Category: USA2014

Our final day in Vegas was devoted to “doing the Strip”, which saw us walk up & down Las Vegas Blvd, crossing sides every now & then.

Here’s the Flamingo – and they still have real flamingos in a courtyard of the hotel:

Treasure Island – unfortunately the pirate show stopped running about a year ago:

We’d typically enter the hotel, check out the decor, perhaps visit some of the shops inside, & then move to the casino (which wouldn’t be far away). If you’re a non-smoking punter you’ll probably have a great appreciation for the Crown at Burswood. One or two steps and the smoke hits you. Since we aren’t of the gambling kind in any way, with a minor in tow we never stayed long.

Inside the Venetian…. that’s right – inside – not outside! 

Shopping in some of the shops should probably be preceded with a good day at the black-jack tables. Many of the names were seen in Rodeo Dve. Ouch. However, outside in the street was where most was done.

Ellie & Grace went on the NY roller coaster. A minor headache deterred me, & from their description afterwards it was probably a good move on my part.

The latter part of the day was when the sleezebags came out. Safety in numbers was certainly the key, particularly for Grace. An obvious family group also tended to discourage toe-rags from trying to slip me cards with invites to all sorts of titty-bars (& other “adult” attractions).

As part of the planning of the trip, Ellie had organised a show for us to see. On the way we managed to climb aboard the High Roller ferris wheel – apparently the largest in the world. 30 mins at dusk gave us an amazing view of the lights of Vegas and some great photos.

We then made our way to the Whynn to see Le Rěve. This was a live performance of dance and acrobatics in, on, & above water with a cast of about 40.

Wow!

Some of the things they did were just jaw dropping… a little like Cirque de Soleil, but with water.

Sorry, no photos during the performance, but 1 afterwards:

After the show we headed back along the Strip, grabbed a bite to eat, saw the Belagio water show (& captured video for later), then headed back to the hotel. We had to be up at 5 am for an early flight to DC – which I know will contrast massively with Vegas.

My impression of Las Vegas….
* Am I glad I went? Yes – it’s all part of the experience.
* Did I like it? No – too morally bankrupt and sleazy.
* Would I go again? No – not my thang.
* Would I recommend it as a destination for a first time visitor? Yes – it’s still a necessary stop-over, & others do like it.

The route out to the Canyon is directly past the famous Hoover Dam. So, we decided to call in on the way back. It was getting late so we didn’t have much time – just a quick look-see.

A dam is a dam, but its size and when it was built is why it’s considered (by some in the US at least) to be one of the seven wonders if the modern world.

Construction went from 1931 to 1936 & is one of the world’s largest concrete structures. It stands at a whopping 221m high & 379m wide – & 200m thick at the base!

You’re allowed to both walk & drive across, but all cars are subject to search (just a quick look thru the windows really) – we did both.

Since we got there late in the day the temperature started to dip, especially since the large mountains surrounding it made sure we were in shadows.

After the obligatory fridge-magnet purchase we headed home, stopping at a supermarket to grab some dinner so we could avoid the rich food we were starting to get a little too used to.

We hired a car & drove to Las Vegas not only to give us a bit more of a view of the country side, but so we could also take it to the western rim of the Grand Canyon.

We had a helicopter ride booked for 11:30 so we were up at 7 for an early start.

First stop was breakfast at a roadside dinner – pancakes all round. This was a bit of a mistake on 2 fronts: they were extremely slow to serve & we just didn’t have the time; & when they did bring it out it was enough for an army.

Finally after 2.5 hours we finally got there. First thing was to check in for the flight.

Scarily, we stepped on to the scales so they could distribute the weight evenly. With all of the food eaten over the last 2 weeks we thought the thing might never take off!

Grace had the best view – next to the pilot up front. It took us deep into the Canyon and along the Colorado.

We were then dropped off at the river’s edge where we boarded a small flat-bottom boat. We rode this for a while taking lots of photos and just soaking in the views.

Then, helicopter ride back to base, then we jumped on a bus that took us to their other attractions.

The first stop was a “camp” setup to look like it would have in days gone by – we skipped this cos it just looked so fake… Very tacky.

Next stop was the Skywalk. We didn’t actually go on it (we didn’t see the value in the entry fee) – but got a great view is the Canyon from the edge.

Here we had lunch – not a bad view, hey?!

We even had a visit from a real Road Runner:

Then on to the next stop: Guano Point – again some more spectacular views.

Fantastic!

Back in the bus again back to the car park, then Las Vegas via the Hoover Dam.

The drive was interesting but relatively uneventful – always good when your suffering a little jet-lag, & driving on the wrong side of the road. While our year in Canada & my trips for work were quite a while ago, it didn’t take long for it all to come back.

We arrived in Los Vegas & checked into the hotel by about 8pm…With plenty of time for a quick visit to the main strip before dinner and an early night.

Let the obscenity begin…

The most famously expensive hotel there is probably the Belagio. It occupies pretty much an entire city block:

They run this water display every 15 mins for most of the day.

I’ll post a YouTube video of the whole thing later.

We decided not to stay out late as we had a relatively early start in the morning driving out to see the Grand Canyon.

We’ve got a whole day planned for the Strip later so there’s more to come here.

We were set to drive from LA to Las Vegas today. However, we had a few must-dos before heading east.

You can’t visit Los Angeles without having a studio tour. Ellie was originally thinking of doing Warner Bros, but the RastaBus guys said Paramount was better, so that’s what we did.

It was a golf-cart tour that lasted 2 hours. They took us around pretty much the entire lot, into sone of the studios (Doctors, Dr Phil – I don’t watch these but they were still recognisable), & another sitcom that is yet to air in Oz.

It seems a lot of their business is actually leasing facilities to other production companies.

