Yes, I was gone.  And yes, I have returned.  Normally, on trips like this, I do my very best to either go a bit early or stay a bit late or carve out some time in the middle to go exploring.  Alas, this year, that didn't happen.  The current spate of snow storms meant flights were a mess, and I couldn't make it on time.  (As a side note, I was flying United, and they were less than impressive.  Once it became clear snow was going to mess up my travel, I asked if I could take the exact same [...]