Category Archives: Travel

The Big Bus (Las Vegas)

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We’ve wandered along the strip, been transported back in time with the Jersey Boys, visited the engineering Marvel that is Hoover Dam and floated on a chocolate high and we’ve only just begun our Las Vegas Adventure.

Today we wandered through the Hawaiian Market Place. I’m not sure why it’s called the Hawaiian Market Place but its right in front of Polo Towers so it was an easy walk and right in front of the  Hawaiian Market Place is the bus stop.

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We’re looking for the hop on – hop off double decker tour bus. Like the trolley tours in Boston, you buy a ticket for the day and can get on and off and ride the whole day. With the wisdom of 20-20 hindsight we should have bought the 2 day pass but we really had no idea and settled for a one day which was $42.00 each.

Being picked up at the Hawaiian Marketplace  meant that we were starting in the middle of the tour route.  The original plan was to ride the whole route and then do it a 2nd time getting on and off. It didn’t work out that way.

The guides on the tours were all good. Pointing out the sights and telling us little tid-bits about each landmark.

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Trump Tower stands alone surrounded by empty lots. There is no casino and no smoking. Some say Trump was denied a Nevada Gaming License others say he has one but chose not to put in a casino. Snopes.com , the internet truth finder,  say the rumor that he was denied a license is false. The Donald was approved for a licence in February 2004.

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The Wynn is a beautiful property, very elegant and sophisticated with lovely landscaped grounds. I was particularly interested in seeing this as Steve Wynn is trying to build a casino complex in Everett, MA. I say trying because every time he gets a green light someone throws another challenge in the way. Most recently the Town of Somerville sued because of traffic concerns.

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The bus took us into the old section of Vegas, where it all began, also known as the Fremont Street Experience.

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The Rearing Horseman marks the entrance to The Freemont St Experience  in old Las Vegas along with the iconic Golden Nugget. The Golden Nugget was originally built in 1946, making it one of the oldest casinos in the city. Our guide says the largest gold nugget in the world is on display here but according to Wikipedia it was display until 2013. Since we didn’t hop off here I can’t say one way or the other. Maybe I’ll check it out next trip . The Hotel is built around two aquariums so that would be fun to see.

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Cactus and Chocolate

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I hope everyone had a nice Easter. It turned out to be a beautiful spring day in Taunton.

I want to back track a little on the Vegas adventure. I missed a part of the tour when we went to Hoover Dam.

The “Dam”Tour was great but there was one more stop before we went back to the hotel and that was at the Botanical Cactus gardens and the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory.

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When the bus first pulled up I only wanted to see the gardens. Dropping into the Chocolate factory could wait. I don’t need more candy. My time share has been showering us with boxes of Ghirardelli Squares since we checked in.

So into the prickly garden I went.

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They had all sorts of cactus.  Rabbit Ears

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Saguaro

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Prickly Pear

But soon it was time to stick my nose into the chocolate factory.  Inspired by Ethel Mars‘ pursuit of the perfect chocolate, Forrest Mars Sr. created Ethel M, named in his mother’s honor. Using her timeless recipes. It’s not all about M &M’s.

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My favorite turned out to be the pecan bark. Since the chocolate is made without preservatives in small batches it meant that I’d have to eat this chocolate in a hurry. But it was sooo Yummy!

 

 

Hoover Dam

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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

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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”.

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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.

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That was a good place to stop for lunch.

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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.

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After lunch and cane shopping we walked the strip.

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We visited the Hershey store, (Yum) chocolate.

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And a chocolate Statue of Liberty.

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

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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.

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Polo Towers

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

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

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

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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.

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

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DSC_2412 copyOur meal was enjoyed with the elephants of the Rainforest Cafe before we returned to our room for the night.

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Time enough to explore in the morning.