Polo Towers

Posted on March 15, 2016March 15, 2016 by Dusty Roads

After a long but uneventful flight we arrived at McCarren International Airport, Las Vegas, NV. A quick hello to the tortoise in the terminal

and we were taking a short cab ride to our destination, Polo Towers, in the heart of the strip.

Polo Towers is a time share resort. There is no casino but we had a lovely one bedroom on the 14th floor.

There was a huge bed in the bedroom and a pull out couch in the living room. We also had a full kitchen with fridge, stove and microwave.

There is a shuttle to some of the malls and a grocery store but we were content to pick up our provisions in the little mini mart in the resort.

There is also a pool and a fitness center although we didn’t get a chance to use either.

Upon arrival we were treated like VIP’s. Everyone making us feel welcome.

It had been a long day . We left Albany Airport at 11 am but didn’t arrive in Las Vegas until 6:30 pm. We quickly got checked in and settled.

We took a quick look at the views of the strip from our room and then headed out for dinner.

Our meal was enjoyed with the elephants of the Rainforest Cafe before we returned to our room for the night.

Time enough to explore in the morning.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted on February 14, 2016February 14, 2016 by Dusty Roads

It’s the middle of February all ready! Happy Valentine’s Day. Even if your single, celebrate with best friend, you!

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Farewell South Beach

Posted on February 10, 2016February 10, 2016 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Well it was my last day in South Beach. I finally got to spend a little time with my favorite cousin. Kathy and I had lots of fun growing up but we haven’t seen too much of each other as adults.

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Kathy picked me up in front of my resort and we went in search of someplace to have lunch off the strip finally settling on a little deli style place where we could eat at a table in front.

My afternoon was spent packing up and roaming the strip. I ran into some of the homeless folks that I’d gotten used to meeting on my walks. I was touched and surprised when one grabbed me and hugged me and wished me well.

For my last evening I decided to treat myself to a salad and shrimp cocktail right on Ocean Drive. Shrimp-Cocktail-2-800

The shrimp looked like mini lobster tails and were delicious. I rounded out my healthful meal with one glass of chardonnay. I got sticker shock when I got the bill. After I added the tip it came to $108.00! Wow! I could eat a lot of steak in Boston for that. But it was worth it.

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The next morning my cab ($40.00 including tip) picked me up on time and delivered me to the airport with time to spare.

All too soon I was winging back to the cold northeast but at least my furry roommates would be glad to see me.

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Gator Wrestling Anyone?

Posted on January 29, 2016January 29, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Once we returned from air boat ride we followed the signs to the gator wrestling pit. This was in a different place from the old pit where I saw J Mark do his performance.

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The new pit had a cover so if the rain started only the wrestler would get wet. The audience would stay nice and dry. There were tip boxes placed along the fence.

We had a lady wrestler that I’d never seen before. I don’t think she was ever on the Gator Boys show but I could be wrong. I may have missed an episode or two.

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She did the usual tricks, nothing new. After the show you could have your picture taken with a baby alligator.

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I have to admit to feeling a bit let down. My last visit has so much emotion attached to it because J Mark passed away after I’d seen his show. As a result this visit left me feeling kind of flat. I would have liked to see one of the show’s principal’s make an appearance. But that was not to be on this day.

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The air boat ride was good, especially with the iguana at the end but I’ve been spoiled by going out on the smaller 6 person air boats. Now the big Holiday Park boats don’t have the same thrill as before.

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All I can say is they do good work, rescuing alligators and deserve support. I’m sure I’ll continue to keep them on my South Florida activity list.

Return to Everglades Holiday Park

Posted on January 27, 2016January 27, 2016 by Dusty Roads | 4 Comments

The rain finally let up on Tuesday….sort of. It was still gray and overcast but I was scheduled for the Everglades tour. A big double Decker bus worked it’s way down Ocean Drive and stopped right in front of the Crescent Resort. My ride had arrived.

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I climbed to the open air top deck but the ride was only to the ticket office. When it was my turn I was directed to a smaller van operated by “Luis”. When we finally headed out he had a full load. It was a good thing we were in the van too . The skies opened up and it began to pour!

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Just before we reached Everglades Holiday Park the rain stopped. It was still very overcast but at least it wasn’t raining. Even if it started to rain again, the airboats at Holiday Park as covered.

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Our pictures were taken as we stood inline and then it was time to board.

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I passed the time waiting getting a kick out of the local grackle. They were into everything!

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After a brief safely talk we were on our way.

The first thing I spotted was an Anhinga, the “snake bird” of the Everglades. They call it that because of its long neck.

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Next up were the cormorants perched on the warning sign.

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With no sun, alligators were in short supply. We only saw one.

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But we had fun with a family of Purple Gallinule.

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These funny birds walk on top of the vegetation.

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We had a whole family join us including a pretty young chick.

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On the way back to the dock we spotted a huge iguana perched in the trees.

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He was a beautiful specimen on the one hand, but kind of depressing on the other as this is an invasive species. Along with pythons they are wreaking havoc on the native animals of the Everglades.