Hoover Dam

Posted on March 21, 2016March 21, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Day 2 of our Las Vegas visit started cool and bright. We were up early as we had to catch the Hoover Dam tour bus. With the construction going on around Polo Towers, the driver had a challenge maneuvering the big, full sized bus around the sharp corners to the loading area at the West entrance.

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Our Dam guide explained that the strong desire to harness nature’s power drove the human mind and body to build a dam in the hottest, driest area of the United States. People wanting to irrigate low lying plains, known as low desert areas, without suffering from flooding and the battle over water made it obvious to the United States government that the Colorado River was part of the solution and the perfect location was the deep gorge of the Black Canyon of the Colorado.

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As a survivor of the “Big Dig” , Boston, one of the facts that most impressed me was that this giant project came in not only under budget but 2 years ahead of schedule! A consortium called Six Companies Inc. won the right to build the concrete arch dam.

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They created a planned community to house the 5000-man workforce. Miles of street were paved and railroad tracks were laid to connect the canyon-side village to the project site and neighboring Las Vegas. The community, known as Boulder City, is still standing and is one of only 2 cities in Nevada that prohibit gambling. The casinos near the city are actually outside the city limits.

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Our tour took us inside the dam to view the huge turbines that generate electricity for customers in California, Arizona, and Nevada and creates enough power for 1.3 Million people.

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The Bureau of Reclamation, the department subsidizing the project, supplied a whopping 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete for the dam itself, plus another 1.11 million cubic yards for the power plant and additional facilities. This quantity of concrete would be enough to build 3000 miles of road—a full-sized highway from one end of the United States to the other. Additionally, the dam required about five million barrels of cement, nearly equaling the total quantity of cement utilized by the Bureau in its previous 27 years of existence.

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Lake Mead formed behind the high walls of Hoover Dam creating a huge reservoir called the Hoover Dam recreation area. DSC_2432 copy

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The dam, the gorge and lake Mead all combine to make a spectacular vista.

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Las Vegas by Time Share

Posted on March 19, 2016March 19, 2016 by Dusty Roads

When you own a time share they always want to give you updates. It’s a chance for them to try to sell you something more. A plain old update, no sale, is about 55 minutes and you get neat gifts for your time. Sometimes show tickets, sometimes amusement park tickets, it all depends on where you are and what attractions are in the area. I knew in advance that I would get a $100.00 Visa card to use toward a show so I agreed to “have breakfast on Diamond”.

Things didn’t go quite as I planned so suffice it to say I succumbed to an offer I couldn’t refuse. My 55 minutes was more like 5 hours but in the end I was happy and I have reached the level of membership that I was striving for. I will never have to do another purchase again! From now on it will be 55 minute updates.

We were given the VIP treatment from that point on and showered with candy and huge discounts on show tickets and dinners. We ate at Pampas one night. Our bill was $70.00 but we only had to pay $10.00! It’s nice to be a VIP (Gold level owner).

Heavy duty negotiations can really build up your appetite so as soon as we could break free we headed out for lunch. Since we were doing a lot of walking I had brought along a cane “just in case”. Sandy thought that sounded like a good idea as the walking was bothering her back so we headed for the CVS across the street.

One thing about Vegas …it gives new meaning to the phrase “can’t get there from here”. Most intersections won’t let you cross. You have to walk several blocks, cross a pedestrian bridge and then come back to where you wanted to be in the first place.

On the way to CVS we had to pass Bobby’s Burger Palace one of Bobby Flay’s Restaurants.

That was a good place to stop for lunch.

The burgers were excellent. I had a side of onion rings. All I can say is WOW and Bobby Flay is not one of my favorite Celebrity Chefs but now I know why he’s considered to be so good.

After lunch and cane shopping we walked the strip.

We visited the Hershey store, (Yum) chocolate.

And a chocolate Statue of Liberty.

We lingered in New York. Lady Liberty is reinforced Styrofoam.

Leo the MGM Lion on the other hand was hollow but real bronze. The statue weighs 50 tons, and at 45 feet (14 m) tall, on a 25-foot pedestal, is the largest bronze statue in the U.S.

Coral Gables

Posted on February 6, 2016February 6, 2016 by Dusty Roads

As we left Little Havana we passed a sculpture that seemed to reach for the sky. Our tour guide said it was the Challenger sculpture.

