A week ago today we drove to the Portland airport where we boarded a plane for Phoenix, AZ. (Let me insert here that I
love "our" airport - its design, color scheme, public art, shops.) As we walked to our gate, hauntingly melodic tones reached my ear. A young man perched on a chair was drawing the most beautiful sounds from a small cello, and he drew me in like a siren. I slowly walked past, then turned back for a flyer and a photo:

His music lingered in my mind as we waited at our gate - and I weakened. Back down the long hall I ran, and came back with
a CD,
From Silence. Listen to the second soundtrack on that album. I think you'll thank me. :-)
Our plane stopped in Vegas, and although we did not need to change planes, a small technical problem on board necessitated the deplaning of all passengers. Unfortunately. For while inside PDX is a calm and inviting space, the Vegas airport is full of this:

Yuck. Not a peaceful corner anywhere!
Rick's mom picked us up from the Phoenix airport and drove us through an alien landscape to her home in Mesa.

In her backyard are a cactus garden and citrus trees:



We brought home two boxes of delicious oranges from that tree!
At least the inside looked somewhat familiar:

More to come, from . . .