Columnist Muriel Stevens: After trip, Las Vegas a welcome sight

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005 | 8:20 a.m.

San Francisco's heavy rain precluded my doing any shopping during my recent soggy vacation. Any thought of shopping when I returned home was dashed by the unusual amount of rain falling in Las Vegas. The trip back was uneventful, although we had been told to expect a turbulent ride and that we would be confined to our seats until our arrival.

In spite of all these warnings, the flight to Las Vegas was bumpy, but not excessively so. We arrived in good spirits and thankful for a smooth landing. We were thankful also for our cheerful and mostly efficient airport. Baggage retrieval often requires a wait that can be longer than a trip to San Francisco.

Certainly, getting through security in Las Vegas is more pleasant than at San Francisco International Airport. The agents, mostly young males, were sullen and disagreeable without any need to be. No one was complaining about the procedure.

Our airport was a wonderful sight after the dreary atmosphere we had just departed. It was a pleasure to be home.

Raincoat disaster: In my coat closet are a number of raincoats that I've collected over the years. Most have been acquired on trips when I neglected to bring one and the promised fair weather turned foul.

And foul it was when I wore a coat I rarely donned in our usually fair city.

I loved this coat. It was long and stylish (past tense intended) and made of a black-on-black plasticized silk fabric. It was piped in red and had swaggering lapels that could be arranged around a face trying to avoid the wind. It was the perfect coat for a recent windy day with heavy rain.

I never gave a thought to the length of time this unworn coat had been hanging in my closet ... until a friend I was dining with asked when I stood up what had happened to my coat.

What had happened was that the plasticized fabric had separated in shreds from the silk lining. The sleeves and coat front were intact, as was the lining. Only the back and the neck (not the lapels) looked as if I'd plucked this coat from a rummage bin.

My once-beautiful raincoat will be sent to the manufacturer. Not for a refund -- too much time has passed -- but for an explanation. There were no warnings on any of the coat's care labels that this could happen.

Oh well, I now have space in my closet for a new raincoat.

Zocolate, real or practical joke?: Is there a chocolate worth $1,000 a box? Sean Sloan, founder and president of Zocolate and www.zocolate.com, thinks so. Put-on or real, I don't know, but reading the info on the Web site is a surreal experience.

Sloan says his Zocolate is different. "How to eat Zocolate is a secret only our customers know," Sloan says, adding that he doesn't know of any chocolate that sells for more.

I'm not certain that's true, or that anything else he says is true, yet it's a kick to read. I wonder if George Clooney would like to order a box. He's said to be a wicked practical joker.

Dam Film Festival: Boulder City will be hosting the Dam Film Festival Feb. 4-6. This sanctioned centennial event will screen more than 100 films from around the world. For additional info visit www.damshortfilm.org or call 293-4848.