Jersey Boys

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What’s Las Vegas without the shows?

There weren’t any headliners Like Elton John there but there were loads of tribute artists like Michael Jackson, The Beatles and the Jersey Boys.

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Sandy is Old School and so am I even if her school is a little older than mine so Michael got scratched off the list and we’d seen Beatles Tribute Bands before, especially “RAIN”. so Jersey Boys became the choice.

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We got our tickets through the time share so they were Dinner and a Show. Dinner was the Brazilian Steak House, Pampas and what an experience. The food was amazing. We had a chocolate mousse cake for dessert and we should have taken a picture because it was beautiful, rich and creamy. Even splitting it we couldn’t finish it.

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Then we wandered over to  the theater in the Paris Hotel. Had to walk off the chocolate!

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Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

“They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard… and the radio just couldn’t get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story”

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I remember the songs, all of them from Sherry to Can’t take my Eyes Off  You  and many, many, more. Guess that’s dating me but I loved the show. I didn’t know all the things that happened, some very sad, until the show. I won’t give the story line away in case you get to go but I did a fact check and found they were true.

I lugged my camera over prepared to grab few shots but that idea was quickly shut down when they announced no photos or recording devices of any kind. I had my expensive camera so I wasn’t going to risk having it confiscated if I got caught sneaking a picture so back in the case it went.

Frankie

All I can say is that its a great show. There are several casts touring, not just Las Vegas, so it could be coming to a theater near you. If it does, don’t miss it!

 

 

 

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.