I'm back to holding a line after bidding reserve last month in hopes of having some time off. This backfired when I had a whopping two full days of not being called. To start the month off, I had my first overnight in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It's a place. Our hotel is in the middle of a mall area. I was a bit concerned about what I would do for the next 24 hours. Yes, the layover was an entire 24 hours . . .in Idaho Falls. We arrived in the evening and I needed some dinner. The van driver recommended a 50s-themed diner next to the hotel. He said it was the best place to eat in Idaho Falls.
Always the skeptic, I took to yelp to make sure I wasn't going to get food poisoning, and found it is a very popular place indeed. It was bested only by the nearby Burger King. I put on my jacket and hat and walked across the parking lot to Dixie's Diner, where they serve Breakfast, Lunch, and Ner according to their neon sign. It was a pretty good crowd for a Sunday and just as white as a Billy Joel concert. I made an attempt to order the most diner-y thing on the menu. I had chicken-fried steak with eggs and potatoes (I'm in Idaho ya know), and a large pancake on the side. A random combination of food perhaps, but filling.
The following day, I did not have to report until 4:30, so I figured it was as good a time as any to get a haircut. I began my quest to get my hairs trimmed at around 10:30am. There was a Fantastic Sams about 0.9 miles away, so I braved the 25 degree temps and briskly walked to Fantastic Sams where I found the door locked and a sign that read, "Closing today at 1:00." I checked my watch. It was 11:00. I checked my phone and saw there was a Master Cuts inside the mall. I briskly walked for another 1/2 mile. Once inside the mall, I found one hairstylist who said they were booked solid until after 2:00. It was 11:30. I returned to the hotel to regroup. I decided to make one last attempt - a Great Clips 1.1 miles away. The winds had now picked up and I felt like I was going to get blown over. Finally, I reached the Great Clips and found I was #5 in line. Popular day for haircuts in Idaho Falls. People have been very friendly here. An older gentleman even offered to let me go ahead of him if I needed to get back for work. I told him I was in no hurry.
I got back to the hotel to discover my schedule had changed. Due to strong winds (no surprise there), more than 250 flights in and out of Denver had been canceled. I would now be flying from Idaho Falls directly to Minot, North Dakota. I imagine this not a regularly scheduled route, though I imagine the two towns are very similar. Idaho Falls reminds me a lot of my old hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin. There's enough shopping and restaurants to keep you busy, but in the end you're still wind burnt, cold, shivering, and wondering why the hell anyone would ever choose to live here.
