Forgot downtown Las Vegas-April 27, 2019

I discovered while trying to clear pictures off of my phone that I had not finished posting about Las Vegas. We spent a day in downtown Las Vegas. It is where the old casinos are. And it has had a cover built over it so it's called the Fremont Experience. The word "experience" is an understatement.
They get by with things here that cannot be done on the Strip.

 

This is the cover over the entire area. No matter what the weather

you can still walk around outside. It's all lit up at night.

(Never noticed the White Castle before).

 

This cute shoe came from one of the demolished casinos. Most

of the signs are in the Neon Museum. We skipped that museum

this trip but saw it last trip. It is just fascinating. To see the gigantic

size of those old signs was so interesting.

 

One might assume this came from the Flamingo but I doubt it.

First of all, the Flamingo is still standing though it was the first

casino ever built in Las Vegas. It's very old. I cannot explain

this sign but it's cute.

 

I want to be nice while I describe one thing we saw downtown that simply could not be believed. There was an older woman in a wheelchair holding a sign that read "Retired stripper needs money for food". Ok. She was well into retirement age for any occupation. She had not ever gone without food. The bottom part of her ample body was covered. But, well, the top was not. She only had on pasties. Here's the tough part. The pasties were resting on her knees. Got the picture? I desperately wanted a picture of that sight but figured she would want to charge me $20 to pose for the picture. I will say she had on more clothes than the singing cowboy I saw last time. He was nude! He only had a guitar covering him in front. Oh he did have his boots on. Downtown, as previously stated, is very different from the Strip. And one might assume there are no rules or restrictions.

 



 

On our way back from downtown we made it a point to find Freed's Bakery.

60 years old and going stronger than ever. We heard about this

on the Food Network and we had to see if for ourselves. There

are no words. And I can't describe the wonderful fragrance of

the place. I can testify the sweets are a wonderful treat.

 

Warning: as I clear more photos off of my phone I may find more pictures. Be prepared.

 

So how can somebody take so many pictures? It's not hard to take the pictures but it is certainly hard to see all that Las Vegas has to offer. The last time we were there we stayed 3 months and still did not see everything. I am sorry for the people who think the only thing in LV is casinos. They are so wrong. It is a wonderful city full of life, lights, fun and friendly people. Love Las Vegas!

 

 

 

 

Leaving Las Vegas-April 23, 2019

I have so many more pictures of Las Vegas but I am sure you are very tired of it by now. Please allow me a few more pictures. Bear in mind that after this we temporarily revert back to granddaughters. This should be a welcome break from them though I do want to post some Easter pictures eventually.

The fun thing about driving through the desert southwest is that

you can so easily see what weather is happening around you, well,

most of the time you can. Here you can see it is raining even though

it's several miles away. We never did drive through any of this.

 

Last view of the Colorado River leaving Lake Meade/Hoover Dam.

At this point it is still a big healthy river and a pretty green color.

 

Last view of Lake Meade. We have driven all the way around it.

Not only is it a huge lake but it is actually very pretty and scenic.

This view has not always been available, only when they completed

I-11.

 

What do you think caused the holes in this huge rock?

I haven't a clue.



 

I think I just found some pictures I failed to post. We'll see if I can adjust to stopping now. We had so much fun I want to share it all.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Las Vegas misc-April 17, 2019

There are a couple of pictures I want to share but they don't fall into any particular category.

 

Name this one "Walls". Walls are everywhere in Las Vegas. I

would personally estimate that perhaps only one house in 100

doesn't have a wall. They also don't have grass behind those walls.

Say what you want about a wall on the border, the people of Vegas

know the value of walls around their property.

 

Casa de Shenandoah, Wayne Newton's estate.

There is an interesting story behind this entry. During our last 3 month stay in Las Vegas Wayne filed for bankruptcy. He lost this place which was bought at auction. Wayne and his family refused to leave. After several months he left and went out of the country, as the story goes. His aunt who lives in one of the houses on the property flatly refused to move. But this entry was changed along with the name of the property. We left to return to our mundane life and don't know what happened. We drove past it during this last visit and low and behold, Wayne's name was back on the entry. So, he must have won out. His name is still powerful in Las Vegas. One time we went to an Arabian horse show at Southpoint. Wayne made an appearance and walked all the way around the arena with his entourage in tow. In the end the World Champion Arabian horse was named. From behind the curtain came Wayne Newton and his partners, two men from Saudi Arabia, leading the beautiful horse. You can fill in the blanks.

