Next Stage Choir and Arizona trip

Flags united

Years ago, pre-covid, husband and I signed up to go with the Next Stage Choir to Arizona, to sing with a partnered choir there: Sounds of the South West Singers. Covid stopped the trip happening in 2020 and again in 2021. Husband pulled out. When he was ill this April, I pulled out, but then when he died his children told me to un-cancel and to go. I did. It was awesome. 
My brother! My brother and SiL met me as I got off the coach from the airport (with a nose bleed). They'd driven the four hours down from Vegas and booked in the same hotel for three nights. They tolerated my jet lag and bought me margaritas. We went out to Falcon Field where our father trained to fly during the Second World War. We looked round the museum, its planes and a helicopter and a drone. I had another nose bleed. SiL bought a book and found a list of names of the RAF graduates.

RAF training at Falcon Field 1943

 They left on the Sunday of the baseball match - they weren't interested - been there, done that.

My hotel room was enormous, with a sitting room, big TV, a bedroom with another TV and a king size bed so high you had to jump to get into it - very comfy.

Hotel pool where I swam several mornings before breakfast
(after using the gym)

Jet lag meant I was up too early the first few mornings. Here's sunrise from my hotel room window.

Phoenix sunrise in September

What was most exciting? I don't know. Maybe singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Arizona DiamondBacks baseball match in front of 25,000 people, or maybe just the rehearsal with our partner choir Sounds of the South West singers  in the corridor before we went on!

 Baseball Game  – Arizona Diamondbacks versus Milwaukee Brewers 

Later in the week, our partner choir hosted us at a BBQ and taught us baseball. The Mayor of Phoenix came and gave us gifts - a special T-shirt with an Arizona cactus on it. He also arranged for a singing cowboy to come and entertain us. 

On the Monday, the coach took us to Tombstone  and to the site of the O.K Corral . Then we went to Bisbee to  visit a Copper Mine. but that Monday was a holiday so everywhere else was closed.

OK Corale reenactment

On the Wednesday, the coach took us to Tortilla Flat Saloon Bar (where I didn't eat because I'd eaten enough already, so I drank some lemonade and mooched around the gift shop.  Then we went on a  Dolly Steamboat. Sadly it was too hot to sit outside and inside was too noisy to hear much of the explanation of the rock formations that we could see and how the south west Indians had interpreted them. But the company was fun.

Dolly Steamboat

We had a meal one evening at Kasai in Scottsdale. It was fine though some of the party grumbled about seating because some had to sit outside. 

 Or maybe it was visiting the Grand Canyon – South Rim. Husband and I went there ten years ago, and it was one of those moments when I missed him and couldn't even send him an email with a photo. 

Grand Canyon South side September 2022

Grand Canyon trains September 2022

Instead of walking along the path to see the view, I wandered down to see the trains again. 

 

Or maybe it was the acoustics at the church in the rock at Sedona on the way back from the Grand Canyon.. 

Sedona Chapel of the Holy Cross

Blurb about the dolls

We rehearsed or sang almost every day, which was great. Sadly, looking back at the original plans we were going to sing with Phoenix Boys Choir and we didn't. What else? I enjoyed was the company. Lots of people around to eat with travel on the coach with. At the beginning of the holiday, we rehearsed "God save the Queen". At the joint nine eleven concert, we sang, "God save the King".

Another lovely thing was that I met my old work colleague there - he moved out to Phoenix for the company circa 2002. His wife is a volunteer guide at the Heard Museum, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and she volunteered to show those of our party who wanted to visit. They were so pleased that they wrote her a thank you card, and all signed it.

Here's some of the artifacts that I particularly noticed there; the Kasai dolls and this model of a maternal journey. 

Kasai dolls

Heard museum: Maternal Journey

Blurb explaining the Maternal Journey

 

I didn't see my friends, M & Em, for very long that first time, and they took time to see me again on the last day, when we were mooching around at the hotel, bas packed, rooms vacated and no coach to the airport till five o'clock. M & Em suggested we visit the Musical Instrument Museum. allow a lot of time for this because it is fascinatingly full - and I've never come across a museum like it - it must be unique. 

We went out for a Japanese meal

One of our outings was to a rather dramatic Japanese meal where they prepared the food in front of us. Every meal, every outing meant I mixed and mingled with choir members, not only my singing part, but all the others: and from the other two towns: sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. I enjoyed the company of all them, the scientist, the Aussie, the noisy one, the beekeeper. Such nice people. 

It was a great trip, distracting from the boredom and duties of home with a lot to do every day and great people to do things with, especially singing.

Leaving Phoenix