CHAPTER 1
ON MY WAY
I woke up at 3:45 to the alarm, slicing through my dream of what was going to happen this weekend. It was a very nice dream. I would see the concert, meet the man, go to the zoo, have a meal and have a good time. And I would return home, having great memories. Ignorance is bliss.
The goal was to be out of the house by 4:00am which I did. I had prepared the night before. After all, it was going to be a weekend to remember. I had packed everything I could think of that I would need. I had comfortable shoes for the zoo. I had my camera to record the experience. I had a negligee for the rendezvous. Everything was ready to go so I was off to adventure the wonderful place called Tucson.
It was Saturday morning in December. When I looked up, the stars were twinkling, like they knew that this was the moment in my life I was waiting for. It was very quiet out as the sound of the garage door opening rippled through the neighborhood. I hoped no one would wake from the intrusion. It was so early. No cars were zipping down the road to take their owners to work. No one was walking their dogs so they wouldn't crap in the house. In fact, no one was in sight.
I made it to the airport in 20 minutes. This was a good sign. "Everything is going to go smoothly", I thought to myself. And then, of course, I missed the entrance to the terminal I needed (which I did last time I went to the airport) so I had to drive around the airport loop again. There's an extra 3-4 minutes that I hadn't expected to use. I finally found the parking lot and I made sure I put my parking ticket somewhere safe in my purse.
While I walked the path to the terminal, making sure to pay attention to where I was parked, I noticed that no one was around. My footsteps echoed as I strolled happily with my roll along luggage following me. The path I chose twisted and turned through the parking garage and I was hoping I would remember where I parked when I got back home.
I finally arrived at the terminal and the place was alive with activity. Bright lights, people moving about, cars stopping to unload strange people for flights to places unknown (to me). I no longer felt isolated in my thoughts.
I went to the airline desk area. They had machines (modern technology is great) to check in without waiting in line since all I had was carry-on luggage. I purposely made sure that I had luggage that I could carry on. Who wants to pay extra? Since it was just a weekend trip, I knew that my two bags would suffice. I used the self-serve machine and it was quick and easy. Boarding pass in hand, I went to the gate. Security was a breeze since it was so early. I didn't even have to take off my shoes (which I appreciated since I wasn't thrilled about walking around on a dirty floor with my clean socks).
The plane took off on scheduled and it was still dark outside. I was able to see the sunrise as it peeked through the early morning clouds by the Sierra-Nevada Mountains. It was beautiful. I should have taken a photo.
We flew down the valley passed by Mount Diablo, crossed over Highway 680, skimmed over San Jose and up the Peninsula. You can see all the man-made land from the air near SFO. The pilot landed the plane beautifully (it was a woman, I found out when I was debarking the plane).
I had a 2-hour layover from Sacramento in San Francisco Airport. For some reason, there were no direct flights to Tucson. I guess not a lot people want to go there from Sacramento.
I had arranged to meet my best friend Jasmine for breakfast since she lived in the Bay Area. I disembarked the plane and walked towards the front of the airport so I could meet her. There was art work on the way from the gate in glass cases. The usual stuff but there was this weird yarn thing (a messy ball of yarn in an odd shape, trying to pass for art) that I just had to get a picture of.
It took a while to find Jasmine (the airport was just so big) but we met up and I had half a muffin. Little did I know that it would be the start of me not eating very much food. We took a couple of selfies and I was off to security again to go to Tucson.
I was very excited about the weekend. The concert was that night. I had a great hotel room and I had a date the next day. Sigh.
It was a small plane. Smaller than the one from SMF to SFO. When we took off we made a U-turn from the airport to head south. I saw Santa Cruz, Monterey and I think Santa Maria before we headed inland. From there it was hard for me to tell where I was. There was a little turbulence on the descent. I hate turbulence. I felt like Jack from Lost, holding on to the armrest, like that would save me if the plane crashed. The Tucson Airport was small. Extremely small. We disembarked right on to the tarmac. I found the Car Rental Desk and got myself a 2017 Toyota Corolla with 316 miles on it. I was off to discover Tucson.
I figure since I had so much time to kill (I couldn't check into the hotel until 4pm), I stopped at the "Big Mart Store" to go to the bathroom. It looked like every other "Big Mart Store" but something was different about it. I think it was the lighting.
I needed to use the restroom. I hate using public restrooms. They are so dirty and full of germs. As it ended up, the one up front was closed for some reason so I had to walk to the back of the store to use the one there. Once I was done, I bought an 8-pack of water, a box of donuts, some chips and a puzzle book. I needed something for the hotel room to snack on and drink.
