Matt Hamilton GeoDiary

McCarran International

Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas McCarran is located right off the famous Las Vegas Strip. The airport's baggage claim has slot machines. LAS is a major focus city of Southwest Airlines.

Dallas/Ft. Worth International

Dallas, TX

DFW is the busiest airport in the state of Texas. It covers the 2nd most area of any airport in the United States, trailing only Denver International. It joins Miami International as hubs for American Airlines.

Sky Harbor International

Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix Sky Harbor joins both Philadelphia and Charlotte as major hubs for US Airways. Sky Harbor is the largest airport in Arizona. I flew to Phoenix in 2009 via Dallas-Fort Worth.

Denver International

Denver, CO

Denver International is the largest airport in the United States in terms of land coverage. It serves 53 million passengers a year, ranking 11th busiest in the world. I had a layover in Denver on the way to Los Angeles.

Los Angeles International

Los Angeles, CA

LAX is one of the most famous airports in the world. The airport is most often recognized for its code "LAX." Los Angeles International is the 6th busiest airport in the world and serves 62 million passengers annually.

Miami International

Miami, FL

Miami International is the primary airport of South Florida. It serves as the hub for American Airlines and is the 25th busiest airport in the world. I had a layover in Miami on my way to Cancun.

Cancun International

Cancun, Mexico

Cancun International was the top Caribbean airport in 2010. The airport serves around 13 million passengers a year. I was in Cancun in the summer of 2011.

Myrtle Beach International

Myrtle Beach, SC

Myrtle Beach International is located in northeastern South Carolina. It is a large tourism destination. Flying to Myrtle Beach is not very common because most vacationers are from close enough locations to drive.

Sangster International

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Sangster International is the largest airport in Jamaica. I came to Jamaica in the summer of 2009. It is located right off the beach and serves around 9 million passengers a year.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International

Atlanta, GA

Atlanta International is the busiest airport in the world, serving 89 million passengers per year. I landed in Atlanta as a layover on my way to Myrtle Beach. The airport is massive and can be intimidating if you have a short layover and are running for your gate.

Charlotte/Douglas International

Charlotte, NC

Charlotte's airport is the 24th busiest airport in the world. I flew into Charlotte as a connection onward to Jamaica. It serves as the main hub of US Airways.

Philadelphia International

Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia is now home to US Airways. I flew here on a layover multiple times. Every time I have been here, I have sat on the runway waiting for hours. I would recommend avoiding flying into Philadelphia at all costs.

Memphis International

Memphis, TN

Memphis International Airport is considered a "superhub" for FedEx. I flew into Memphis as a layover on my way to Minneapolis. Unfortunately, it was early in the morning, so I was unable to eat any famous Memphis barbecue.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International

Minneapolis, MN

MSP is my secondary airport. It used to be the home of Northwest Airlines which later merged with Delta. It is the largest airport in the Upper Midwest.

Midway Airport

Chicago, IL

Midway Airport is the smaller of the Chicago airports. It is the home of Southwest Airlines. The airport is built around a square mile, and the runways are very compacted, intersecting themselves perpendicularly.

O'Hare International

Chicago, IL

O'Hare International is one of the busiest airports in the world. It is also notorious for delays. I flew on the shortest commercial flight available between MKE and ORD. Luckily, I had no delay.

General Mitchell International

Milwaukee, WI

General Mitchell Aiport is the largest airport in Wisconsin. I have been to the Milwaukee airport many times, each of them as a connection between Minneapolis and Pittsburgh. Frontier Airlines has a hub at MKE Airport.

Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International

Hebron, KY

Cincinnati's main airport is actually located in Kentucky. It is located directly across the river from the city of Cincinnati. I flew into CVG on a flight back to Minneapolis after a Thanksgiving visit home.

Detroit International

Detroit, MI

Detroit Airport is located in Michigan. I flew here as a layover on a flight home for Thanksgiving. It is newly renovated and is full of healthy eating options and high-tech architecture.

Port Columbus International

Columbus, OH

Port Columbus International is a smaller airport in Columbus, OH. I was redirected to Columbus Airport when I was meant to land in Pittsburgh. A 90 minute flight evolved into a 16 hour day of travel.

