Eiffel Tower-April 30, 2013

I am short on time again. But I want to tell you that Derrick and Josh decided we were going to the top of Eiffel Tower tonight to see the city. After much arm twisting we went to Paris and bought our tickets, waited and got on the elevator to the top. When the operator said we were going up 46 stories I wanted off. It was all I could do not to yell for him to open the doors and let me off. However, Derrick was in front of me and probably would not have let me get off the elevator. I will tell you that it was worth every anxious moment. The view was stunning. The colors were absolutely indescribable. We were able to see two Bellagio water shows while we were 460 feet in the air. I have not downloaded the pictures from the top yet. But I do have two great pictures of the Eiffel Tower that were taken this afternoon.

 

 

 

It is easy for me to imagine what a sight the Eiffel Tower must be in Paris, France. It is twice as high as this one. I probably won't ever see that one so this one will have to do. What a great thing to do, to see Las Vegas from such a spectacular vantage point. We had a wonderful day. Oh, we got to eat at Gordon Ramsey's BurGR again. This time was even better than the first.

 

 

 

 

They're here!-April 29, 2013

Derrick, Hanmei, Hannah and Josh all arrived today. They were tired but happy to be in Las Vegas. We will be spending every possible minute with them so blog posts will have to take a back seat for a few days. I will take pictures every day but will wait to post them so that I have time to explain them. The temps broke a record today. 99°, a mere 15° above normal. Tomorrow will be another record breaker, then it should cool down back to normal. Thanks for understanding. More later.

Summerlin-April 27, 2013

The quart of liquid floor stripper arrived yesterday. It is now sitting on the floor waiting to be used. We have to wait until it is not so hot. Who wants to open the windows when it's 99° outside? We went to Summerlin for lunch today. If we lived here it would be in Summerlin or Green Valley, both suburbs of Las Vegas proper. There are so many pretty homes and condos in both areas. We came home a different way and passed behind the Strip. We were really surprised at the number of new hotels under construction. Remember the picture of Trump tower in the last blog? Well, here it is from a different direction and much closer.

It is really a very pretty building.

 

This is another gorgeous building. Actually there are two of these. One is called Wynn and the other is Encore. Both are owned by Steve Wynn. Both are gigantic casino/hotels.

 

 

We now know that Derrick and family plus great friend and our "#2 son", Josh are coming into town early afternoon on Monday. We are very excited to see all of them.

 

I hope your day tomorrow is very restful.

 

 

 

 

 

Disappointment in Rio-April 25, 2013

We have planned for a number of days to go to the Rio tonight to see the Carnival in the Sky show. We saw it when we were here last time. And it is fabulous. They have a parade just like the Carnival in Brazil except the floats are suspended in the ceiling. They throw beads from the floats and the music is wonderful. So, we got there early and wandered around waiting for the show to start. When we walked down front to get a good seat, we saw the sign that said the show was cancelled for tonight. I think we both were so disappointed that we really didn't know what to say. So, we wandered back out to the parking deck and came home. Now we don't know if it is cancelled for tonight only or forever. I suppose we will have to do some investigative work to find out. As we left I noticed one pretty building that reflected the setting sun.

Whether or not you like Donald Trump, you can see

that he builds a very pretty building. This is not a casino.

 

It was another pretty day today. The heat returns tomorrow. Oh well, it is Las Vegas so we have to expect a little heat.

 