I drove around and it is such a desert (duh). It is so dry. If mankind hadn't built anything, there would be nothing but tumbleweeds and sand. I figure that I would drive down to the casino (where the concert was) to make sure I knew where it was before it was dark. It was quite a long way down the freeway. I found it and it looked like a casino (imagine that). There was this weird loop overpass thing that I had to drive over so I knew on the way to the concert I would use that as my marker. It was time for me to go back towards the hotel.
I went through a lot of small towns right next to each other. It was like Sacramento, where one town just runs right into the next with no break in the urban sprawl.
I stopped at one town since they had a Hell Taco and ate lunch. It was more expensive than the one at home. It was kind of awkward because after I went through the drive-thru, I parked in the adjacent parking lot and a guy pulled right in front of me (I mean, couldn't he park one space over?) and he was eating in his car (small SUV really). I bought a shredded chicken burrito but ate about half. I got a Cola, my favorite red, white and blue can soda.
I still had two hours to kill before I could check into the hotel. So, I was back on the highway going towards the hotel. I passed it by (nice hotel) and kept driving on the highway. It was more like a business route. It was ritzy in some areas with very large homes on both sides of the highway.
One thing I noticed about the area is the mountains come out of nowhere. Here we have foothills but there it's flatland and then mountains. They come straight up out of nowhere.
I drove around some more. I found another "Big Mart Store" (good thing they are plentiful) and went to the bathroom again. And as a side note, I do go to "Big Mart Store" for bathrooms because, honestly, they are clean. But by then, I was really bored so I called the hotel and asked them if they could get my room ready early. They said yes and they will call when it's available.
I was back near the airport again. Tucson is set up weird. Since it's in a diagonal valley, the streets zig-zag. So, I started zig-zagging back to the hotel area. I took some photos in an empty lot where all you could see is sand, tumbleweeds and small, dry plants. I was trying to get a photo of the natural environment.
The hotel finally called to let me know that the room was ready. I made a left at the wrong signal so I had to drive until I found a spot to make a U-turn. "I must remember that this is the wrong left," I thought for next time I drive back from that direction. I finally made it to the hotel.
Wow, I sure do know how to pick hotels. Since I started vacationing about 3 years ago, I only stay at higher end hotels. The thought of sleeping in a tacky motel did not appeal to me. Germs and bed bugs. Yuk.
It was the "H" Brand Hotel. It had beautiful fountains out front. They shot straight up into the air and landed in a man-made flat, rocky area with small river rocks. Since it was nearing Christmas, each fountain had either a red or green light illuminating them. The was a huge Wreath hanging over the entrance. Even though there was no snow (a small amount on the very tall mountains far away), it had a festive feel to it.
I stopped and talked to the valets to see where I should park. They pointed out the overnight lot (only $11.00 a night) and I parked the car. It was on the other side of the hotel so I unloaded my luggage from my car and went to the front desk to check in.
It was what I expected inside. When you enter the hotel, the registration desk was on the left. Straight ahead was a very large Christmas tree with wrapped presents under it and beyond that was glass doors that lead to a patio area. I could see that they had fire pits, tables and chairs that overlooked the golf course. Two restaurants, one on each side, were on your way out to the patio. The left side was more of a bar. If you made a left at the Christmas tree, the hallway lead to the elevators I needed.
I was on the third floor but the building was 5 floors. The two elevators on the right side only went up three floors but the one on the left side went up to the top. I took the elevator on the right side and I found my way to my room.
It was a very nice room. It had a separate sitting area that was two steps down (that I almost killed myself on once because I forgot about it).
The bathroom was great, with a separate tub and shower. Everything was brass and gold. Lots of towels, too.
I opened the blinds and looked around. It was a very pleasant view of the golf course (yes, I paid the big bucks to overlook it). I planned to walk the hotel grounds and golf course early Sunday morning and take photos, before I had to get ready to meet Andre.
CHAPTER 2
THE CONCERT
I TOOK A short nap because I was going to go to the concert and I usually go to bed early. I left around 6pm. The concert didn't start until 8pm. I am always early. There was a huge banner on the casino with Roger Hodgson on it. I parked the car among all the other cars and walked to the casino.
Man, casinos. I really do dislike them. They are noisy, smelly and artificial. I found the will call area and picked up my ticket. I was hoping my seat was decent. It looked ok on the seating chart. This was a spur of the moment vacation so I should have purchased my ticket earlier.