Pittsburgh International

Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh International Airport is my primary airport. It was the former home of US Airways, before the airline moved off to Philadelphia. I have flown out of Pittsburgh countless times. It is a quiet airport.

Kennywood

West Mifflin, PA

Kennywood has been around since the late 1800s. I have been going to Kennywood almost every year of my life. Pictured is my favorite ride, the Phantom's Revenge.

Cedar Point

Sandusky, OH

Cedar Point is the roller coaster capital of the world. I have made the 3 hour drive to Sandusky, OH numerous times to ride the 17 coasters. This is easily my favorite amusement park. Pictured is my favorite ride, the Millennium Force.

Deep Creek Lake

Garrett County, MD

Deep Creek Lake is a man-made lake in Eastern Maryland. It is home to many cabins which people come to for weekend getaways. The lake is located halfway in between Pittsburgh and the Baltimore/DC metro.

Disney World

Lake Buena Vista, FL

Disney World opened on October 1, 1971 and is the most visited entertainment resort in the world. It employs 66,000 people. The resort consists of many theme parks and in total is around double the size of Manhattan.

Universal Studios

Orlando, FL

Universal Studios Islands of Adventure is an amusement park in Orlando. It features a diverse selection of rides. My favorite is featured in this picture. It is the Dueling Dragons.

Busch Gardens

Williamsburg, VA

Busch Gardens is located in colonial Williamsburg. I stopped here on the way home from Virginia Beach. The amusement park has a good selection of roller coasters. Pictured is the Loch Ness Monster.

New River Gorge Bridge

Fayetteville, WV

The New River Gorge Bridge once reigned as the longest steel single-span arch bridge in the world. It is also 876 feet above the river, making it the 5th highest vehicular bridge in the world.

Dunn's River Falls

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Dunn's River Falls is a natural waterfall in Jamaica. It is 600 feet high and is formed of rocks in "steps." People of all ages climb the falls, as it is one of Jamaica's most popular tourist attractions.

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Washington, DC

The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History is a large collection of specimens, totaling 126 million. The museum is located on the National Mall and admission is free.

Barefoot Landing

North Myrtle Beach, SC

Barefoot Landing is a large shopping complex riddled with restaurants such as Damon's, Johnny Rockets, and House of Blues. It is a huge attraction to those who visit Myrtle Beach.

Carnegie Science Center

Pittsburgh, PA

The Carnegie Science Center is the most visited museum in Pittsburgh. It contains all things innovative in the field of science. It is a recommended site to visit if coming to Pittsburgh.

Target Center

Downtown Minneapolis

Target Center is the home of the NBA franchise, the Minnesota Timberwolves. I went to the Target Center on a college night, where the Timberwolves were beaten by the Indiana Pacers.

PNC Park

Pittsburgh, PA

PNC Park is the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I have been to this ballpark on many occasions. The Pirates may be historically bad, but most of the games that I've been to, they have won.

Heinz Field

Pittsburgh, PA

Heinz Field is the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is a formidable and relentless atmosphere for opposing teams and fans. I came to a playoff game against the San Diego Chargers. One month later the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII.

Williams Arena

Minneapolis, MN

"The Barn" is the home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team. I am a season ticket holder.

Mellon Arena

Pittsburgh, PA

Mellon Arena was the former home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. They now play at the Consol Energy Center. Mellon Arena was recently demolished. I was there for one hockey game, when the Penguins faced the Atlanta Thrashers, who recently moved to Winnipeg.

TCF Bank Stadium

Minneapolis, MN

TCF Bank Stadium is the home of Golden Gopher football and opened in September of 2009. The first game was played against Air Force, a game won by Minnesota. I am a season ticket holder. Pictured is an aerial view from that first game.

Petersen Events Center

Pittsburgh, PA

The Petersen Events Center is the home of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers basketball team. I went to a game at the Pete several years ago when they played Bucknell.

Target Field

Downtown Minneapolis

Target Field is the new home of Twins baseball. It opened for the 2010 season and is one of the most beautiful ball parks around. I have been to a couple Twins games. One of those times, I sat behind home plate.