Mab of Dream

I slept in today. It was only until about half 8, but it was the first time my body had let me sleep in beyond half 7, and I felt much fresher for it. Stephane had a dentist's appointment, so I volunteered to watch William for him.

I loved that morning! William is such a delightful baby. He cries just long enough to let you know he needs something, then shuts up while you discover what it is. He was on the settee in his wrap-around pillow thingie, while I attempted to catch up on a few e-mails, when he started crying. Up I got, tried the bottle - stops crying, starts crying; tried picking him up - stops crying, starts crying; felt his back, he's not too hot, but he stops crying while I'm investigating and grins at me. Soon as I stop, he's off again, so I had a smell - didn't smell like anything was amiss, so I had a look instead. He wasn't even wet, but neither is he crying anymore. Ok. 'Is it just a cuddle and a play you wanted then?' I ask the beautiful boy in my arms. Cry. Ok.

I am determined NOT to call his Mama to say, 'You know that incompetent Auntie Johnny you left your son with...?' So I get the bottle while I'm thinking on what else it could possibly be. He's been sucking on that for a few minutes before I realized that it was the bottle all along! Git! I started with that!

After he's finished with the bottle, he's falling asleep. I burp him and he gives a good one, before sleeping on my shoulder. Cool. So down he goes again, while I read another e-mail. Within five minutes there's that 'are you still there?' cry again. And we go through the possibilities again. This time he wanted to play.

Shonna informs me that those around a baby all the time get to know precisely what each cry means. Actually, I think she said a mother knows, and it was Laura who said anyone. I used the example of this day as not knowing instinctively as an auntie there for only a few days. Even though I had to go through the spectrum of possibilities, I loved it. He is one of the cutest babies I've ever met. It's not like Jordan, who'd cry incessantly for hours until you were afretting that he was seriously ill or something.

So William wanted to play. There's only so much you can do with a three month old baby and I hadn't seen a football since I got to America. So I did what I did with Jordan at that age, walked up and down singing to him. Mainly Judy Garland songs, with the old favourite 'Hello Dolly' with the name changed to whichever small child you have with you at the time. I remember the shock on Jordan's face the first time he heard the real 'Hello Dolly', first that someone had recorded his song and then that they'd changed the name to Dolly. Jordan's 8 on Dec 11th... 'kin Hell!

William was loving it too. He kept making little noises that I assume are his version of giggling, with the biggest gummy grin on his little face. We were like that for ages! Until the towel I've got over the buckles in my skirt starts to slip and I realize that I really need a fag. So I eyed the swing thingie and buckled him in. He looks at this with intense interest and everytime I whizz something or press something, he stares at it. I investigated the controls and found the one to make it swing; William just looks at me. Ok, that seems ok so far. So I find a button which looks musical. I press that and we get tunes! William grins at me the most beautiful grin! We like this!

And I get to have a fag outside, after turning the swing so he could see me out there.

All in all, I think I only got to look at a couple of e-mails, which explains a lot when Shonna is saying, 'Sorry, I didn't get to look at that just yet...' ;-) Not that I ever doubted her, but I've had it firsthand now. Whenever she says, 'I was dealing with the kids', I think back to that morning and think, you lucky git!

I also started uploading photos into the shared LV Wiccaning photo album, which I was to fill up with my own pics by the end of this, so I had to create another one, LV Wiccaning2. Only Bella and Frenchie got pics in there before it was full again, so everyone else ended up creating their own folders, which are in the process of being transferred to the new Witchgrove website, all in one place. :-D

Stephane was soon back, not looking too scathed for having been to a dentist and asking me if I'd like to see the Hoover Dam. I'd never heard of this before coming to Vegas, but apparently it's one of the landmarks of America and is just up the road. Pixie had mentioned it and Mt Charleston as being places she'd love for me to see, so I was well up for it. Stephane afretted a little over the fact I'd had no dinner, but, at home, that's quite usual for me to miss one or two meals, because I'm so busy have fun doing something else. To me, food is functional; I eat it so I don't die, but if I'm not hungry, I don't afret on having to eat.

We drove to Hoover Dam, which was interesting in itself, as I saw the south side of Vegas, as I hadn't seen before. He pointed out Henderson, under the flight paths, where he and Shonna used to live before moving to the north of Vegas. We drove through a very Spanish area as well, where all the bill-boards were in Spanish. I thought on Caroline. She'd be loving this, trying to disipher what it all said.

