Probably.
Last week, my little family (my beautiful wife, my adorable daughter, and me, the cute one) went on vacation to Colorado Springs (actually, Manitou Springs, which is right next to Co Springs, though no one ever seems to know where it’s at.)
It was my wife’s family reunion. 20-odd people basking in the wonder and the spectacle that is your pal Sid. My Parent-in-laws thought it would be fun for some of us to take the cog railroad to the top of Pike’s Peak.
Our seats were near the door of the train. Outside the enormous windows, I saw a man about ten feet away from me with a camera pointing directly at me. My wife’s cousin was sitting across from me, and I told her that someone was filming us. As she turned to look, a woman charged on to the train, with the camera following her. As it turned out, it was Samantha Brown. (I didn’t know who it was either, but she’s a big shot at the Travel Channel)
The cameraman saw my wife’s cousin turn to look, and made Samantha come out and do it again. This time, knowing the camera was on me, I tried to look nonchalant (looking at my watch, scratching my pits, etc.).
After they boarded the train, and when we were under way, the conductor told us that it was the Travel Channel.
While that was my big moment, my daughter was filmed at the top of the peak.
Katherine Lee Bates apparently wrote the lyrics to America the Beautiful while atop Pike’s Peak. While my wife and I were shopping for souvenirs at the gift shop at the top (I got a cool mug that has “Race to the Clouds” on it), Ms. Brown asked a large group of people to sing the first few lines of America the Beautiful. My father-in-law, seeking his chance at immortality, stood in the front of the group, and, while holding my little girl, loudly sang. According to him, the camera lingered on my daughter several times.
So, if you watch the Travel Channel between November and December, and if Great Hotels is on, and if you see a goateed guy sitting in the train as Samantha Brown walks on, that’s me. (I’ve since shaved the goatee. It looked like I was growing an eyebrow on my chin.)
And if you see a gorgeous little blue-eyed girl with frizzy hair, that’s my daughter.
I usually don’t watch the Travel Channel. It makes me horribly jealous, and breaks my heart to know that I will likely never see most of the exciting locales they document. My parents are huge fans, though, and told me all about Ms. Brown.
The funniest thing happened when we were at the bottom again. After three hours without a cigarette (no smoking on top), I ran to the parking lot and began puffing away. Samantha was in the parking lot, screaming into a cell phone. Mind you, we were still in the mountains at the time, and apparently cell phone reception was poor. But she kept screaming “Can you hear me now?”
That cracked me up.