About San Antonio

Posted on August 23, 2015August 23, 2015 by Dusty Roads

It always seems that after I make a vacation plan I start to see the location everywhere. Sure enough, I was cleaning out a pile of magazines that have accumulated over the spring and summer and there, staring me in the face was “Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in San Antonio”. Well, obviously we missed Cinco De Mayo But that’s ok. There’s still lots to see.

According to the magazine article San Antonio is often called “the northernmost city in Mexico”.The city proudly embraces its Hispanic traditions both cultural and culinary.

The River walk, a main point of interest in our trip, is described as al fesco cafes and lively galleries on the 2.5 mile heart of downtown.

Item 2 on our planned trip is the Alamo and the article touches on that too. Imagine “visiting the Alamo, site of an 1836 battle that made Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie heroes.”

I think I’ll want to be sure to have plenty of room on the old credit card too. Especially if we have time to explore the stalls in Market Square where they are selling Brightly colored blankets, turquoise jewelry and other handcrafts.

Other side trips and highlights are The Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, a 400 acre drive through safari park.

The San Antonio Zoo with more than 9000 animals…lions and tigers and bears OH MY!

and the San Antonio Botanical Garden, a traditional Japanese garden designed to fill the senses.

Since our trip is an “Escorted Tour” I don’t know how much we’ll get to explore but there is some down time when we’re on our own. It’s nice to have some suggestions for things to see and do.

Perhaps we’ll even get brave and try a San Antonio Cocktail.

Whatever we do you can be sure you’ll be along for the ride right here on this page.

Anticipation

Posted on August 8, 2015August 8, 2015 by Dusty Roads

In the words of Carly Simon

Anticipation, Anticipation
Is making me late
Is keeping me waiting

And that’s where I am with travel right now.

It looks like work has really slowed back to a manageable/ normal pace. I even have another weekend off! But this time I have a sick kitty so I’m sticking close to home to keep an eye on him. It’s Buddy and he woke me up this morning vomiting. Cats throw up but this is different. He’s not barfing hairballs but just clear bubbly fluid. Fingers crossed he’ll bounce back quick.

So I took the time to get my travel plans pinned down and submit my time off requests at work.

The first trip planned is late fall and it’s an Amtrak vacation. Sandy & I will fly into San Antonio for 3 days. We’ll get to experience the river walk

and see the Alamo.Then it’s onto the train for a day on the rails traveling to New Orleans.

I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say on this trip and lots of pictures to share. Something to look forward to…Like I said…Anticipation!

Have You ever wanted to go to Venice?

Posted on February 1, 2015February 1, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Venice, Italy is called one of the most beautiful cities in the world. But with all the unrest around the world, terrorism, plane crashes not to mention cost to go jetting about, how many will actually get out a pass port to take on an international adventure. I’m told I’m a chicken because I want to stay within the confines of the good old USA. But if I do that How will I ever get to see Venice?

Why by going to the Venetian Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas. This wasn’t even on our to-do list. The concierge at the Linq told us it was not to be missed. She really gave it high marks so after our morning at the Mirage we headed back out to the strip to wander down to the Venetian.

I think I had to pick my mouth up off the floor when we entered the shops. The ceiling was a breathtaking mural! My head was back so far I almost fell over!

Strolling past the shops on the promenade we passed one of the human statues. The actor was very good. I got a good laugh when Joe jumped when he moved.

Once again the ceiling was painted as a sky and each shop had a facade making it appear we were actually strolling through Venice. They even had a canal. And just as if we were in Venice we had to take a gondola ride. We shared our gondola with a nice couple here on “holiday’. He was from Wales and she was from London.

The gondolier even serenaded us as we returned to the launch site at the end of our ride.

Our Gondolier and another couple that shared our ride.

I enjoyed our little trip to Venice so much I had to bring a Gondolier home with me to serenade me when ever I miss Venice.

Dinner on the Miracle Mile

Posted on January 29, 2015January 29, 2015 by Dusty Roads

The show we reserved for this evening, “Las Vegas the Show” didn’t start until 9:30 so we had time to find a place for dinner.

The show was inside the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The first thing you notice is the sky or roof or…well, it’s a beautifully painted ceiling that looks like blue sky. It’s easy to forget that you are inside.

The first thing I spotted were glittery lighted columns.

They bordered the escalator which was topped by a huge disco ball that changed colors. Pretty impressive.

As we entered the Miracle Mile Shops it was like entering Disney. Do you notice a trend here? I think I said that before but really, the sky, the buildings, right out of a Disney set.

We had a free dinner at one of 3 restaurants. I picked the Italian restaurant. We were seated “outside” but since it was play-off season flat screen TV’s were conveniently located so everyone could watch the game. Go Pats!

We had Pats fans sitting next to us but we were mindful of the “Atmosphere” and kept our cheers and fist pumps to a conservative level.

Back to the free dinner, the meal was free if you chose from a limited menu. I had the chicken Marsala and Joe had fettuccine Alfredo. (I forgot to take a picture before we ate…oops) It was very good. But we’re sitting in a lovely restaurant in Las Vegas so of course we had a drink and since we didn’t have to pay for dinner we could indulge in desert, well bottom line our dinner bill was bigger than if we’d paid for dinner and skipped the drinks and desert. But it was worth it.

Then it was time to wander back to wait for the show.

Saturday Night in Vegas

Posted on January 27, 2015January 27, 2015 by Dusty Roads

When you think about it, JR and I did an amazing job of coordinating our arrival and finding each other amid the lights, bells , whistles and people in the hotel and casino. As you can imagine after spending 3 days and nights on a greyhound bus, JR’s first priority was a shower and change of clothes. I was in better shape as I’d had a shower and fresh clothes before I left San Diego.

The Hotel we are staying in is the LINQ, a part of the Caesar’s Palace empire. The Hotel was billed as one of the newest jewels in the Caesar Crown and I fell for it. I paid the upgrade because I wanted JR to have a great time as it was his birthday gift. It was a rip off. The hotel room was very basic. It didn’t even have a dresser or a coffee pot. The closet door was a curtain. The bathroom door was a sliding “pocket door” and it was shower only, no tub. Our cruise ship cabin was almost as big!

About all I can say for it is that it was clean. The room was on the 18th floor but no balcony and security was tight. We had to show our room keys to a security guard whenever we went up in the elevator. At least that made me feel safe.

View From Our Window , 18th floor of the LINQ

We decided not to lug the cameras the first night and just roam around until dinner time. Anything interesting could be captured on the cell phone cameras and there was a lot of interest. One of my favorite things were the characters. It was almost like being in Disney.

There was Olaf, Mickey and Minnie but there was also Elvis and Darth Vader, Marilyn Monroe and on and on.

We enjoyed a very loud dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville and wandered over to the Bellagio for the fountain show. Along the way we passed the Eiffel Tower and Paris and The Flamingo Hotel. For neon lovers, Vegas at night does not disappoint!

Yummy Pina Colada

On our return we stopped at the Linq Promenade for more colorful fountains and our first look at the High Roller, the biggest Ferris Wheel in the World! The pods make me think of Star Wars!

LINQ Promenade and High Roller

Back in the hotel it didn’t take long to hit the hay. I was asleep before JR turned off the TV. Tomorrow I have the obligatory presentation ( a 60 minute sales pitch) and then we’ll check out the mono rail and decide what we want to spend the day exploring.