Up then towards a dark mountain, which looked like the slag heaps back home (though a bigger version), and Stephane told me how unethical the construction companies could be. Folk buying their homes under assurances that this would be their view forever, only to wake up one morning to find a casino or more houses going up outside their window. This was really the model of what was being threatened up the north side, towards Red Rock Canyon. The outlying houses were already heading up into the mountains. Here the scenery was closest, in colour, to my beloved Wales. The darkness reminded me of home, but not in a hiraeth way. I didn't get hiraeth the entire time I was there. It was only as I was being driven through the Black Country on the way there that I got hiraeth.

Through the mountain pass and we're seeing signs to California. That was surreal. Further along, we drove through a totally different built up area to that which I was getting used to - Boulder City. There were some interesting looking shops up there and next time I go to Vegas (there will be a next time, I promised myself on the plane home), I'd like to have a gander at Boulder City. But we didn't have a lot of time before Shonna was home, which was cool, so off we went through the mountains again.

There was a fascinating landscape. In some ways it was unlike anything I'd ever seen before, but I've learned that the mind will always throw up any data it can, hence the tendency for any foreigner anywhere to be constantly comparing things to home. I came up with my childhood, climbing over the open-casting pretending it was Tattooine with a stick as a lightsabre, until the security guards came chasing us out. I think it was only the fact that here's a landscape with trucks around, with the gentle slag heaps looking all Tattooine on me. Nothing else about it looked like the open-casting of my childhood! I did enjoy the bit where we drove along the side of a mountain, though the sides didn't fall away as they do in Llanberis. I think we'd have survived leaving the road...

Stephane explained that there is a checkpoint around the corner, as there is the fear that terrorists will blow up the Hoover Dam, which would be disastrous for not only Vegas but several other states too. It's a new thing. There was the standing joke throughout this trip of 'don't joke about terrorism' - which folk had been warning me before I left home. The emphasis there was really with immigration officials at the airport, but it became the standard line throughout. While we went through the checkpoint, neither Stephane, William nor I were allowed to joke about terrorism.

I ended up thinking the checkpoint was like the security at the hotels - there for show, because there's no way they can be assertaining you're not a terrorist with the cursory glance they give you. But Stephane pointed out that the car behind us had been pulled over. It was for real. How me and Stephane looked safe, I'll never know. For a start, we're both foreign (he's French-Canadian and I'm British); then I had a 'Make Trade Fair' vest-top on; and I've got dreadlocks; and he's got a goatie. In hindsight, I'm a bit put out that I didn't look like a terrorist. ;-)

Ok, don't joke about terrorism. Got it.

We reached the Hoover Dam on the hottest day in the world ever. I had white straps in my tan from the days before, which is why you'll see in all the pics of me that I've got my straps over my shoulders, trying to tan the white bits.



I didn't realize how close to the border of Arizona we were. Halfway over the dam, we crossed a state line, so there was one bit where I had one leg in one state and another in another. There was also a moment when I was in Arizona and I'd left Stephane and William in Nevada! Yes, you can have as many fun thoughts on the Hoover Dam bridge as you can in Hay-on-Wye High Street, where you are half in England and half in Wales. I did think of Morganna Skye though. I wondered how far she was from Hoover Dam, seeing as I was in her state now.

There was one bit as cracked us up laughing. The sun was fierce, so Stephane had a white towel draped over William's head, as he dangled from his chest. I suppose that if you didn't know, you would wonder what was underneath it, as a small boy walking by did. 'What's that?!' he asked his Mum, who looked up and couldn't keep her face straight. 'It's ET.' Stephane informed him, as we'd already had this conversation. 'It's a baby!' gushed out the mother, who looked as though she didn't know whether to laugh or blush with embarrassment. I guess you had to be there. It was hilarious right then!

The dam was fascinating. Brian had said a few days before that the thing which got him was the vision of the dude who looked up the canyon and thought, 'I know, I want to build a dam right across there...' Once there, I got that. Stephane pointed out the white silt mark around the edges of the canyon and told me that that was how high the river should be, but it was sinking. He asked me to try and get it to snow in Colorado to raise the levels again. I said I'd get Pixie on the case. It was an amazing thought to think of those people, in the 1930s, building such a thing. They wouldn't have had the equipment we have now to pull it off, but with the Depression going on, neither would they have had much choice for jobs. Yes, I bought a history of the Dam and I've read it since, but I picked up enough of it then to know what I was looking at.

