OtterPotter.Net – Page 15

Day 14 – Mount Vernon

Today we visited Mount Vernon – home of George Washington. Roughly 500 acres on the edge of the Potomac River south of Washington DC. It is now owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, who preserve, restore, and manage the estate.

In the visitors’ centre, a sculture of George & Martha, and their Martha’s grandchildren (who they raised):

This is where George Washington retired to after his presidency, and later died (of asphyxiation due to a throat infection),

It is displayed with furniture that was both originally owned by him, and those that are representative of the time. It started as only the lower floor and middle third. Over the years, it has expanded to what appears today. We joined a guided tour provided by Association volunteers. No doubt, they are immensely proud of their 1st president.

The house itself (as usual, no photos allowed inside):

There are more than a dozen individual buildings on the estate, including stables, workshops, kitchens, laundry, etc. The house itself was essentially just sitting, dining, and bed rooms.

The view of the Potomac from the front porch:

After touring the house, we walked the grounds a little:

George Washington’s tomb.

PicsArt_1420910880004

In his will, George Washington requested his slaves receive their freedom. In the 1983 this memorial to the African Americans who served as slaves and died there was erected to recognise their contribution to the estate:

We had a Capitol tour booked for the afternoon, so we had to leave before we’d walked the grounds completely. It’s becoming quite clear we’re going to have to visit the US again.

Day 13 – Vegas to Washington DC

Not much to say here: 4 hour flight, a pilot that wouldn’t turn the seat-belt sign off, & bloody cold in DC on arrival.

Celsius!

Grace did actually squeal:

We’re staying at a hotel called The George (as in Washington). I first stayed here 11 years ago when I was working with Cakytrix. The room seems to have shrunk a fair bit since then, but that might have singeing to do with 2 beds, 3 suitcases, 3 women’s toiletries & makeup, & the 2 women themselves!

The hotel is very near the Capitol & I recall is used by out-of-town politicians… we were reminded of this as we entered the hotel after dinner. We were stared down by some rather large men with Secret Service -like ear pieces and bulges under their arms all surrounding an older gentleman.

Day 12 – Las Vegas

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.

Day 11 – Hoover Dam

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.

Day 11 – Grand Canyon West

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.

Day 10 – Las Vegas

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.

Day 10 – Paramount @ Pasadena

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!

Tooth – an update

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.

Day 9 – John Paul Getty Centre

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!