Different people-April 23, 2013

We had to run some errands today one of which was to buy gas for the Cute Red Vehicle for $3.35 a gallon. We liked that. Another stop was at a Home Depot. We needed a liquid stripper to take the finish off these tile floors so we can start all over again. As we approached the front door, an employee who was working the door asked a couple to show their receipt for a furnace filter the wife was carrying. The two of them were completely blocking the door so we had no choice but to overhear the confrontation. The man asked in a very nasty voice why she needed to see his receipt? The employee replied that she is required to check all receipts when something is carried out the door without being in a shopping bag. She asked him again for the receipt. He told her it was none of her business and proceeded to walk away. It is conceivable that the furnace filter was stolen though we hope not. I thought the Home Depot employee was going to cry. I spoke to her quietly and told her I was sorry for the man's behavior. She said she has to deal with things like that every day and it is consistent with people who are not American citizens. She said they just don't understand and don't want to. I hope Home Depot pays their people a lot of money because no one needs to have to put up with anger and nastiness like what that man displayed. I had a hard time shaking that. A couple of hours later it struck me how blessed we are to live in the United States where we are taught how to be polite, how to follow rules and how to be thankful. Other countries are not taught manners. They are also raised with a chip on their shoulders. And I find that really sad. We experience some form of rudeness from a non US citizen almost every day of our lives, but none quite a nasty as this one. Bless that sweet lady at the door.

Sam's Town-April 22, 2013

Tomorrow is predicted to be our last day of spring. Hot weather moves in on Wednesday. The natives tell us that this is really nice compared to what it will be. Therefore, we are finally going to have to move on down the road in a couple of weeks. In the meantime we have learned to seek out buildings that have cool inviting areas inside. One such place is Sam's Town. It's just a couple of blocks from us.

The rocks are fake. The trees are real.

 

The deer is fake. The water is real.

 

Bear is fake but sounds real.

 

This lobby is like walking into a shady forest. It's really nice. It was cool and restful.

 

RVs and Mermaid-April 19, 2013

We went to an RV show at the Silverton/Bass Pro Shop. There was absolutely nothing at that show we would even step into. It was really bad. After we had driven there we thought we'd go inside and check on the gigantic fish tank. Unlike last time when they were feeding the fish, this time they had a mermaid entertaining the kids. It was interesting to see the big fish swim away from her and the little ones swim quite close.

See, she's a real mermaid!

 

It was fun to watch her swim. She seemed so at home in the water.

 

A couple got married in this aquarium earlier this week. They were in full wedding attire. They said they both liked to scuba dive so getting married among the fishes seem natural. Odd to me.

 

This is the wall between the Silverton and Bass Pro Shop. As

stated in a previous blog this is not your typical Bass Pro Shop. It's very nice.

 

Another nice day for us, on all counts.

 

 

 

 

Springs Preserve-April 18 2013

Several times we have passed the sign on the interstate about the Springs Preserve but didn't have a clue what it was. So, finally we looked into it and decided we needed to see it. We went today and were very impressed with what we saw. First of all, it allows for lots of walking through beautiful scenery. It is also a place of education on water conservation, landscaping for this climate and how to plant a pretty and functional garden. Lots of pictures were taken today and it is really hard to decide which ones to post.

A calm and pretty path to begin the walk through the Preserve.

 

 

All along the way there are delightful places to stop and rest.

 

 

We have no idea what kind of plant this is, but it was stunning.

 

 

 

This was such a pretty sprinkler. We need one to

water our pomegranate tree!

 

Another pretty path..........

 

The weather was most cooperative today. Very nice.

 

 

 

 

 

Pray for West-April 18, 2013

We have stayed in West, Texas, a stone's throw from the fertilizer plant that exploded last night. I blogged about a tiny little town with very few businesses left open except two fabulous German style bakeries. The park we stayed in for a week must have really felt that blast. We drove past the fertilizer plant while we were there and I remarked about that being out in the middle of nowhere. We drove past the nursing home and I remarked that we could retire there when we got tired of traveling. We drove past the nice high school and I wondered out loud how many students could possibly attend? So our memories of West are very vivid. That explosion will devastate the little town. Every person will feel the loss. What a tragedy. Please pray for this town, for the people and for healing in every way.