It was amazing enough the first time I looked over the wall of the dam, with the other side's level in my head, to realize just how much water was being held back; but then I realized that I hadn't yet seen the bottom. I had several moments like that until Stephane assured me that I was now seeing the bottom. It was creating water and/or electricity for several states, not just Vegas.

After looking at the dam, we investigated the cafe and tourist shop. There again I picked up the Nevada Test Site book and came so close to buying it. Instead I bought the history of the dam and a key-ring for Roxanne with her name on it. I also found a Mormon Cooking Book for Shonna. *grin* I thought that would make up for not coming. (When Brianne saw that the next day, she picked it up, 'Shonna! Why?! This is wrong on so many different levels!' (or words to that effect)) Me and the dude behind the counter didn't have a common language (though we were both technically speaking English and I was doing my best cut-crystal Queen's English accent), but we got it sorted out with gestures and the help of a lady next to me, who seemed to be coping better with my language. Then I was able to grab a much needed drink and a couple of bags of crisps (there was proper food there, but I still wasn't that hungry. I did see some pastry pretzels, but as I was alone at the time, I couldn't ask on them. Given the experience of the shopkeeper, I figured that no-one in the Hoover Dam 'hood would be able to understand me. I wasn't hungry enough for them, just didn't know what they were), before joining Stephane and William in the cafe itself.

We needed to be gone though, if we were going to look at Lake Mead and take the scenic route back. So we walked back to the minivan over a very interesting floor. It had a map of the stars on it and all the zodiac around a statue. Virgo looked very nice and goddess-y. Driving out of Hoover Dam, we passed a convoy of cars going in the opposite direction which caught my attention. Eversince I'd found out that all the cars showed their state of origin, I looked out for them and thought of who I knew in that state. About eight cars went by with no number plates at all, front or back, while the ninth one had a governmental plate. They didn't look any posher than the other American cars I'd seen on my travels. Stephane confirmed that was unusual. They might have been terrorists. I don't know.

We drove around to the overlook of Lake Mead. The information board showed us what the original landscape had looked like and comparing that with the scene in front of us was cool. You could see that that island over there had once been the top of a hill, while the line there was one the original Colorado River, before it was flooded out.

See the white island? That was once a hill, with its slopes going down to the river bank on the right hand side; it's about three quarters of its size again. Use that to get the left bank of the river and you start to see what's flooded out. But the white marks also show how high the lake should be. Multiply this by the 180 miles length of the two lakes...

You can see in the pics below how much the water level is going down too. The marina has had to be moved forward quite considerably. It's original position is now desert again, and that's happened within the past couple of years.



There was a bloke flying a remote control plane over our heads. It was slightly annoying but not enough to really have a word. I'm generally of the live and let live variety anyway. However, there was a moment when Stephane heard a baby crying (we were only a few feet away, but I couldn't hear that well), so went back to the minivan just in time to watch the plane crash into a dune over the wall. *grin*

We drove then the scenic route along Lake Mead and through the mountains to the south and east of Vegas. We passed by the millionaires area, where the like of Celine Dion lives, which was the biggest area of greenery I'd seen since arriving in Vegas. They used irrigation from the lake to do that. Not a great deal was said then, as I stared out over this amazing mountaineous desert landscape, until we were suddenly back amongst buildings.

The strangest thing about Vegas is that there are definite 'areas'. We drove through the Ellis military area, into a distinctly Spanish area, where all of the billboards and road-signs were in Spanish and all of the people looked very Hispanic. Then as if someone had drawn an invisible line, everyone outside was coloured. This was Martin Luther King Boulevard (or something like that). Stephane described this area to me and it sounded like he was describing Wolverhampton! So, this is the American equivalent of my 'hood then. I asked on it, wondering if there were actual ghettos here, but the way he explained it's more economically based than racially. If a dude has the money, they move to an area like Summerlin; it wasn't a case of a Spanish dude moves to Vegas and has to live in the Spanish area, or a white dude moves and has to live in Summerlin. The fact was that most of the scutty jobs went to the Spanish or coloured people, hence they lived in these areas, which were cheaper to live in. It still doesn't explain why they have distinct areas of their own, as in the Spanish and coloured people aren't mixed together; nor why I didn't see any white faces there. Aren't there any white people at all in the scutty jobs? However, these are questions as I've thought on since, so didn't get to ask Stephane at the time.

