Southwest
California or Bust With the Exchange Students
Traveling with people of differing interests and abilities has been a recurring theme in my trips. The preamble to this year’s around-the-world trip involved all of the Pafford family members who have not yet flown the nest escorting our two exchange students to San Francisco for their flights home to Taipei and Madrid. En route, we planned to show them some highlights of the American Southwest. We had a relatively fit travel party for this endeavor, with Stephanie being probably the weakest link. We did not have any seriously challenging physical activities planned, so fitness seemed unlikely to cause problems.
Divergent interests were likely to present the greatest challenge. The Pafford children have grown up visiting National Parks, historic sites, museums, and other points of interest. They have also lived through at least some efforts at economical travel. Paula from Spain is such a sweet and amicable traveler, I was confident she would be game for anything we planned. Stacy from Taiwan has no interest in the natural world, does not really care for “old things,” and is an only child used to having her way. She has a special affinity for cities, glitz, and shopping. Stephanie is easily irked by the selfish, impatient behavior Stacy sometimes displays, adding a layer of complexity. Our recent Spring Break trip to San Antonio and Port Aransas was laced with enough awkward moments to give me some trepidation about whether I could stitch together an enjoyable experience for all, that would also leave our exchange students with pleasant memories of the American Southwest on the way to San Francisco.
Stacy left from San Francisco on Sunday, June 1st in order to attend a friend’s graduation on the 3rd in Taipei, leaving us with just over a week to see what we could en route to California. Paula planned her return flight to Spain to correspond with my June 5th flight to Taipei. Accordingly, we set out at 8:00 a.m., Friday, May 23rd and drove to Albuquerque where I had a Global Entry interview. We ate lunch at an old favorite from my military time in Albuquerque, El Sabor de Juarez. We continued to Flagstaff, where I had booked a suite using Wyndham points. We went for a walk in the evening. I found a public tennis court where we played until I couldn’t see the ball.
We spent Saturday making the standard tourist track along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, from the Desert View Tower to Mather Point and the visitor center where we caught the shuttle to Hermit’s Rest. We spent a total of about six hours making periodic stops at some, but by no means all of the lookout points along the South Rim road. Kimberly and Caleb wanted to hike little bits here and there, but were good sports about not pressuring others to undertake excursions they weren’t comfortable with. Paula expressed all of the awe and amazement you might expect from a person witnessing the expanse and grandeur of the Grand Canyon for the first time. I was mildly and pleasantly surprised at her ability to appreciate the natural world and the desert landscapes.
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Stacy cheerfully posed for selfies and patiently waited through the line to climb the recently reopened Desert View Tower. She seemed genuinely happy to take part in the family experience, if not fully appreciative of the natural wonder before her. The cheerfulness wore off pretty quickly, however. By the second stop, she appeared agitated and began to drift off by herself and descend into her private world of K-pop and Chinese TikTok videos. When we were ready to head back to the pickup after the third viewpoint we stopped at, I asked her if she was ready to head to the next stop. There was a moment of silence, followed by a clipped, curt answer that was verbally in the affirmative, while in tone expressing a directly opposite emotion, followed by some very demonstratively angry histrionic hand and arm motions. It was so bizarrely and blatantly contradictory that I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter.
I felt bad about laughing, and did not want Stacy to assume I was reveling in her misery, but rather just amused her reaction. Recognizing that she had, other than that brief incident, swallowed her impatience and readiness to move on to more man-made attractions, I decided to offer her a carrot rather than a stick. I sincerely thanked her for giving the Grand Canyon a try, and for her (for the most part) patience with others enjoying something I knew wasn’t her cup of tea. I explained that we did have several more stops that would take most of the day, and that others did want to see and experience this amazing place. I reminded her that the next major stop was Las Vegas. She didn’t know completely what to expect from Las Vegas, but she knew it was a city, and was excited about that.
Stacy did not really exhibit any further interest in the amazing vistas of the Grand Canyon, but she did not offer any further objections or throw any more tantrums about being in a place “with too much nature.” She mostly sat in the shade listening to her music at the stops. I even saw her snap a few more selfies here and there. Stephanie was clearly agitated with her inability to appreciate the grandeur of this amazing place. I was pleased and a little proud. For an only child whose interests are pretty city-centric, she didn’t do so bad. She participated like a member of the family at the first stop, and did not disrupt others’ enjoyment subsequently. I felt it represented significant growth.
After the nature lovers had had their fill of the soft, pastel colors of the Arizona desert, I drove us to the Taj Mahal in Williams, Arizona for a tasty Indian supper. I knew it would be good, since everyone else eating was Indian. Sunday was uneventful. After another Wyndham points night in Kingman, we went to worship, then took a winding stretch of old Route 66 to the village of Oatman, Arizona. Oatman is mainly comprised of shops peddling tourist kitsch. The streets are packed with motorcyclists and other tourists making their way by the mock gunfights and random burros that make up most of the town’s permanent population. We had some fun, and the girls bought a few souvenirs before we rolled into Las Vegas.