Now, I was kind of hungry (since I hadn't eaten since Hell Taco) and they had crappy food in the casino unless you wanted to go to the buffet, which is a waste of money for me. I don't eat enough food to pay $34.99 for a meal, especially a buffet. There was an Asian food place in a small food court so I ordered chicken fried rice. I figured it couldn't be that bad. It was the worst fried rice I've ever had. It was over saturated with soy sauce. Moderation, baby. I ate some of the chicken out of it and threw the rest away.
There was still a little time before the concert began and since I hate being in the casino (I don't smoke so the cigarette smell was so overpowering), I sat outside on a ledge and watched the people going in and out and the casino's valet service. It was a little chilly out but it was better than being inside. Snow is better than being in a casino.
Finally, it was close to the time for the concert to start so I went back in and found my seat. The seat wasn't in a bad location. It was off to the left but I knew that Roger wouldn't be that far away when he was at the keyboards. There was one guy who sat down a couple of seats to the left of me who was disappointed in his seats. So, I pointed out to him, "Be optimistic, the keyboards are right there. We will be close."
Nothing really went on until the concert started. I know, boring for a story but I could explain how people were moving to their seats and that isn't interesting either. So, I patiently waited and watched (people moving to their seats – lol).
It was time. They walked onto the stage! It was great seeing Roger and his band. The sound was amazingly good. And my seats had a great view of him when he was at the keyboards. But when he went to the Grand Piano, his back was to me. They had "the requisite big screen" and a couple of times I watched that when he wasn't facing me.
His band was so talented. Roger was super talented. He sang, played the keyboards, the Grand Piano and Acoustic Guitar (of course, not all at once). When they got into an instrumental jam, that is where they all shined. It was great! The other keyboardist was amazing. I had never seen anyone move their fingers so fast and not miss a key stroke. I have it on film (well, digital, which is what most recording is done on now).
And speaking of recording, I killed the battery on my phone! I have never done that. Ever. I did check the charge level before I left the hotel room and it was at 58%. I thought, "That's plenty. I won't be using it much, if at all." Ha!!!!! Little did I know that they didn't care if you filmed the concert so I started filming and filming and filming. I got some great footage. Man, if I would have known, I would have brought my good camera. But the memories are still recorded so I am pleased with that.
And, the concert was over. It seemed short. I think that because most of the time I was filming, and that took my concentration off the performance. It was two hours long though. I looked at my phone and knew what time it started. He played most of his hits (but not my favorite song which is "Even in the Quietest Moments").
Side Note: I had forgotten how good the concert was until I played the videos when I got home. It was excellent. Not always perfect singing but the musicians were outstanding. I really enjoyed myself that evening and was very happy having had that experience. It was a good choice.
When I left the casino, the temperature had dropped significantly outside. After all, it was the desert. I drove back to the hotel. The $11.00 lot was full so I drove to the valet area. I asked them, "What should I do?" They said that they would valet it for the cheap price. Yay! I got out of the car and gave them the keys. On another side note, the valets were super, nice people. I liked them a lot. Mostly early 20's Latinos.
Since it was a Saturday night, the Restaurant/Bar was alive with people and music. So different from when I checked in. It was raucous and it seem like a fun place to party.
I went up to my room and turned on the TV to wind down for the evening. "The Starving Competitions" was on TV. A perfect movie to go to sleep to.
After all, it was going to be a big day. I watch a little and then I went to sleep, fantasizing about tomorrow.
CHAPTER 3
THE MAIN EVENT - MEETING THE MAN
SUNDAY MORNING. AHHHH, what a day it's going to be.
I woke up to the sun just rising in the distance. I grabbed my camera and proceeded to take a few photos of the sunrise. It was early because I always wake up early, no matter the day of the week. I decided that I would just wear the clothing from the night before since I knew I would be changing later that morning. I ate a doughnut that I had bought at the "Big Mart Store" the previous day.
I wanted to make sure that I got photos of the hotel grounds. I love taking photos. I am always trying to get a great shot. I happily grabbed my camera again and headed to the elevator.
On the way out downstairs, in the hallway, I noticed the concierge desk was open so I figured I could ask the lady behind the counter about the zoo since I was planning to go there. She said it was good place to go and, by the way, they had discount tickets here, $3.00 off each. Great!!! They charged it to my room. I liked that because then I could save what cash I had.
I then headed to the front desk. They smiled and greeted me a good morning. "Would it be ok if I went out to the golf course to take some photos?" I asked. One of the young men behind the desk replied, "No, you aren't supposed to be walking around there so I don't recommend it." Since I really don't care about arbitrary rules, I said, "Well, is anyone going to tackle me if I go out there anyway?" Both men laughed. I told them I was on my way there and they wished me another good morning.
