planned for.  All told, eight of us rode the train downtown - it was Hard Rock Cafe time.  After that (and another shot glass), we walked around downtown more, saw the capitol building and more.  Also walked back to the train on the next block over, and saw a little bit more of a seedy side of the town.  Which ultimately leads me to the observation that I wanted to make following these trips to the various cities.  Each was very interesting, but each had its seedier elements.  Even going back to our long, out of the way, drive to Myrtle Beach through Louisville, Nashville, and Atlanta, this was something that seemed to be common everywhere.  This has been a time that the city of Detroit - my closest big city two hours south - has had a really bad reputation, but similar elements were evident everywhere I have gone this year - just a matter of degree.  I have to say that Seattle - at least the areas that I was able to get to - was overall the best in these terms.  It just may have been better if I was a bigger fan of seafood.  :)

Archives (Old Format):

2005 (new window)

2006 (new window)

2007 (new window)

2008 (new window)