What a day-April 16, 2013

Neither of us slept last night. The wind was indescribable. We walked the floor and sat in the living room, tossed and turned and finally just gave up and sat and listened to the noise. It was almost deafening. We are happy it has let up a little. To add to the fun of a lack of sleep, I had to get a prescription filled which the doctor's office had approved in November, but due to changes in policies, it could not be filled again. So, off we went to a walk in clinic. It is a nice place. I was impressed with the lady doctor. I got my prescription but we both were horrified at the germs people were coughing all over the place. We would have been happy to have been sprayed with straight Clorox spray when we left. We had no idea so many people were sick. We thought they were all spending money on the Strip! It is conceivable to both of us that our traveling could be curtailed in the future based on major changes in our healthcare. We hope not, but it is not looking bright right now. We'll keep going til we have to stop. All in all it still was not a bad day. Just one of those days we all have to experience every once in a while. Back to having fun tomorrow!!

Count's Kustoms-April 15, 2013

Danny Koker, aka "The Count", owns Count's Kustoms. His television show on the History Channel is called Counting Cars. Danny is the best at restoring cars, trucks and motorcycles. We went to his shop one time week before last and it was closed because they were filming this year's shows. We finally got back there today and Danny was not there. That's too bad. We were allowed to look at his personal collection of cars and motorcycles. He does have quite a few. It was very dark inside so most of the pictures did not turn out well. He has a very nice set-up and we were happy to get to see it.

Danny restored this Chevy on one of the shows this past season.

It is really pretty. That paint job is excellent.

 

He has as many motorcycles in his personal collection as cars.

The motorcycles are much more colorful and they have lots more chrome.

 

1932 Roadster. This was the model for the first line of Hot Wheels cars.

 

It really was fun to see Danny's collection. It would have been much more fun to listen to him talk about his cars. He seems like a really nice guy on TV.

 

We left Count's and went to an upscale outlet mall. It was jam packed and everybody was carrying heavily loaded shopping bags except us. It is shocking how much money gets spent in this town.

 

Today was a day of intense wind. In many areas you cannot see anything above the traffic lights. It is blowing dirt, not just dust. They say another 24 hours and everything should settle down.

 

 

Wind-April 14, 2014

Yesterday was another day of wind. The natives call it breezy. We call it windy. And the wind is filled with pollen. It is calm so far today but the wind moves back in later and stays for three days.
These are the kind of days where we can get caught up on coach maintenance.

I wish you a very restful and blessed Sunday.

M-April 12, 2013

We had to go to Camping World today for a few RV supplies. It is way out of town, but it's a wonderful drive through that Green Valley area we like so much. The roads are 6 lanes, not on an interstate, and all lanes are generally full. Just as you start to turn to go to Camping World, the traffic just goes away and you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. It's the nicest Camping World we have been in so far. On the way, we pass a gorgeous building called M. That's it. M. It is a hotel/ resort/casino and probably whatever else you want it to be. The building comes to very sharp points on the ends. That means that those rooms on the ends have a rather unique view of all surrounding area including the Strip. I would love to see those rooms

 

 

See how you can see completely through the windows on the end rooms. If ever I

get inside one of these rooms, I'll post a picture.

 

Another very pretty day. We stopped at Chili's and had lunch on the way home. It's hard to beat their Quesadilla Explosion Salad. Yum. They say the wind returns tomorrow. That's too bad.

 

 

 

 

Big Elvis-April 11, 2013

After two days of strong wind we were happy to head to the Strip to see Big Elvis at Harrah's. I'll say first that the name fits. Pete Vallee aka Big Elvis is about 150 pounds heavier than Elvis when Elvis was fat. Get the picture? However, if you either don't look or look only at his face, he sounds just like him. He cannot be in good health, but he puts on a good show indeed. And it's free! He plays 3 shows a day, five days a week. I tried to take a picture during a song but it is so pitiful I almost don't want to post it. However, I will.

 

Trust me, you would not want to see a picture of Big Elvis standing up! Nor would

you want this picture to be clear. He has to sit in a gigantic chair while he performs.

 

Big E seems like a very nice guy. He interacts with his audience with great ease. And he really does have a wonderful voice. He has won many awards all around the country. Also in Harrah's we found a statue of ourselves:

 

Jerry and Cheryl in their better days!