No photos were allowed inside the actual studios, but we went through their backlot where they have fake but very realistic streets setup.

Whoopi Goldberg’s apartment in Ghost:

Murder Alley – where the puny Captain America is beat up (amongst others):

The brick walls are made of fibre-glass, & there are several options to choose from. Our guide said it was currently lined with “wife killer”:

Their sky scraper, used in the Wolf of Wall Street:

There are no movies being made there at the moment – only TV, & the biggest consumer of their real estate is Glee. We’re all fans, but Grace was especially pleased!

Grace in front of the entrance to NYADA:

& on stage at the Spotlight Cafe where the Glee cast sings in NY:

Then there’s a scene from the Grilled Chesus episode. This lawn had lines painted on it, a green-screen, & hey presto – instant football field:

The building and tree in the background may also be recognised for the schools in episodes of both the Brady Bunch & Happy Days.

Large water scenes make use of their tank, or Bkue Sky Tank (& car park) car park… used in: Tora, Tora, Tora; Cheers; Patriot Games; & the Ten Commandments (parting the Red Sea):

They don’t use it much now as it costs so much to fill ant CGI is getting better.

It was a really interesting morning.

Being massive Big Bang Theory fans, we just couldn’t resist. Our route to Vegas would be kinda via Pasadena, so what the hell.

Here is The Cheesecake Factory where Penny works… a very popular destination – we had to wait for around 25 mins to get a table. Most stores in this franchise are busy, but there are clearly lots of TBBT fans out there. As usual, food was great and in extreme quantities.

Sadly Penny wasn’t working. The inside looks absolutely nothing like the show, & their uniforms are just plain white. The waitress told us that they have filmed outside before, but only very occasionally.

Afterwards, we headed off to 2311 Los Lobles Ave (their apartment), but sadly it doesn’t exist. The actual apartment block used was a little further away but time was running short and we needed to hit the road.

Even though we spent very little time there, I have to say Pasadena gave us a very good 1st impression… quite an attractive place.

Next, Vegas Baby!

It had gotten progressively worse. Then I found some magic dental pain reliever (the land of the free is a great place for medications!).

So, I used this in conjunction with the ibuprofen. Over the last 3 days I’ve hardly needed either at all. I’m still not chewing on it though.

I may have just become better at keeping food away from it, or perhaps it is starting to settle down.

I expect I will need root canal which I’ve had before. This followed 6 months of pain (after my first crown). I found the procedure possibly the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. This was after 4 injections into the jaw and 2 directly into the nerve through the top of the tooth. The dentist believed I may have had an infection which lessened the effectiveness of the anaesthetic.

So, fingers crossed it’s settling down now and I won’t need any further treatment.

Grace: “a place for old-people art”.

If you’re in LA, you should visit this place. There’s a lot of art, old & modern, & the museum building is something to see itself!

We spent over an hour getting there by public transport but it was well worth it.

The man himself (J. P. Getty) made his fortune as an oil-man in the middle-east.

There are 2 locations: his original villa in Malibu; & this museum. As a lover of art he set up the JP Getty Trust that which runs them. To make sure everyone can see them, entry is free!

Picasso, Rembrandt, Monet, Degas,… Most of them there. Paintings, sculptures, tapestries, furniture, etc. – there really is something for everyone.

The grounds also included commissioned gardens permanent artwork.

Video of the grounds.

If you lived in LA I’m sure you’d visit every few months. 

To finish the day we headed back into Hollywood for a special screening of the new musical “Into the Woods” at the El Capitan Theatre.

This included cocktails & nibbles and a private viewing of the film’s costumes beforehand.

A great movie of the original Sondheim where “happily-ever-after” comes at a cost.

This was a place that Ellie and I have been wanting to visit for a very long time. It’s a site where naturally occurring asphalt (still today) pushes up through the ground to form small pools of very sticky ooze. They believe it was only ever 2-3 inches deep but so sticky even huge animals couldn’t escape.

This is the main complex. The sloped ground around the outside houses the archives:

This is what most people think of when they think of the tar pits, but this isn’t how it actually happened:

Over the millenia it has trapped many an ice-age animal whose fossilised remains are still being excavated today (over 3.5 million fossils have been catalogued from the 23 acres so far).
Some of these date back to over 60,000 years and include specimens such as the mammoth and sabre-tooth tiger (actually just cat).

The asphalt almost perfectly preserves the bones.

What’s so interesting is that a single pool will end up containing the fossilised remains of many animals: one animal gets stuck, then struggles which attracts predators, who get stuck too.

The “observation pit” has been used for learning over the last 50 years – it was discovered, excavated, cataloged, & then reconstructed as it was originally found. In this one mound (~3m long) there are the remains of 7 animals:

A few years back the art gallery next door was building an underground car park and inevitably they discovered more. Rather than hold up their development for probably decades they dug up all of the finds in large blocks and crated them up for examination later. This is now called “Project 23” (referring to the number of crates formed, some weighing several tons). This will keep them busy for a very long time.

This is “Pit 91” – one of the original excavation sites from the early 1900s:

We thought we’d rest our bodies for breakfast and have some cereal instead of the very fatty food they serve up here in the States. Well, I’m not sure we achieved what we set out to do, but I’m sure there was some grains in the sugar that we ate – somewhere.

Our first stop for the day was the great Dolby Theatre – home if the Oscars. As usual, anything that was to do with movies had the gals leaping for joy.

They run a guided tour so in we went. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed so check it out for yourself here. The tour covered the red-carpet entry (minus the carpet), foyer, dressing rooms, stage left, stage, back stage.

Standing on on the same stage as so many greats was a treat.

A lot of history and was quite interesting even for the non-movie buff like me.