probable plans
Well, this sort of escalated quickly: I already planned and hoped to travel with Shobhit to Desert Hot Springs (right outside of Palm Springs) to visit Faith for Thanksgiving, although somewhat to my surprise, Shobhit seems to be looking at several days, like four or five, rather than just a few—which I am more than happy to do. I love visiting Palm Springs and we haven't gone out there in over five years now, not since before Shobhit moved back to Seattle from West Hollywood in 2016.
But! As of last night, in addition to that, we are now looking at a weekend trip to Las Vegas, with Sachin and his girlfriend, over Shobhit's birthday weekend at the end of October.
This has to do with Sachin trying to use up WorldMark Resorts credits. The original proposal, in fact, was to go stay in a WorldMark resort in Blaine, WA, which is right by the Canadian border. I really hated the idea of being so incredibly close to Vancouver, B.C. and not actually going to Vancouver, so I actually did quite a bit of research on the "TravelCAN" app and all the COVID precautions and requirements associated with crossing the border. The idea was to spend a few days in Blaine but just take a day trip into Vancouver. Even one day trip is better than not going at all.
What Shobhit and I were originally thinking was the weekend of October 15, but it turned out there was not any availability on the resort's own calendar that weekend. We only figured that out after Shobhit already decided he might like to push the Blaine trip to the weekend of his birthday, but Sachin noted that he can't do that weekend because he'll be in Las Vegas for a poker tournament—and then he suggested we just join him there that weekend instead. This all came up over Skype last night, when Sachin called and I had to take a break from getting ready for bed in order to join the conversation.
So, this is the thing. Well, a few things. First, as opposed to a more local weekend trip, this means we'd be taking flights for trips twice in as many months. But, I've decided that I can be okay with that. Maybe I can even get my booster vaccine shot by then, who knows.
Setting COVID aside, though, there's the idea of Las Vegas itself. I have to admit I'm not super excited by the idea—honestly, for several years now I've had this fantasy of taking a trip there someday with Gabriel, because I know he would give me a truly fresh and unique experience of a city I've now been to arguably too many times, and he's all about "old Vegas" and would know old-school corners of it that I know nothing about. But, for some time now that'll probably remain a pipe dream; the idea of flying anywhere at all likely horrifies him at the moment. Hell, just having visitors in his home does (probably—but I still feel pretty confident about that).
And so, generally Las Vegas would be pretty low on my priority list if I had my choice of anywhere to take a trip to. I've been there seven times already, since 2004—that's an average of about every two and a half years—and the most recent was merely two years ago, when I went with Danielle in 2019. There's going to be very little that feels particularly novel about this trip.
Counter-point: that's certainly the experience I have if I go in with that attitude, which I can also change! Firstly, I may have been to Vegas seven times total, but only four of those were with Shobhit (first visit, 2004, was before I met him; 2013 I went with only Jennifer and 2019 was just with Danielle), and I last went with Shobhit in 2015, so it's been six years since he's gone. That will make a lot of it new to him, at least. And we've never done a trip to Vegas together with a friend, so going with Sachin and his girlfriend Kimberly (who, mercifully, will finally be fully vaccinated) will also make it a new experience. Furthermore, Las Vegas, and even specifically the Strip, is a very large place, and I've gotten good and practiced at finding new things to do even at places I've been to multiple times before. It shouldn't be a huge challenge to make it a novel experience after all.
Granted, it feels like a missed opportunity not to be going to Vancouver. And sure, I've been to that city eleven times—but that's since 1999, making it an average of once every 2 years even. You'd think I'd be even more sick of Vancouver than Vegas, except! Vancouver is just so much better a city. There's simply no comparison. Okay, they are sort of apples and oranges, but still. Vancouver is far more my vibe. Not only that, but now looking at going to Vancouver in 2022 instead (maybe for Vancouver Pride, finally once again for the first time since 2008?) would mean four years since my last visit, when I went to see Ivan there in 2018—and five years since Shobhit went with me in 2017. I haven't gone more than even three years between visits since the 5 years that stretched between my first and second in 1999 (with Barbara) and then 2004 (with Shobhit). Also, there's a lot from the 2018 visit with Ivan that I want to re-do, particularly Queen Elizabeth park and its panoramic views of the skyline, because that weekend in 2018 was seriously, disgustingly glutted with wildfire smoke. I loved visiting with Ivan but the smoke sucked. Vancouver Pride is actually on the last day of July next year (it's usually the first Sunday in August, unless the very end of July is on a weekend), which hopefully will mean it will just come in before the wildfire season starts.
Whatever the case, I do like to grab opportunities when they come, and stars seem to be kind of aligning for Las Vegas for Shobhit's birthday this year. Sachin seems relatively confident he can get us a room at The Venetian for a couple of nights (no matter what, two nights max in Vegas is all we ever want), and flights to Las Vegas right now are almost shockingly dirt cheap. They're even making Shobhit consider flying into that airport and then driving the four hours to Palm Springs instead of two hours from LAX, because it might be worth the airfare savings. Thanksgiving week fares even to Vegas aren't nearly as cheap though, so that may not work out, and if we can't fly directly into Palm Springs, I'd much rather have a two-hour drive than a four-hour one. We have some time to ponder that one, although it sounds like we'll book both trips within the next couple of days, maybe even tonight.
As for the rest of last night? Well, as soon as I left to walk home from work, I realized: I didn't have my umbrella. Fuck. Shobhit just the other day was cracking wise about how often I lose my umbrellas. And, I went into three drug stores along my walk home before I finally found one selling the kind of umbrella I want! (I need the curved handle so I can use it like a cane when it's folded and I'm walking.)
First I went into Bartell Drugs on 2nd Avenue. I had to speak to a staff person no fewer than three times—once with a guy at the registers and twice with a woman further toward the back of that long, narrow space—before the lady finally walked with me to the standalone fixture that I wasn't noticing because I was looking for umbrellas somewhere in the regular shelving. And, this mobile fixture was right next to the back door for employees only, past the bathrooms—not at all a place anyone would naturally think is where product would be merchandised. And then, it was just a few of the small umbrellas with the straight, collapsible handle. Not what I want!
Next stop was the CVS on Fourth and Lenora, and holy shit is that place a dump. Quite the change from the high-end corner grocer that used to stand in that spot for years. Now, it feels like walking into a pharmacy that itself qualifies as "the bad part of town." There were even two security staff standing in there. I couldn't find any umbrellas whatsoever.
I finally found what I wanted at the Bartell Drugs on 5th and Olive. They even had some fun ones, so my umbrella now is part translucent with thick horizontal black stripes and a pink trim. Fun!
Once I finally got home, stopping at Amazon Go for some milk on Pike Street on Capitol Hill along the way, I put the massive amount of leftover magi into storage containers so it would not go bad and I could get it all into the refrigerator; washed the huge pot it had been in; heated up a small dish of leftovers for dinner; and then Shobhit and I watched yet another three episodes of the Korean show Squid Game on Netflix. We're two thirds of the way through and I'm beginning to think we may just watch the final three episodes tonight.
[posted 12:29 pm]