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The Challenger Memorial, sculpture by Isamu Noguchi, is located on Southwest corner of Bayfront Park in downtown Miami, Florida. The memorial is white, composed of metal piping, and rises 100 feet, designed with a twisted shaped to symbolize the contrail of the Challenger as it rose on its fateful, final flight.

As we enter the neighborhood known as Coral Gables we were back to ducking tree branches and palm fronds that over hang the streets.

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Coral Gables is unique in a couple of ways. Dubbed “The City Beautiful,” Coral Gables is known for its tree-lined boulevards, ivy-covered mansions and historical landmarks such as the world-famous Biltmore Hotel and the Venetian Pool, both built in the 1920s. According to our tour guide there are no homes valued at under $1,000,000 in Coral Gables.

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Coral Gables was one of the first “planned communities” and prefigured the development of the gated community.

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Most of the homes are made of Coral, the walkways and walls, foundations and decorative features , all coral.

Leaving Coral Gables behind we headed back to the Bayside, a shopping and entertainment complex where we would have lunch and then catch the boat ride through the harbor islands.

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A Double Decker City Tour

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

After a relaxing and sunny day on Wednesday I was ready for a new adventure. So on Thursday I was headed out for the City Tour on the Double Decker buses. It would take most of the day and include lunch and a boat ride through the islands to look at the million dollar homes of the stars. Miami really loves their movie stars.

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The bus picked up right in front of the resort and I headed to the open top.

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As we wove our way along Ocean Drive and Collins Ave the driver pointed out all the Art deco buildings, a restaurant where Will Smith was spotted having breakfast, (of course he wasn’t there when we drove by) and the famous Versace Mansion where the clothing designed was shot and killed in 1997.

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As we passed one hotel and restaurant after another it seemed they were all owned by famous actors and actresses. Miami Vice was mentioned many times. It seems scenes from the show were shot all up and down Ocean Drive.

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Turns out this was the prequel to the actual tour. We reached the ticket office on Washington Ave and all filed off the bus to trade in our vouchers for the real tickets. Then it was back on the bus for the real tour.

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As our tour began we headed off the Island (Miami Beach is an Island in case you didn’t know) via the MacArthur Causeway. Along the way we learned of the hazards of riding on the top deck of the bus. We did a lot of ducking. We ducked for overhanging palm fronds, electric wires, signal lights and even a bridge. That one was the one that took your breath away!

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Even so this was a super way to get pictures. No window glass and an elevated view!

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As we traveled along the MacArthur Causeway we had the Port of Miami on our left where cruise ships from every line start and end their voyages. There was only one ship in port as we passed by. To our right was the Venetian Causeway.

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The tour guide says this is the bridge from the Fast and Furious movie. I’ve never seen the movie so I’ll just have to take their word for it. But there was the famous Miami Skyline to enjoy from multiple angles.

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Art deco

Posted on January 25, 2016January 25, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Diamond Resorts Crescent Resort on South Beach is located in the heart of the Art Deco district from 6^th Street to 23^rd Street. This is where one of the largest collections of Art Deco architecture in the world can be found, making for one of the most unique city skylines in the country.

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Ocean Drive is lined with Art Deco boutique hotels overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Lummus Park. Originally constructed in the 1930s after the stock market collapse, you’ll notice that these hotels take up relatively small plots of land—they’re not the sweeping resorts that Carl Fisher previously erected overlooking Biscayne Bay or that Morris Lapidus would go on to design further up the beach—and many are only three to four stories tall. This was done intentionally because if the buildings had any more floors, they’d require elevators and be much more expensive to construct.

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The Crescent has an elevator. Its tiny! When I first arrived I watched another couple struggle to get their luggage and themselves into the tiny space. It didn’t work they had to split up . The husband went up with the luggage and the wife followed when the elevator came back down with the remaining small bags.

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I explored the elevator near the end of my stay. It takes you all the way to the rooftop on the 4th floor. That could have been a nice space if there had been chairs set out but the roof was just an empty, unused area. you could look to the roofs on either side and see tables, chairs umbrellas and guests lounging but not on our roof. At least not yet. Maybe in the future.

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