Comments on a Visit to the 54th Tucson Gem & Mineral Show and Mineral Collecting

摘要

Since I spent only a small amount of time in Tucson, four days, and only half of that at the Convention Center during the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society Show, my remarks and impressions are a result of this limited experience and should be read with this in mind. Also, this is my first trip to Tucson since 2003 and so after missing four years my observations may in some cases be overly optimistic. I have really missed not being there and it was good to be back so I had somewhat of a revival experience and probably was tolerant of some of the minor inconveniences that regulars gripe about. However, I started Thursday upset because I parked at my usual spot on the parking lot on the southeast side of the arena and found I could not enter the door I usually enter but instead was routed north to a ticket office and then around the north side of the building to the west entrance and past the ticket sales which had no one in line. True, I could go out the entrance near my car but was not allowed to enter the lobby from it. Why? I asked, but never found out. Since I had a small dog in my vehicle that needed walking every few hours, it was an unnecessary inconvenience. It could have put me in a bad mood for the rest of the show but I would not let it.