 

We will be babysitting for the next 3 days including egg dying on Saturday, so I will have to put this blog on the back burner until at least Sunday, maybe Monday. Please allow me to wish you a very Happy Easter now.

 

Mob Museum-April 15, 2019

A visit to the Mob Museum was a real surprise. We had no idea it was 4 full floors of documented information in videos, pictures, newspaper articles, government documents. Absolutely everything was documented. No opinions, just facts. It was astonishing what was shown. It explained how the mob has infiltrated every aspect of our lives even if you don't realize it.

As we were walking toward the museum hundreds of people were pouring out of the doors. I really do mean hundreds. We had no idea that many people could possibly be inside of that building. So we continued up the steps thinking they were on a tour of some sort. When we opened the door we heard an alarm going off. So, I asked a lady at the door who appeared to be official what was going on? She said there was an emergency alarm and someone would have to clear the building before people could go back in. What? Who on earth would threaten the Mob Museum? You'd have to be nuts to do that! In short order it was cleared and we went in to begin our study.

 

 

Displays in no particular order.

Yes, this is the real wall. The actual bullet holes are circled in

red. No, that's not blood. The holes are circled in red so you don't

miss any of them. This was a bit creepy. I would love to know what

it took to get this wall to this museum.

 

These are the actual bullets recovered from the bodies of the

victims killed in the Valentine's Day Massacre. The victim's

names are shown.

 

I had studied the Lindbergh baby kidnapping

but I had no clue about this part of the story.

Very interesting.

 

Al Capone revolver.

 

There was a complete and detailed explanation about how this

money was tracked and then recovered from the mob. It was way

too complicated for me to tell you about it. It was amazing.

 

In the basement there was a speakeasy. They make moonshine there. Plus they have a bar where you can drink the moonshine or buy bottles to take home, legally. What I really enjoyed was flapper dresses worn by ladies of that era that they had on display. I've always enjoyed flapper dresses. I even went as a flapper one Halloween when I was young.

 

 

Obviously the moonshine is made in small batches.

 

I really want to go back in the future and spend an entire day in this museum. You can come and go as you please. They give you wristbands so once you buy your ticket you are set for the day. There was just too much information in this building to take it all in and try to remember what you have seen in a short length of time. I cannot imagine how much time and work went into museum. It is absolutely unbelievable. I highly recommend the Mob Museum to anyone who visits Las Vegas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethel M's-April 14, 2019

This page of the blog is either going to be too big to post or I will have to cover two days with it. The pictures are so pretty it's hard to leave any out.

So who is Ethel M? Ethel Mars. As in Mars Candy Co, maker of so many of our favorite candies, including M&Ms. Forest Mars, Sr, started Ethel M's in 1981. Ethel was the name of Forest's mother. They manufacture a line of exquisite candies not sold to the mass markets and grocery stores. I cannot tell you how good it is. We have always and will always go to Ethel M's every time we are in Vegas.

But the unusual thing about Ethel M's is the Cactus Garden. There are 300 types of cactus in the garden and it is so beautifully maintained the pictures don't look real. Trust me, this is one of the prettiest sites in the Vegas area.

 

I am about to see how many pictures I am allowed to post.

 

 

We were a few days too early to see the colorful blooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethel M's is in the flight path of the airport. So every couple of minutes

an interesting plane flies over. This one is a Southwest.

 

Ocotillo.

 

 

 

Sometimes interesting things happen in a garden. I will enlarge the following picture as much as possible in case you don't believe me.

