After the concert, a private dinner reception was held on the terrace of the music hall. It was a nice function, with wine and three large tables where we all sat and enjoyed a good multi-course meal. By the time it was over, it was about 2:45am – but the night was just beginning!
We got back to the hotel around 3:15am or so, and then it was just a matter of cleaning up, packing, and getting ready for the flights back to Los Angeles. At this point, since we were being picked up at 5:30am to be taken to the airport, it was best to just stay awake. Pedro’s family has a vineyard down south, and so a whole bunch of us went up to the rooftop pool area to hang out and try some wine, and just relax. I tried to get some shots of the night sky, but the dust coming off from Africa made it a bit reddish. Still you can see some of the stars! The view of Santa Cruz at 4:30am was rather peaceful, and I got some long exposure shots of the skyline too.
We had a small breakfast arranged for us at 5am – but I was still full from dinner, so I just made a little sandwich that I wrapped up and placed in my carry-on bag for one of the flights later on. There were five of us all heading to the airport together: Melinda, Nancy, Ray, Ana and myself. We waited for the cabs to arrive, and around 5:30am, they showed up to take us to the airport. At this point, I had been awake for 21 hours.
