The airplane left on time nd we arrived at Phoenix at 5.45pm on 13 May. A loquacious taxi driver delivered us to the Hilton Resort in double quick time.

We had a relaxing two days at the Hilton which portrayed itself as being down town. In reality it was 3 miles away. The Hilton however had a "limousine" in reality a van and the Bell captain would drop us off and pick us up on demand. We were told the service was free, but we learned on the last day that there was no charge by the Hilton but the driver did it for tips. That made us feel bad. During our stay I walked the old town for photos. The city's theme is "the real old west", the whole two blocks of Old Town" It was very photogenic. Margaret found a hairdresser who packed a 45 automatic even while doing her hair. However we had a nice chat with him as he was knowledgeable about Australian snakes and birds. It turns out that he wanted to be an ornithologist but settled into hairdressing. I never thoufght that I would have such a discusion in Scottsdale Az.

On Saturday the Hilton got us a van driver, at a princely sum of $25, to transfer us to the Westin Kierland a truly 5 star complex. At sundown we were entertained by a Scottish piper, strange really. There we met our guide Lynne and driver Skip, and had our Kick- off meeting and later drinks. There were so many nibbles that we did not want dinner.