From the sturdy flashiness of Zion, with its towering monolithic rocks, which you couldn’t imagine seeing everyday or your head would explode from the impressive beauty, to the noisy, bright flashiness of Vegas, with its constant ‘look at this’ lighting and noise. Getting to the hotel room was not straightforward. You are not allowed to park while you check in. You must get the luggage guys to gather your bags, then you park in the garage or have valet do it for double the price, then check in, the tell the luggage guys to bring your stuff up to your room. Meanwhile the slot machines are also yelling for your attention. You get up to the 17th floor to some deodorizing fragrance that makes you gag. When you get to your room you delight in the view of The Sphere!

You try to find a place for dinner but everything seems to cost $100 per person or more, but find the sports bar, which is closing in ten minutes. They let you in if you order within 5 minutes, and we do, and order drinks, and start to think about how many tv’s there are in this building, hearing there must be a couple hundred in this bar alone. Then one in each hotel room, for 35 stories, and multiply that by how many hotels there are, and add a few more sports bars and houses. Makes you want to invest in Samsung or Sony, or something.

The next morning was lovely. I woke, looked at my phone, went back to sleep, woke, looked at my phone, repeat, until I finally took a shower at 11:30. Went down to Starbucks for some coffee and breakfast, and went back up to do some business. Me and mom keeping up with bills. We decided to go to Paris, and the best way to get there seemed to be the monorail. Navigated that, with the help of some friendly monorail workers, and then got off at the Horseshoe and walked to Paris. It was about a half mile. Mom is not used to that distance but powered through. Stopped at cvs for some necessities and found the Eiffel Tower.

Had a drink at a bistro, then got a taxi back to the hotel. Realized I left my phone in the cab, and immediately called it, where the cabbie picked up on my second call, and promised to bring it back. I was in this same position in NYC a few months ago, and that cabbie complained about having a fare that was going to Harlem, and I’d have to wait, and you know it will cost him some money in fares he will miss. I compensated him. This cabbie was more down to earth and said he would bring it right back. In both cases I was pretty sure they would come back, and only doubted after enough time had passed that I could doubt. But in both cases I pushed the doubt down as being too negative, and in both cases the cabbies came through! My phone is in a case that has credit cards and stuff, and in both cases nothing was missing. Sometimes I love people.

We had a little break in the hotel, and while mom did something else, I took pictures of the sphere.

Then we went to see Tom and Annie! I knew them in East Hampton. They live just south of the city. We couldn’t find the numbers on the houses, so we knocked on the wrong door. No one answered, thankfully, and I called Annie, who let me know we were two doors down. So funny.

Seeing them was like rolling back time. Even their house had the same vibe, though the construction was very different. They look younger! Tom gave me a tour while mom and Annie chatted. We had a zoom call with some East Hampton friends, and a delicious dinner, in their beautiful house. When ever I try to civilize myself, they are a couple who I try to emulate. Annie has discovered Tai Chi, and is trying to create good energy to send out into the world. I wish the world was filled with her energy. It would be so sunny, and generous. And Tom is quieter, and inventive, and generous with his type of energy and appreciation.

On our way out of town, we stopped at the Bellagio, in the hopes of seeing the fountains spurt. They didnt, and I noticed all of the barriers next to the road put in for the F1 race. Kinda glad we’re leaving before that madness. They shut down some main roads, so it would be a pain to get around, not to mention the noise. We left Vegas to go to Phoenix, to meet Janet. We stopped at the Hoover Dam on the way. The visitors’ center was being renovated, and part of the tour was closed, so we didn’t bother with the bit that was left, a 30 minute tour somewhere. We still wanted to get to Phoenix before dark. And we had to deal with a time zone change for a loss, so we kept moving. We did park here and there and take pictures, but no tours.

We gassed up, ready for the minimally inhabited stretch of Arizona to Phoenix. Kingman was there, but not much else besides sage brush, small trees, mountains, rocks, and sand. And cows.

Made it to Phoenix! Janet hosted us to a delicious skewered chicken dinner. And we caught up, and talked about the world and ourselves and drank and watched the old guy lose the heavyweight match, but not by much. I was rooting for him.

So good to see Janet! She looks the same, too. I appreciate her ability to make art in spite of moving twice in the last 2.5 years, and not having a studio to speak of. What she could achieve without interruptions and enough money would be amazing! See what she’s done with the interruptions of having to work, and to move, and to deal with health issues.

Today she took us to brunch with a beautiful view of the mountains near Scottsdale, and then to Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s western studio.

I do love to see massive stone fireplaces.

By the end of this tour, we were pooped and ready for a nap. We will meet again later for dinner.