Travel Day to Dallas

Vegas is great. Vegas is big. Vegas is OTT. Vegas is full-on. Vegas is not my cup of tea at all. Frankly, I doubt you could get a cup of tea in Vegas. If you could, they'd want to serve it with Margarita and a slot machine.

Up early, Ubered out to the airport for a 9am flight to Dallas. We lost a couple of hours in time zones but the flight was also delayed some 30 minutes from landing due to storms. Dallas is muggy. Dallas is frowzy. Dallas is close. As Chris said, it's like a Newcastle or Sydney summer at the height. Hot, incredibly humid, it's no wonder it rains. TG for air conditioning.

Very disappointed with American Airlines (I hope you're reading this AA). First, they separated us, after having purchased the tickets ages ago. Second, the flight was full and by the time we boarded, the overhead lockers were crammed full. This meant that we both had to carry our overhead bags as well as our personal bags into middle seats. One half of one bag stuffed under the seat, the personal bag stuck under the seat in front, where your feet are supposed to go. For three and a half hours. Boo hiss boo!

I did watch a movie and listened to a bit of music on the flight to help pass the time. 'A Quiet Place' starring John Krasinski and Emily Blunt masterfully protect their family from alien creatures that are blind but attack anything they hear in a killing frenzy. You see them, but you hear them more. Very clever. The family communicates by sign. It is very compelling and I got a few jump frights on the way, as did, I presume, the two gentlemen either side of me. Politically, this movie is about having your voice silenced. Hollywood makes no bid for morality here as it plays it straight down the middle. Both Right and Left could claim this movie as their own. Boo hiss boo! Take a stand! Four stars. It goes to places, even in the opening sequence you don't expect. It's more of a thriller than horror, but there are some horror elements present. Very enjoyable and very well done.

The sound track to my boxed in twisted uncomfortable flight was Joan Baez The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, some Handel, Mozart and Verdi soprano arias performed by Sutherland, and the Haydn Piano Concerto in D Major, a sweet little thing.

We're staying an an older hotel in Dallas, the Sheraton, that they are renovating. We have a comfortable although not huge, room on the 31st floor and have a fine view over the city. We've been out for a bite and it really is a city of glass. I grew up on the tv show Dallas, but none of that sensibility is present anymore. I doubt we'll be doing a Southfork tour even if there is one. Bathed, beered, eaten, we feel refreshed and ready to discover this balmy city. I mean that in the nicest possible way. Till next.Read more