 

Today was another day of endless walking. It was starting to get hot when we finally found our way back to the Cute Red Vehicle. But before we go to the parking deck, look what we found:

 

Or rather look WHO we found! Taylor is alive and well in Las Vegas.

 

They are predicting more wind to move in here this weekend. We hope they are wrong. It is the kind of wind that rattles nerves and covers everything with pollen and dirt. But we will accept whatever comes our way.

 



 

 

 



 



LV Bass Pro Shop aquarium-April 8, 2013

We needed something from Bass Pro Shop so we set out in between rain showers to find one here in Las Vegas. It was farther away than we thought but so worth the trip. This was the most elaborately decorated Bass Pro we have ever been in. Very, very nice. It goes without saying that it is attached to the huge Silverton casino/hotel. In between is a big aquarium. It was fun to just sit and watch. The toughest part is that a digital camera was not able to take pictures of it. I had to use my cell phone. Phone photographs can never be as good as camera pictures but better than no pictures at all. We lucked out and arrived at fish feeding time.

See the picture is fuzzy. Hopefully you can at least tell there are a ton of fish

in this aquarium. Everybody has seen one of these giant aquariums but I

really like that this one is in a casino. This is not like the one that Bass Pro Shop

has inside the store. This is a salt water aquarium and they have a diver to feed the fish.

 

The diver is feeding a sting ray of some type. And there's one

at her knee. They swarmed to her hair when she first descended into the tank.

She just gently pushed them away. She fed them squid and they were very hungry.

 

We were able to buy a couple of Christmas gifts. It's always nice to do that. Then the rain started moving in and the wind really picked up so we came on home. This is the first rain we have had in Las Vegas. But it does mean that it has rained at every single place we have visited in the past year. It was so badly needed here. We still hold the title of "rainmakers".   

 

 

 

Newton's home-April 6, 2013

We stumbled upon Wayne Newton's compound today. It is named Casa de Shenandoah. There is a 4x6 ft For Sale sign in front of it. Wonder if we could afford it? That is indeed a joke. We could not afford the gates much less the entire compound. It is extraordinary. I suspect when he built it there was nothing there and it was in the middle of nowhere. It has been completely enveloped by houses and businesses in an area called Green Valley. And it happens to be an area we like very much. We drove around Green Valley until we found a wonderful little shopping village. After roaming through a Whole Foods Store we decided to shop in the shops on the little main street. We couldn't afford that either but it was great to see. They are preparing for a fundraising event called An Affair of the Art with proceeds going to St Jude's. The village has huge pieces of art that look like human hearts that have been painted by different people. We have seen that done everywhere but not with replicas of a human heart. It was a bit creepy. Here's one example:

 

Would you bid on this to go in your front yard? Moi would not.

 

We enjoyed all that we saw. We were able to get a good deal of walking done plus explore an area we like very much. We found a steak house, Hank's, which had a $50 cut of steak on the menu. We didn't stop there either. I guess we are just ordinary people who don't need to spend money like that. We still had a fun day.

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday tomorrow.



 

Gordon Ramsay's BurGR-April 5, 2013

We went to the Strip to eat at Gordon Ramsay's BurGR in Planet Hollywood. What a fun thing to do! This is one of three restaurants Gordon has opened here this year. It is classified a "burger joint" but a joint it is not. The utensils were so pretty and unique and heavy, I really wanted to take a knife home. No way that was going to happen. I ordered a Fish and Crisp Sandwich knowing that Gordon would not allow fish to be bad. It was fabulous. Jerry had a Hell's Kitchen Burger. He said it was good but not the best he had ever had. However, he ordered a side of sweet potato fries. I am so happy he could not eat them all so I could try a few. Hands down, those were the best sweet potato fries either of us has ever eaten. And we think we will never have s. p. fries that good again. When you put your name on the list for a table, instead of those buzzer things that call you to your table, they send a text to your cell phone. Terrific! Very efficient.

