We are in Aspen for a meeting of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Getting here wasn't easy. We got up at 3:30 AM in Gig Harbor to make our flight to Denver and then to catch the commuter to Aspen on United. The flight was uneventful, except for the grown man behind me on his cell phone who has never learned the definition of "go" as opposed to "said" and sounded like a teenage school drop out. The Aspen connection goes over the mountains and can involve rough air. This was no exception. It reminded me of the old joke about the very rough landing and the woman who said to the pilot, while exiting the plane "was that a landing or were we shot down?" Weather here is in the 80's and pleasant.

We are at The Little Nell, a wonderful five star hotel. Our room looks out at the gondolas that take you to the top of Aspen Mountain. We are already at about 8000 ft and the meter says the temperature there is 40 degrees. The weather at this elevation changes quickly and yesterday there was a sudden thunder and lightening storm with rain. This happened just as groups of well dressed people were getting on the gondola to go to the restaurant at the top for a wedding party. In fact, there were two weddings as the this hotel Saturday.

We have walked through town, shopped some and had a great dinner last night. The foliage is turning color and while it is overcast today it is a beautiful place. I'm not used to the altitude yet, but it is a nice place to visit.