The other day, I walked into the 5280 lobby and was greeted by a group of redcoats (see above). They hailed from Williamsburg, Virginia—aka, Colonial Williamsburg, where it isn’t uncommon to walk down the main street today and see a settler churning butter or a soldier in a tri-pointed hat lighting a canon on a battlefield. In Denver, the red-coated entourage caused a bit of a sensation as staffers walked by our glass-fronted conference room; we don’t demand a colonial dress code at our editorial meetings. All of which begs the question: What the heck was this cast of 18th-century characters doing in Denver?

The invasion is my fault (in part). I’m an alumnus of the College of William and Mary, which sits adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg. I spent my junior and senior years living about three blocks from the historical festivities; I learned to love the sound of fife and drum bands and saw more horse-and-carriages than vehicles on my daily jogs. (I sometimes smile at the storied history of Denver—dating all the way back to 1858. The campus building I walked through to graduate was built circa 1695.)

As it turns out, Frontier Airlines is resuming its direct flight service between Denver and Williamsburg beginning on March 1. The redcoats had figured out I had ties to both locations and wanted to tell me more about linking the Mile High City and one of our country’s most historically significant destinations. Having spent almost as long living where the very roots of our country were planted as in the wild new frontiers of the West, I can say that I’ll be hopping on that nonstop flight sooner rather than later. After all, you can never go wrong getting back to your roots.