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Phoenix - Mexican Voyage- Halloween
  • Bruce Winters
  • Karen Winters
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  • Bruce Winters
  • Karen Winters

Phoenix - Mexican Voyage- Halloween

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    Newport Beach
    Phoenix - Mexican Voyage- Halloween
    The Shirt =The Sign
    The Shirt =The Sign

    RIDE HOME!

    October 19 in the United States ☀️ 77 °F

    It was a relaxing but long drive home with not a lot of scenery (see 2 photos). We filled the time with 70’s and 80’s music and the kickoff of a live new course “Encountering Our Spiritual Center” (so far very interesting Kabbalah intro), a short “detour” to Newport Beach to visit the eye doctor, a Central Synagogue Music Event on Irvine Berlin and then home! The only “highlight” was our crossing of the Colorado River. Not the best view for the mighty Colorado but still fun to cross over it from Arizona to California. This stretch of the river is bordered by valleys and low desert hills, not very mighty. The other 2 photos are of the Julian Hinds Pumping Plant, a major facility on the Colorado River Aqueduct in the Mojave Desert as we drove through near Chiriaco Summit where we have made it a “habit” of stopping for a rest in both directions. Great trip.

    Note: This was interesting about the Pumping Plant. The lower structure houses massive, high-powered pumps with the white pipes running straight up the side of the mountain are penstocks. Instead of using gravity to flow downward like traditional aqueduct sections, this facility actively pumps water up and over the mountain. The Julian Hinds plant is responsible for the highest vertical lift in the entire system, boosting the water roughly 440 feet uphill. Once the water reaches the intake structure at the top of the ridge, it flows into a gravity-fed tunnel carved through the mountain to continue its 242-mile journey toward coastal Southern California cities.    Read more

  • Phoenix - Mexican Voyage- Halloween

    LES MIZ - from the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo

    October 18 in the United States 🌙 77 °F

    We began our special evening with a great dinner outside as the temperature was perfect and we were in the active student environment of ASU and near the theater in downtown Phoenix with Michele. Yes, Bruce has seen this show, in some iteration, about 37 times and Karen has seen it 8 times. History repeats itself, maybe we can learn something.

    Today’s protests (2026) in Paris and seeing Les Miserable rebellion (1832) today were too similar. Both which started with students building barricades, and intense fighting in the streets against government authorities. Both of these political insurrections were about young people fighting inflation, high costs and wanting to take over the government (President Macron and King Louis Philippe) in order to change policies.

    TRIVIA that supports a 41 year "classic":
    -Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War called themselves Lee’s Miserables, reflecting poor conditions under Robert E Lee’s leadership, and the popularity of Hugo’s book with soldiers.
    -The last song of the musical uses a slowed down phrasing of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise.
    -Valjean’s prison number 24601 comes from the date Hugo thought he was conceived (24 June 1801).
    -The musical’s wardrobe consists of more than 2000 items including accessories and hats.
    -The musical has been performed in 21 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norweigan, Polish, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Brazilian Portuguese, Estonian, Czech, Mauritian Creole, Basque, Catalan and Korean.
    -The original Valjean in the London production of Les Misérables, Colm Wilkinson, was also the first Phantom in Phantom of the Opera and originated the role of Che in the Evita concept album.
    -The novel is full of animal metaphors, including Cosette/lamb, Valjean/wolf, Enjoras/lion, Grantaire/toad, Thenardiers/dogs.
    -Javert is based on Eugène François Vidocq (1775-1957), a criminal who became a police officer.
    -The first actor to play both Jean Valjean and Javert in the West End was Hans Peter Janssens, who returned as Javert in 2016.
    -Curiously, one country in which the musical of Les Misérables was not a huge hit was in France!
    -The anthemic “One Day More” was chosen as a campaign song by US Presidents Clinton and Obama.
    -The musical of Les Misérables has more than 50 songs / sung scenes in a running time of 2 hours and 50 minutes. Although most English-speaking countries refer to Les Misérables by its original title, it has also been referred to as The Miserables, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, The Victims, and The Dispossessed.    Read more

  • Phoenix - Mexican Voyage- Halloween
    WAYMOSURPRISING Michele!Sunrise at Michele & Chris'

    Brunch, Central Lectures, Downtown Phoenix

    October 18 in the United States ☁️ 70 °F

    The morning began with a relaxing brunch at Michele & Chris (while still trying to understand Chris’ dads hip surgery status), an uplifting Israel presentation “Engaging with Israel Conversation with Spirit of the Galilee” about working and living together there as part of a Central group, an inspiring kickoff of the 48 week “With Heart in Mind” series of which I am facilitating monthly sessions, some “eye” challenges, and a ride and walk around downtown Phoenix to view the buildings and art walk. All this before LES MIZ!

    The last 8 photos are from Sunrise at 6am over Michele and Chris' house...great views, weather and friends!!!    Read more

  • Phoenix - Mexican Voyage- Halloween
    VIDEOVIDEO

    Dinner, Exhibit and Shoshana!

    October 17 in the United States ☁️ 75 °F

    2 Videos

    After a relaxing, casual dinner at an old favorite, Pita Jungle, with Cindy & John, we made our way to "The Tempe Center for the Arts". We visited the exhibit "Breath: Between Word and Image" which pairs eleven visual artists and eleven poets in a series of collaborations exploring how words and images reflect, resonate, and reshape one another. The exhibition features works that move between visual art, poetry, sound, artist books, installation, and image-making. Existing works take on new meanings through unexpected relationships. Breath considers collaboration not as the merging of two voices into one, but as holding space for possibility between them. I have included two pairs of art and poetry and the write-ups for 6 others. See the exhibit and imagine the conversations that were had between the arts/poets.

