Thursday, October 05, 2006

What I Did On My Autumn Vacation

Someone, namely the perspicuous Ergo, pointed out how obliquely I had touched on my trip. So here are the highlights:

Friday evening we flew into Phoenix, were met by our hosts, had dinner at an old ferry-crossing building that is now a steakhouse.

Saturday morning, we went shooting at a range. Our hosts are both shooting enthusiasts. Neither Marsha nor I had shot a gun in 10 years, but we did okay with coaching. Note to self - don't flinch just before the big noisy gun goes bang - it throws your aim off. In the evening we had the Objectivist club meeting.

Sunday noonish we went to the Arizona Biltmore resort, which Frank Lloyd Wright had a hand in designing. It's a big, gorgeous place. We walked the grounds after eating lunch there.

Sunday afternoon we drove to Sedona, AZ, which has big beautiful red rock formations all over the place. We drove around and got good looks at these pretty rocks.

Monday afternoon we drove up to the Grand Canyon's south rim. We ate dinner at a lodge on the rim, and looked at the canyon in the moonlight.

Tuesday morning we paid for a helicopter ride across the Canyon. We were lucky enough to get the front seats. Wow. Awesome, beautiful, forbidding. Our pilot learned flying in the military, and had flown helicopter gunships in Vietnam. He informed us that the canyon was partly formed by plate tectonic activity - earthquakes.

After the helicopter ride we drove into the park and stood by the rim in the daylight at various spots. There are a lot of spots without railing, and when I got near these my stomach would start fluttering with acrophobia. The first step is a doozy - and your last.

Then we headed for Vegas. Marsha thought it was 2 hours, but it was more like 5. We actually drove across the Hoover Dam on our route. This required being looked at by police officers before we were allowed to proceed. I see where they are building a bypass to get around the Dam bottleneck.

We arrived in Vegas as the sun went down. By a strange coincidence, our son was driving from Chicago to L.A., and was scheduled to make Vegas a few hours after us. So he stayed with us that night. It was here that my work started to seriously interfere with my vacation, cutting considerably into my time. So I saw exactly zero Vegas nightlife.

Wednesday we ate breakfast, said goodbye to our son, and drove down the strip before heading to the airport.

As you can see, this is not a case of "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." It's a case of nothing happening in Vegas.

I figure the staff must have pegged us
As people who hadn't the vaguest
Idea of enjoying Vegas.

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