Flagstaff
We checked in to our Palacial Suite at the Best Western Pony Soldier. It was the biggest room i've stayed in since the 100 person dorm on Beachcomber in Fiji. The hotel was too slim to make 2 family rooms across the middle, so there was just one huge room split into to two sections.
As I sat on my huge bed, I put the Telly on and watched Larry King Live interviewing Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was great interview as Arnie started dropping lines like "If I became da Governor of California; I'm going do get all der money back from der Federal government, dat by de end of my derm, I'm not going do be known as 'De Teurminator', but as 'De Collectinator.'
You go Arnie. If I was American, you'd have my vote.
He and various others (including Different Strokes' Gary Coleman) are trying to oust the current Governor of California, Gray Davis, for being incompetant. It makes me chortle when I hear the name as I see Craig Davis from Bo Selecta in my head everytime they say it.
I went for a dump in town and saw this on the wall...
...it just made me laugh.
About half an hour East of Flagstaff is 'Meteor Crater' one of the best preserved sites of where a meteor once hit the earth. The Crater was impressive, but the visitor's center was amazing! There were so many interactive space/moonrock/simulation type demo's that I was in my element. My favourite was a programme that plotted and animated an Earth-Asteroid collision where I could control the angle, speed and size of the rock. I managed to get it to play a bit of dramitic space-guitar when I worked out the optimum asteroid impact for Total Planetary Destruction!
That night I met up with Jeska who I met on Nanuya Lei Lei. I knew I'd be coming through somewhere near Flagstaff (where she lives) on my travels so I said I'd give her a call when I got into town. I had a really wicked night, I met up with her in a pub in town, before we went on to a club called 'Boardwalk' that was doing $2 drinks all night :)
This is Jeska and Moe at Boardwalk.
I got introduced to a few of her friends including Moe, who is a glass blower by day and local MC by night, and Jason a DJ at Boardwalk and all round good bloke. It was my first real experience of partying in the States. I'd been out a couple of times with people in LA and with Mum and Dad over the last couple of weeks, but this was the best as I was drinking with locals. Especially as they were all genuinely really nice people. I met a guy who was going blind, but instead of losing his sight completely, his brain adapted and now he can (only) see Ultra Violet light. He loves clubbing, not surprisingly, because of the black lights.
We ended up going to a party at Jason's and Stacy's house afterwards. It turns out that Moe actually makes intricately designed and coloured glass hashpipes which he was trying to sell from a big grey plastic carry-box! As the evening progressed, everyone including Jeska went home and I ended up drinking with Jace and Stace 'till the early hours.
I like Flagstaff. It's got a good atmosphere and load of really good people.
Inbetween Flagstaff an Vegas we stopped off at a petting zoo type place which was good fun. It made me forget I had a hangover.
We also stopped off at a marina on Lake Mead (the lake made by the Hoover Dam) where tons of fish sit on the surface of the water and let you hand feed them popcorn.
