Oaxaca 7/25.

 Jan and Melodie met at my house this morning and Roddy drove us to the airport. We are at the Tampa airport, with a 2 hour wait for our flight to DFW, where we will meet up with the rest of our group. Phoebe

Phoebe is sending us on our way.

Day 14-15. Home to Tampa

Roddy and I stayed at Ginger's in Marietta on Wednesday, and then made the long drive back to Tampa on Thursday. Got caught up on some podcasts along the way, plus an audiobook.

Day 13, Tuesday - Home

Tuesday morning we all ate a full breakfast at the Treasure Island Coffee House, so we could survive until a late dinner in Atlanta. We packed, tried to finish up the odds and ends of food we still had with us, and got ready to catch the limo to the airport.  

Roddy and I splurged and spent $1.00 on one of the casino machines. The challenge was to figure out what we were supposed to do once we slid the dollar bill into the slot. Since we didn't win anything, we never found out what would happen if we did.

One of many rooms in the Treasure Island Casino.

Limo ride to the airport. Ginger claimed the longest ride - she was first in and last out.

At the airport Myra couldn't find her driver's license. The security guard at the TSA-PreChek line said that since she had Medicare, credit, and a variety of other ID, she could go through the regular security line. He very graciously escorted her to the other line and helped her load everything into the trays. He said that he often as many as 20 people who don't have their ID during his shift. (I went with her, but since I had already gone through pre-Chek, I didn't have to take off my shoes.) Another guard searched Myra's carry-ons, and joked that perhaps she would find the missing drivers's license at the bottom of the backpack. Everyone was very friendly and helpful, in contrast to the gruffness we encountered we we departed from Atlanta a few days earlier. Fortunately when we got back to Ginger's Myra found her driver's license packed in her checked bag.

Our flight to Atlanta was uneventful. When we landed, the pilot said "We're here. We made it" and then went on with the usual "Welcome to Atlanta. Thank you for flying....."  Ben picked us up on one car, and Amy in another (Randy got stuck in traffic). We all went to the Marietta Diner for a light supper, got back to Ginger's about 11:00, and went to bed shortly after.

Day 12, Monday evening - Las Vegas

Jorge's best friend from many years ago in Mexico, Numa, now drives a limousine in Las Vegas. They hadn't seen each other for 20 years, although they keep up regularly by telephone. Early in the evening Numa picked us all up at the hotel and took us back to his house for a visit and to meet his family. 

After some delicious snacks while many of Numa's family dropped by to say hola, Numa drove Ginger and Nick, Myra, Roddy and me to downtown Vegas for the Fremont Experience street entertainment. Paula and Jorge stayed at Numa's for the evening to visit, play guitars and sing, and spend more time together.

We decided to split up for the rest of the evening. Ginger and Nick went off to eat, so Roddy, Myra and I wandered around taking in the sites - street entertainers, zipliners, and a light show.  

        

Myra, Roddy and I tackled public transportation to take the Strip & Downtown Express (SDX) back to the hotel.

Roddy and I introduced Myra to the joys of riding the bus back to the hotel. I'm not sure she was impressed.

We weren't quite ready to retire, but our feet were tired and we wanted to sit for a while. We stopped for sangria and a margarita at the hotel - perfect weather to sit outside and people watch.

Day 12, Monday - Las Vegas

We were on our own Monday morning. Roddy and I wandered down the Strip and for breakfast, and found Bouchon Bakery, where we could eat outside.  We then continued walking, looking at the extravagant displays along the way. The whole group met back at the hotel in the afternoon to make plans for the rest of the day.

   

  

     

  

   

Mystère by Cirque du Soleil holds a half-hour open practice sessions in the afternoon, so we all decided to watch. Today was a trapeze practice while the performers tried out new lighting with fog on the floor. We were allowed to take photos so long as we didn't use a flash. An announcer explained a little about what we were seeing, mainly pointing out the net and side platforms. There were a few missed catches and the performers ended up bouncing on the net. There was extra foam pad on the net which is not used during the regular shows.

Mid-air  

Oops, a miss. The triangular white piece in the center is where the foam bounced up when the acrobat fell.

This young lady, who is a stage manager for the show, narrated, and kept reminding those coming in to not use flash.

We returned to the hotel, and met around 5:30 in the lobby for to be picked up by Jorge's friend Numa.

Day 11, Sunday - Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, Mystere

After a full breakfast to use up as much food as we could, we finished packing, cleaning up with house, and loading the van. We were on the road by 9:00. We left our second house and drove off toward Las Vegas. Nick did all the driving - he's getting to be quite an expert maneuvering the large van.

The big-horn sheep were badly affected when the road was built and cut off their migration paths. After studying the most common routes, engineers built walkways for the sheep so they could cross the roads safely.

 We stopped at Hoover Dam and took a tour of the power plant.

 

     

We arrived in Las Vegas around 4 PM, got checked into the Treasure Island Hotel, then went off to see what deals we could find for an evening show. We got half-price tickets for Cirque du Soleil's Mystère, performed at our hotel. Dinner consisted of going through the food we had brought with us - particularly some chips, fruit, and beer.

Mystère was great, but unfortunately no photos.

Day 10, Saturday - Walnut Canyon, Sedona, Lowell Observatory

After the usual wonderful breakfast which Nick fixed, we piled into the van. First stop was near Flagstaff, at Walnut Canyon National Monument. This was a native american settlement, 1100-1250 CE. The inhabitants built their homes under overhanging ledges. We took the Island T trail, along which most of the homes were situated. 240 steps down into the canyon.

We then continued down to Sedona. This artsy town was crowded with tourists. The town has regulations that buildings need to blend with the natural surroundings. I read that even the McDonald's arches were green rather than golden, although we did not see it.

 We continued to the outskirts, and stopped at the Bell Rock Trail.  It was hot with very little shade, so we only walked a short distance to see Courthouse Bluff and Bell Rock. Time to turn around and get back into air conditioning.

We stopped for a short visit to one of the craft shops in Sedona, got something to eat, and headed back to Flagstaff.  We wanted to visit Lowell Observatory that evening, so we had a couple hours to spend in Flagstaff.  We spent some time wandering around one of the arcades, and at a couple of the shops.

 

Ginger and Nick discovered a store called Sacred Rites, so we all spent time there. The proprietor had a couple different vibrating chairs that were very difficult to get out of.

 

We went to the Lowell Observatory when it got dark (yea Groupon tickets). An astronomer had some portable telescopes set up, and he talked a bit about what was visible. The moon was so bright that it washed out most of the rest of the sky.   One of the large telescopes had been set up, but the line was too long to visit it. Sorry, no pictures.