Las Vegas - Day 12

August 29, 2004

Wake at 04.00. Immense views over Las Vegas as we drive in. The organization of our trip, now amazingly close is in the hands of Taylor my lead driver. He has almost limitless but subtle enthusiasm and is excited about what lies ahead. Our speed increases now through the streets of Las Vegas as if we are on the Long Beach grand prix. We rumble across the strip, heading north towards our next venue the YMCA. Past fast food houses and casinos now subdued at this early hour. The streets are lifeless apart from the odd police car that views our caravan of vehicles with some amusement. This Sunday morning the town looks serene and neat and well manicured even in the suburbs but oddly un-American. The YMCA appears and we reach its massive car park. The facility is new and impressive but deathly quiet. Being a Sunday we hope perhaps that they are late opening. Decide to take a run downtown for breakfast and choose the peppermint restaurant. I find it oppressive and depressing but the food is particularly good. People are parked at machines dotted around the restaurant. They gaze at the rolling window with no real method. Quarters firing down the slots followed by the sound of levers. Then groans or sighs but continued feeding of coins unabated by the obviously undesirable results. After an outrageous bill we return to the venue still finding little activity. The large outdoor swimming pool complete with slides looks very attractive and stands devoid of inhabitants. At nine o'clock we gain access to the building but find little activity. This provides the opportunity to set up in good time and without the complication of traffic. By midday the crew are in full swing with slow but steady progress. The studio is on a basketball court with ample room. Next door, teams play hard and the building overflows with families enjoying a Sunday afternoon.

As time goes by I realize that we are now used to this schedule and less affected by roadblocks. It is a strange feeling to reach such a stage. At the end of the day I call it, telling the crew to swim after requesting an extension to the pool hours. The lifeguards are pleased to help. Another day of warm glows and fuzzy memories. We depart around seven o'clock driving west towards San Francisco and soon hit the open road. Some ninety miles and we stop at a dennys. We dine and the crew enjoys downtime after a successful but hard day.