Look closely. It's none other than Elvis!! I had spilled watermelon on my blouse when we stopped for lunch right before going to Ethel M's. Otherwise, I would have made a fool of myself over this hunk of burning love! This guy was a good looking impersonator. At first I thought maybe they were filming a promo or commercial. But then we saw a bride and her father. I would assume Elvis was going to sing at her wedding. Lucky girl. This was the frosting on the cake of what was a wonderful day. Weddings take place in this garden often. And why not? It's a beautiful place.

 

I have chosen to end here for fear of boring you with all the cactus. But I will post two more pictures of the production line at Ethel M's.

 

 

 

Thank you for your patience in allowing me to share this very special place. I hope you get to see it in person one day.

 

 

 

 

The Linq-April 11, 2019

The Linq, sometimes called the High Roller, is the world's tallest observation wheel. Several years ago ground was broken for another wheel at the end of the airport. As soon as the ground was turned over the company went bankrupt. No more High Roller so people have attached that name to the Linq. I just call it the Linq. It is not a ferris wheel. It is an observation wheel because it takes 30 minutes to complete the ride so you have plenty of time to observe the Las Vegas skyline. This wheel is 550 feet high. I was told when we rode it the first time that it was 35 stories tall. That's not right but I fell for it. By legal description 550 feet is equal to 55 stories making the Linq the tallest structure in Las Vegas, putting the Stratosphere in the dust. Trust me, a person who does not like heights, it is really, really tall.

The view of the Linq from the Strip. Please note the little

pods, called cabins.

 

Let me see if I can explain about those pods/cabins. For a reason I cannot explain I thought they stayed still and just made the loop on the wheel. Well, duh, no they don't stay still. Note they are on the outside of the wheel. So as it rises and gets to the top and then rides back down again, the pods rotate like they are on a gyroscope. I had no idea.

So here I am processing that news along with the announcement

Jerry made every foot to the top. Then the loud speaker lady

announces you are at the top and I wanted to cry. Note how small

the buildings are in the background.

 

Here we see the cabin ahead of us as we are leaving the

loading dock. Oh by the way, you get on this thing while it is

moving and you depart the same way. It never stops. We cannot

figure out how a wheel chair gets on but it did give us a moment

of frivolity thinking about it.

 

Another view, quite a bit higher, but not at the top yet.

 

This is part of the mechanism that makes this massive

wheel work. I will not attempt to explain it. I just

pray it is maintained by thorough experts regularly.

 

Let's look at the scenery.

The Flamingo hotel/casino and all the pale people

by the swimming pool.

 

Obviously, the Wynn. The blue one is the new one

replacing the Riviera.

 

The Venetian with Trump Tower in the background.

 

Hilton Grand Vacations. Note airport in far left.

 

And back on terra firma:

Absolutely fabulous lunch at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant.

He KNOWS fish!

 

It was a fun day but I am not sure I want to do this again. This was our second ride. We rode it the first week it was opened. Not much info available then. Too much info available now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conservatory at Bellagio-April 10, 2019

Everywhere we go we are amazed at how many people do now know about the Conservatory at the Bellagio. It is a 14,000 sq ft atrium inside one of the entrances at the Bellagio. It is always open and free. The theme is changed about 5 times a year. This time of year the theme is a Japanese Garden. And as always, it is just stunning.

 

 

A replica of the Osaka castle. All sorts of materials are used to make

this display. Most of this picture contains live flowers.

 

From the side and back.

 

I can't tell you what the cranes are made from but

the tulips are real and every one is perfect.

 

The cherry trees are real. Don't know what the birds are made

of but it has to be lightweight as they are huge.

 

Live flowers.

 

Real water!

 

Real koi!

 

Again, it is so massive it has to be made of

something very light.

 

The entire Conservatory is ringed with exclusive shops and

restaurants. This was a display beside one of the shops.

All artificial but very pretty.

 

Please, please if you are ever in Las Vegas go to the Conservatory. It is always beautiful and well worth your time.

 

After we left the Bellagio we walked to the Flamingo and stepped out into their nature area.

They have oodles of birds and animals. I don't know what kind of

duck this is, but he wanted to be really friendly.

 

Does it not make sense that the Flamingo hotel would have

an abundance of flamingos? They stink.

 

And this leads to the Linq. Lots of pictures of that tomorrow.