We'd been asked to one of Stephane's friend's house to watch the Presidental Debate, and he was hoping to get back in time. However, traffic piled up and by the time we were back, it just wasn't going to happen. We picked up Elen and went back to the house. I got on with uploading more pics, while Stephane sorted William. He'd been fine until the traffic back, then after he'd polished the last bit of bottle, there was only the magic finger calming him down. This is when you lean back and give him your finger to hold, while you stroke the rest of his hand with another finger. For some reason, he forgets he's hungry/filled his nappy/hot etc and either stops crying or goes to sleep for as long as you're doing that. That's William, by the way, not Stephane. It might work with Stephane too, but he didn't cry, so I didn't try it.

Shonna came home from work, looking exhausted, poor cariad. We watched the Presidential Debates together. I have a strong memory of coming in, wrapped in a blanket against the night-time desert cold, after having a fag and sitting down on the settee. Why that sticks out, I don't know! The Debates were something to watch. Before I'd come over, FT Kate had said, 'Wow! You'll be in America during all that!' and, though I didn't know it then, she had stayed up and was watching it live too. I was genuinely shocked at just how bumbling George W Bush seemed. I mean, I don't like him; I don't like his politics; I was in a house which was distinctly for Kerry as well, but I ended up actually feeling sorry for Bush. He just couldn't debate or even talk very well. He told a joke, messed it up halfway through and just blushed. That's something I'd do, but not in front of half the world and the whole of America. He stumbled over his words; he was non-sensical at times. Worse, he looked to know it. By contrast, Kerry seemed very competent, polished in his presentation, and knowing of the facts. I didn't expect to be wishing it was over for Bush's sake, because I'm not used to looking at him like a human being. It was painful. After that, I didn't expect for one second that he would end up winning the election. Stephane informed me that all three of the debates had been just like that.

Once it was over, we drove to a restaurant. I can't remember what it was called, but it was over the way from Sweet Tomato, if any of the Vegas lot could fill in the blank. The place itself was lovely - what song was on when I got in? It was one of my favourites whatever it was, followed by another of my favourites. I was able to hear well and there were lots of interesting things going on along the walls. Only one slight technical hitches - there was nothing vegetarian on the menu except salad. *screws up nose* Salad...

Stephane offered to take us somewhere else, but they'd only just got William set up in his high-chair and Elen had already got her macaroni cheese coming. I said not to afret on, as I'll just ask what the vegetarian option is. This is me with my British thinking going on, as it's illegal not to have a vegetarian option in a British restaurant. However, it's not illegal in America. Pity, because I'd have loved to have watched Shonna do that American Complaining In Restaurants Thing first-hand, as Ian has told me on it a couple of times.

I asked the waitress who seemed not to know what to do. She said, 'Well, I could do you some grilled cheese... on bread...' Cheese-on-toast sounds perfect, thank you. *grin* I ordered something Mexican with dips as well, when that was suggested. I did try to say that the macaroni cheese that Elen had is vegetarian, but that was on the child's menu, so adults can't have it. To be honest, I found it mostly amusing, though I think that Stephane and Shonna were embarrassed.

Afterwards, I really needed to get some presents for home. We'd been going to get those on the Tuesday, but ran out of time. Shonna knew just the place... *grin* We all went back to their house and Stephane stayed with the kids, while Shonna drove me, via Starbucks for cafe latte and cinnamon syrup, to this massive gift shop. It had so many weird and wonderful things in there. Like a shop in Blackpool, but on a gigantic scale. I found a paperweight with a scorpion inside it. After Shonna assured me that it would have been found dead before being put into the paperweight (rather than killed specificially), it went into my basket for Jim. Around the corner were all sorts of nuns and Virgin Mary merchandise. I bought a glow in the dark St Clare, Patron Saint of Television, for Jim; and some Mary things for Ian, including a nodding Mary for his dashboard, for when he learns to drive and gets a car. Then there were the action figures - I got a librarian for Ian; an Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Moses and William Shakespeare, for Dad, Mum, Paul and Lynsey. The 'wash away your sins' cosmetic range gave me some moisturizer and lippy for Maggie. There was also a 'Dumb and Dumber' fridge magnet for Kate, with both president Bushes on it. For the kids, I was a little more sensible and bought them baseball caps, though I did get some fridge magnet car reg. plates with their names on it. (They weren't impressed.)

Shonna got a Jesus action figure for me to take back for Froggie, and various other things too. We left there with it nearly midnight (or gone midnight), having spent millions of dollars on funny tat, which it hadn't occurred to me that I'd have to fit into my suitcase... both of us absolutely knackered. Poor Shonna, at least I'd had about an hour's more sleep than she had, and she'd been at work all day. :-(

We had a quick drink and chat, then off to bed.