Vegas, The Venetian

The Venetian Casino has got to be the most beautiful casino on the Strip. The artwork is beyond belief, from statues to paintings to the walls and ceilings. This is Ken at one of the restaurants. We had a wonderful dinner there, without the dinner menu. Can't afford the dinner menu. But the bar menu is wonderful, for a lot less. Try their Lemon Drops. A great martini.

The ceilings are reproductions of ceilings in famous buildings in Europe. You can spend hours just reading the plaques of what each ceiling panel is a copy of. The same goes for the floors.

Ken, me and one of the roaming performers. She played a wonderful accordion selection that echoed off the walls and ceiling.

The Venetian is famous for one thing, the canals. There is a series of water filled canals, on the second floor, with a gondola, complete with rower and singer. You can rent a gondola for half hour to an hour, and be serenaded while you're being rowed from one spot to another.

I was totally blown away. The canals are lined by wonderful shops and art galleries. The rower is singing as he rows, his voice echoing through the halls. If Venice is like this, I want to go there. Another one of the things you can spend the day enjoying, without ever stepping foot into the casino section. And it's on the second floor! The question I never got answered, how much does all this water weigh? and what happens if there is a leak?

Las Vegas around the strip

Vegas is built in a desert. And water fountains are all over the place. While they are things of beautiful and are great to cool off next to by standing in the spray, the only way I think you can justify the water use is that it's all recycled water.

Another thing about Vegas, it is always under construction. I have never seen so many construction cranes. New towers, new casinos, new amusement venues. Glass and steel everywhere.
Another fountain. I didn't count how many I walked by, just walking a few minutes. Of course none of these fountains hold a candle to the fountains at the Bellisago. Which I didn't get any footage of!

The entrance to the MGM Grand. Did I mention fountains? The MGM is so big, you can't walk it from one end to the other in less than an hour. Its claim to fame is the lion habitat inside. But it's too big to really enjoy it. You get turned around trying to walk through the maze of gaming tables and wear yourself out trying to find a bathroom!

The Luxor. The only reason I would go back to Vegas is this casino designed to be a salute to Egypt. Which I understand the whole theme is going to be tore down in the near future. The attention to detail in its replication of the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx is just incredible.

The pool at the Excalibur. A wonderful place to do nothing. From cabanas to a bar pool side to live music every afternoon, it's got everything you need to relax. Comfy lounges, large umbrellas to hide under to get out of the sun, an area for adults only, water slides, and attentive servers. My big complaint, it closed at 8 pm because it's not lit. When the mid day temperatures are over 100, and drop to 90 at dusk, seems to me you'd want to enjoy it when it's cooler.

Las Vegas 2008

Everyone who has visited Vegas know the classic skyline. Or if you watch CSI. 2008 was the first time I'd ever visited 'Sin City'. It lives up to its' repetition. From fast crowds, to noise to lights that never darken, Vegas is quite the sight.

A couple of the casinos at the edge of the 'Strip. At night every inch is awash in lights.
The main section of the Strip. The roller coaster goes over and through some of the older casinos. Not for the faint of heart, I'm sure. The colorful buildings stand out in bright desert sun.
The Excalibur Casino. Probably the friendliest place in regards to dealers. Lots of shows going on in the evening and an excellent steak house.
New York, New York Casino. The roller coaster starts here. Inside it's like walking through New York City in the 30s. Great murals and hole in the wall restaurants. The food is very pricey here, you're definitely paying for the location.


Paris Casino and the replica of the Eiffel Tower. You can take the express elevator to the top to look out over the Strip. Inside a fake sky complete with clouds and sunrise, sunset makes you forget you're actually inside for a little while. The base of the Eiffel Tower makes up part of the interior structure. It's a real work of art.

San Diego Wild Animal Park, pt. 2

Ken and Doug at the entrance to the park. Ken's scooter really had a workout, from hills to gravel paths.
The meerket enclosure. They are such neat social creatures.

A beautiful gazelle of some type.

The tram took us around the wild animal park in about a 20 minute tour. I wish I'd known there was a photo tour you could take. You're in a open jeep that spends a couple hours inside the individual enclosures, allowing a close encounter with the wildlife.

The trip to San Diego was fun and a nice break from Alaska. Time to face reality and head back to cold, snow and an active volcano.

San Diego Wild Animal Park

This enormous wildlife sanctuary contains a vast collection of animals from all over the world. It also was the location for much of the Jurassic Park movies. A tram takes you though the park with stops to see animals roaming free.

Walking trails cross streams and waterfalls. Along with the wonderful animals are all types of plants showcasing tropical plants from all over.

It's a beautiful place to spend the dayl

Don't ask me. It's an antelope of some type.

Don't you love flamingos?

Balboa Park and Car Musuem

So I'm a sucker for playgrounds! This was the first time I'd encountered a playground with a rubber sponge floor. Like walking on springs.


The entrance to the Aviation Museum, which I didn't get to go through. A beautifully restored SR-71.

Some of the cars in the Automotive Museum. This is my favorite.
Beautiful cars restored to works of art.

Scenes around San Diego

One of the huge railroad layouts in the Railroad Museum in Balboa Park. This museum is an act of love. Many of the layouts are exact replicas of railroads of eras past, including replicas of the towns, mines, railroad trestles, parts of San Diego's railroads and ports. Future replicas are laid out in design and photos to show what is being built.

The Botanical Gardens inside of Balboa Park. The most beautiful orchids are in this garden. It smells wonderful and the trickle of small waterfalls throughout this building make it a wonderful place to walk.
The Botanical Garden building. A wonderful place to spend several hours.


This building is a replica of a theatrical hall in Europe. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about it except that it's beautiful.

One of the many waterfalls in the park.

A few miles away is an indoor go-cart track. Very fast, very loud. After 20 minutes of screaming around the track I had enough.