Big Culture, Big Play

We started today with our cultural outing of the trip, a visit to Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Western Studio and home. This was something everyone else had done at one time or another, except for me, so it was nice for them to do a repeat. We tried to get tickets for a guided tour, but the user experience for buying tickets left a lot to be desired. First we could not buy four tickets on one device at the same time. So all four of us had to be on our phones at the same time checking to see if we could all get available tickets for the same tour. Once you picked a time, you had to fill in a long list personal details only to discover that the ticket you were trying to buy was gone. When you picked another time you had to refill all your personal details. Blackbaud should pay Talesin West to update the ticket buying system because it is the worst advertisement for a tech company ever, and it says right on the footer of the page, “system by blackbaud.”

Eventually Janet, Suzanne, Jamie and I all found out we could only get audio tour tickets so we did. Then the next tech requirement was unveiled to us; we had to down load the audio tour app on to our phones and we had to listen to the tour through our earbuds. Despite the tech pains the tour and the sight of Talisen West was wonderful.

I don’t always love Frank Lloyd Wright style as I don’t like low furniture and low ceilings, but his site work and placement of buildings and outdoor spaces is spectacular.

When we were listening to our audio instructions for the tour of the outdoors and indoors the presenter says, “please follow the tour in numerical order and do not go backwards.”

We saw Wright’s office and the pool. The landscape is spectacular and the dessert is green right now as they got rain last week. Each listening to our own tour, we sometimes would get a little out of sink. As one person might finish the lecture on the living room and move on the the dinning room, another of us would still be only halfway the living room presentation.

The dining room was a room with only one egress in to and out of the small room. When I finished the recording for that room I went back towards the door to move on to the next stop. I was waiting by the door I had entered to exit and a number of older people were coming into the dining room. While I was waiting for them to pass, busy body Karen was standing, blocking the doorway completely. She looked annoyingly at me and said in the most judgmental tone, “There IS no going backwards.”

With ear’s partially blocked by our ear buds I said to the Karen in my most listen-bitch voice, “the recording tells you to leave this way since it is the ONLY door.”

It was such a nice visit with the exception of this women. My friends and I did get a kick out of her though.

It was good we started with the serious stuff first because the rest of the day devolved into college like behavior. You can bet we are having fun. Way more fun than that Karen ever has.

My apologies to all my wonderful Karen friends. I only use that name here as it will invoke the picture I want, but not a Reflection of you.