I can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday than the way I did it this year. Away from the parents, away from non-stop ringing phones, from the fuss of having people at our small apartment. Away from projects, home works, essays, teachers... Away from everything that can bother, upset, or intimidate, and - into a place with barely any civilization. A place, filled with pristine beauty of nature and every day being an adventure.

      The Majmin brothers left for Las Vegas that morning, right after breakfast. The previous night (described by Mr. Majmin) was too much for them. After Mike's early morning drive-around he decided that he's had enough. He said that his foot was hurting even worse than before, but I think another day without a spa would have killed him.

      After saying good-bye to the brothers we headed toward Max's "sunny" Arizona. He claimed that he could find his dream place only in "sunny" Arizona (which apparently is not so sunny). On our way a ranger recommended a day hike, which was not known to most of the people, so we were lucky to meet only a few other hikers. It was a beautiful hike that led down a steep canyon in the beginning and then up, to a beautiful waterfall and a lake. We could see a huge cave and couldn't help wondering if there were any treasures hidden there, but nobody was willing to check it out. Venya and Max went swimming. The rest of us were just taking pictures of Venya diving, and Max's attempts to do the same. Diana, Marina and I were only brave enough to walk in the water, because it was freezing. It was a pleasant hike with a great view and refreshing cold water, after which we came back to the car and continued our path to Arizona.

      Utah, being a Mormon state, is mostly undeveloped. Sometimes it has no marks of civilization for long stretches of miles, and even when something does show up on the horizon, it's a village from the New Yorker's perception. Consequently, the sign that said "Day's Inn" really surprised us, merging practically in the middle of nowhere. It looked very tempting, standing beside a series of cheap motels that reminded of village huts with no accommodations or necessities. A warm hotel shower was the best present I could expect at that moment, although I don't think that the others had anything against it. We were celebrating after everybody took a shower by having a great dinner, because everyone was starving by that time. We stayed up very late, talking and fooling around, waiting for our laundry to get done. Finally, exhausted, we didn't even notice how we fell asleep.

      My seventeenth birthday came out to be the most beautiful and unusual experience of my life. The absence of annoying relatives, visiting, leaving the marks of their bright red lipstick on my cheeks, lack of the phone calls from abroad, from people I've seen maybe once or twice in my life made that day especially pleasant. The company that you spend your time with is very important. I had a lot more fun hiking with Diana, Marina, Max and Venya than I would've had sitting at some restaurant table with my relatives. I wish I could spend every birthday away from all the problems, somewhere in the middle of nowhere...