    The highlight of the evening was the Shoshana Bean concert. Now we are FANS!!!

    Shoshana Bean is a Grammy Award winner and Tony-nominated powerhouse, most recently in the musical Hell’s Kitchen. In 2022, she received Tony and Grammy nominations for her starring role opposite Billy Crystal in Broadway’s Mr. Saturday Night (we happened to see her in that). She was the first replacement for Elphaba in Wicked and later took on the role of Jenna in Waitress. She made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Hairspray, appeared Off-Broadway in the 2000 revival of Godspell, and starred in Songs for a New World at City Center Encores and as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl earned her an IRNE Award and an award for Beaches.

    Beyond the stage, Shoshana has made her mark as an independent recording artist. Her six albums have topped the Billboard charts, including reaching #1 on the Billboard Jazz Chart. Shoshana recently performed her first sold-out solo concert at New York City’s renowned Carnegie Hall. We saw Shoshana tonight in her one week tour while on hiatus from starring in Lost Boys on Broadway (where Karen & Lee saw her a few months ago). We had such a good time tonight with her versatile music styles, humor and great personality telling personal stories to this intimate audience!    Read more

  • Phoenix - Mexican Voyage- Halloween

    South County, California Fire

    October 17 in the United States ☁️ 70 °F

    While watching services this morning and learning about the devastation to which Noah survived only because he built an ark, we learned about devastation closer to home. While we were in Arizona, the “Norte” fire began with 16,000 local San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente residents evacuated after the Santa Ana winds quickly spread the fire.

    The update as of Sunday was that 7 homes were destroyed. The good news is that all evacuation orders for San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano were lifted as firefighters continued battling the fire, which remained at 570 acres and 25% contained as of Sunday morning. Residents affected by the wildfire were allowed to return to their homes.
    UPDATE: As of Monday morning the containment is 60%!    Read more

  • Phoenix - Mexican Voyage- Halloween
    JOHN - Guarding the stage

    SUFFS!

    October 16 in the United States 🌙 81 °F

    Suffs the Musical, is about the suffrage movement in the late 19th to early 20th-century advocating for women’s right to vote. Suffragists, promoted gender equality through protests, marches, civil disobedience and even prison and hunger strikes. The musical focuses on the 7 year fight to pass the 19th Amendment (1920). The show centers around this the tension between the older suffragists and the “younger” ones, willing to fight for their rights and not wait “politely” as well as their tension with women of color. Suffs was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, winning for both Best Book and Best Score. Suffs was written by, composed by, and starring Shaina Taub (of our Temple, Central Synagogue).Read more

  • Phoenix - Mexican Voyage- Halloween

    Passport & Prayer

    October 16 in the United States ☀️ 84 °F

    Karen & I are very grateful for being able to do extensive travel. We love sharing these adventures with others. Annette manages the monthly Friday night "Schmoozes" for Central Synagogue and asked us to make a presentation on our recent adventure. I have included the first and last slide here (63 slides in our presentation) and how traveling to understand people and cultures and in particular how Jews have assimilated and acculturated around the world fascinates us and enriches our lives. Annette ended the session with a comment about us giving everyone "HOPE"! She wrote the following message to us after tonights presentation:

    Dear Bruce and Karen:
    Thank you again for a wonderful Shabbat Shmooze Friday night! What a delight! This evening had the most attendance of all our presentations —a wonderful turnout and a reflection of the interest in your travel adventures!

    Your highlights from your recent around-the-world trip gave us a delightful glimpse into the latest chapter of your Jewish travel adventures. Your personal stories made the presentation both informative and engaging, allowing us to travel the Jewish world with you without the travel expenses!! :)

    It was fascinating to hear about the Shabbat and holiday celebrations you experienced with others, the Jewish connections you made, and your encounters with other religions and spiritual practices. I found your positive experiences with people of different faiths especially encouraging and hopeful—a reminder of the connections that can grow when we approach one another with curiosity, openness, and respect.

    Thank you for sharing your adventures and reflections with such warmth and enthusiasm. You gave us much to enjoy and think about! Looking forward to part 3 in the future.
    Annette    Read more

  • Phoenix - Mexican Voyage- Halloween
    OUCHBorder Control

    On our way to Arizona

    October 15 in the United States ☀️ 90 °F

    On our 7 hour drive to Mesa Arizona, we listened to podcasts and saw lots of desert. One interesting stop was Camp Young, the 1942-44 headquarters of the Desert Training Center (also known as California–Arizona Maneuver Area (CAMA)). It is in California, Arizona, and Nevada near Pomona, California and stretching to 50 miles from Phoenix, in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran. A 18,000-square-mile camp created by General George S. Patton Jr. to prepare over 1 million troops for harsh desert combat in North Africa during World War II (living in tents without electricity or running water under extreme desert heat). It is now the General Patton Memorial Museum.

    As we crossed the border we saw a back up for many miiles coming into California through border control. U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in Blythe, California, where agents manage traffic checkpoints and patrol southeast California, northwest Arizona, and the entire state of Nevada. There are often Fentanyl and Meth interception and sadly human smuggling busts.

    We tried to let the beauty of the mountains and the quiet of the desert be our focus as we were going to visit good friends Michele and Chris Keith and Cindy and John Alfonso.    Read more

    Trip start
    October 15, 2026