This is the BurGR menu. Sorry about the flash and sorry I was holding it crooked.

But you get the idea. Very clever.

 

 

Front of the Harley Davidson Café. Look at the size of the people and you can

see the actual size of the Harley coming out of the front wall. It's huge!

 

 

We haven't a clue what business this is, but look at this thing! Both buildings

are really that crooked. It is so weird. Wonder what the architect was sniffing?

 

It was another wonderful day though a bit on the warm side. One good thing about going to places on the Strip, you get lots of exercise walking from one place to another. A Las Vegas block is at least 1/4 of a mile, maybe more. The buildings look close together but when you start walking you realize they are not too close at all. No complaints here. We enjoy walking. 

 

 

 

 

Musical fountains at Bellagio-April 4, 2013

You never know what music you will hear but you know the show will be wonderful. It never lasts long enough but it is worth walking a long distance to get to Bellagio if need be. We didn't have to go too far and it was not too hot. Recycled water from hotel showers at Bellagio is the source of this huge water display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is at the very end of the show.

 

I took still pictures with the camera. Jerry took a 2 1/2 minute video with his phone. It is not possible to send something that large from a phone so I cut it down to a few seconds. I will post the link now, with a warning that it could not be rotated from a phone. If you can open it you may (or may not) have to turn your head or your computer to view it. Who knows? It might even play with no problems. Turn up your sound.

 

 

These musical fountain shows at Bellagio are always entertaining. They are prettiest at night when they add colored lights to the water. We happened to be there in early evening. It was still terrific to see.

 

 

Conservatory at Bellagio-April 3, 2013

During our last trip here we went to the Conservatory at Bellagio and were so impressed at the Christmas decorations that we were really looking forward to see what decorations they used this time of year. It did not disappoint.

 

This is the first thing you see when you enter the Conservatory. The smiles begin here.

 

These gigantic wooden shoes carry out the theme of all of the bulbs in bloom.

 

These enormous tulips appear to be made of metal. They are very pretty.

 

 

These are definitely real.

 

 

Again, this daffodil appears to be made of metal.

 

 

These huge butterflies could be made of some sort of fabric. The ceiling is full of them.

 

In the center of the huge Conservatory is a glass building akin to a hothouse. There are few plants inside and instead, it is a butterfly habitat. No one can go inside. But the butterflies are so big it is very easy to see them and watch them feed.

 

 

 

 

 Who knew butterflies liked oranges?

 

This is such a delightful thing to see. It is a happy place. It is, however, always fairly crowded. I am most appreciative to the Bellagio for providing this respite for people to enjoy. And it's free!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rick's, Mirage and TI-April 2, 2013

We had a busy day today and enjoyed every minute of it. Our first stop was at Rick's Restorations which is the scene of American Restoration on the History Channel. The tour was so crowded and we could not take pictures inside. They filmed this season's shows last week so we could not photograph what will be shown on television. We saw Cowboy, Bob and Tyler. In fact Tyler spoke to me. Well, he said "Excuse me" because I was in the way! So I moved.

This is the truck Rick drives on the television show.

 

Then we drove on to the Strip. First stop was at TI, formerly known as Treasure Island.

This is where the volcano and fire show takes place at night.

 

Then on to the Mirage.

 

 

Next was Caesar's Palace

 

We also went to the Bellagio and saw the Conservatory and well as the musical fountains show. There are just too many pictures to post today. I hope I can post a video of the fountain show tomorrow. I'm having a hard time getting it moved from phone to blog. I'll keep working. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. We have decided to stay another week here. It's just too much fun to leave. Plus the weather is fabulous.

 

 

 

 

 

Ethel M's Chocolates-April 1, 2013

Today's adventure was not just for the most wonderful chocolate candy we have ever bought, but to see the incredible cactus garden. I will spare you from reading and just let you look.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've posted pictures of this garden before but it was in late fall. Nothing was blooming and much of it was brown. This is just extraordinarily beautiful. It has to take a monumental amount of upkeep.