We booked a room at the Stratosphere, and picked up some ToGoodToGo treats. It had been a fairly long day, though. We called it a night pretty early and saved most of our Las Vegas activity for the following day. We walked the strip, and went into one of the bigger casinos so Stacy could watch some table games for a few minutes. It was hard for her to see from the walkways, and we couldn’t find any balconies from which the gambling could be observed. I ended up giving her a piggy-back boost so she could get a better view of the action.
After a quick bite, we returned to the Strat to enjoy their facilities for the afternoon. Some of the kids swam. Stacy, Paula, Caleb, and I took the elevator to the Strat observation deck. There are a couple of thrill rides atop the tower. The roller coaster was closed when we visited, so Stacy and Caleb settled for a ride on the “Big Shot,” a drop ride that operated on the pinnacle of our tower. We enjoyed the views for another hour or so. We watched a jumper walk a small plank and descend via the 1081’ decelerator cable. None of us were brave enough or had deep enough pockets to attempt this. Paula was not even inclined to try the Big Shot.
We split company for our supper that evening. I knew Stephanie would really enjoy a Brazilian steakhouse, and Las Vegas has a Galpao Gaucho. I also knew Stacy and Caleb probably would not get enough enjoyment out of it to merit the hefty price tag. I offered everyone the invitation to join us, but also gave them the option of grabbing a less expensive meal in the same shopping complex. Paula and Kimberly joined Stephanie and I for a superb meal of delicious meats, an incredible salad bar, and some of the most delicious slices of pineapple any of us had ever tasted.
The nightcap was a Stacy special. I correctly guessed that she would enjoy the outdoor entertainment atmosphere at Fremont Street, the old Las Vegas strip. Fremont street offers a laser light show ever hour, set to a popular music act. Between the shows, there are three cover bands blaring mostly 80’s and 90’s rock anthems. There were a few newer songs, and some country music. It was entertainment aimed at an older audience, but she still loved being outside and dancing in the street. There was even a Stephanie Macarena sighting. After a couple of hours of dancing the Macarena and Mambo No. 5, however, Stephanie was out of gas. Stacy was just getting started. Most of the rest of the crew was ready to turn in for the night. So I agreed to stay at the crazy Las Vegas street dance for another couple of hours, then Uber back with Stacy. It was a fun night. The cover bands were surprisingly good. Zip liners zoomed overhead. I had a margarita. I even danced, if you can believe that.
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We let the girls sleep in Tuesday morning, and we took them to an outlet mall at their request. We got a pretty late start for the San Joaquin Valley. We stopped at fruit stands along the way. We eventually arrived in Firebaugh at about 7:00. It had been a fun, if abbreviated trip. I had some farm business to take care of for a few days, and the girls mostly rested around the house. They went to shop in Fresno the day I had to do business errands there. We enjoyed the pleasant weather. The day we went to eat supper with my sister and her husband in Los Banos, I played Stacy a couple of sets of tennis. The weather drained most of her fight, and I beat her 6-4, 6-1. She really is better than me when she is at her best. We made a trip to Beer Can Beach, the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, and the wharf on Saturday.
I missed worship Sunday morning to take Stacy to SFO for her flight back to Taiwan. She had begged us to delay our trip to Yosemite until after she left. We concurred with that plan. We took Paula to see the huge trees, the unbelievable views from Glacier Point, the cascading waterfalls, and the cool mountain air of Yosemite Valley. It truly was unbelievable, even to me though I have seen it several times. Paula regularly remarked that the scenes seemed unreal – as if they were from some sort of imaginative movie set.
I made my final farming arrangements on Tuesday while the girls rested and gathered their things for Paula’s return to Spain. The trip to San Francisco for Paula’s return flight gave us an opportunity for one last hurrah. We walked the piers and went to a San Francisco Giants game that featured an amazing 6-5 comeback victory. Halfway through the game, the Giants trailed the San Diego Padres 5-0. The Giants had not scored more than four runs in nearly three weeks, so the situation looked particularly grim. Junk Hoo Lee hit a double, scored, and drove in a run. He also had a great play in the outfield. Matt Champan hit a home run. Patrick Bailey had a big double. Daniel Johnson made a game saving catch in right field, and the Giants walked away with a big win.
We didn’t spend as much time as we ought to have in the snazzy Hyatt Regency SFO. The girls may have enjoyed it in the morning, but I had to catch a 4:00 a.m. shuttle to the airport for a 6:10 flight from SFO to Seattle en route to Taipei. Stephanie said the breakfast was nice, if a bit spendy.
In order to get my flight on a few points plus $5.60, I accepted a 7:45 layover in SeaTac on the way to Taiwan. That layover grew when my second departure was delayed. I did get to try out an airport lounge for the first time. The AmEx Centurion lounge was nice, but a little crowded. One of the hostesses suggested I spend some of my time at the Delta lounge as well, since it was apparent my stay at SeaTac would be all day. There was a self service buffet in the Centurion, and the food quality was pretty good. Access to the food alone accounts for a significant savings over buying food in the airport concourse.
