Vegas, Baby, Yeah!

What does one do in a town designed for vice, when one is absolutely uninterested in gambling, clubbing, or the sex trade?  Time to get creative and look at Vegas as Disneyland for grownups.  So, we had to find the Tiki Room and Tom Sawyer's Island, and stay off of Space Mountain.  Still plenty to do, and more likely less smoking around our activities.  Still, rules will be broken.

Broken Rule #1:  Out of the hotel by 9.

Dude, we slept in.  The day before was soooo looonnnngggg.  We were in no hurry at all.  We still were on our way by 11:30, however, and wandered over to Planet Hollywood, and Cabo Wabo.  My dad recommended this as a cool way to have breakfast outside.  Too late for breakfast, and very sunny. 

Broken Rule #2:  Reasonable alcohol start time.

Even though it was almost noon when we ordered, to us it was still breakfast, and deliciously dangerous to have Breakfast Booze.  Emily had a Bloody Mary and I had a Margarita, blended with salt, promptly earning a brain freeze.  We talked to a fun drunk couple who had this suspicious indigo slurpee that I don't think was for kids.  I asked them what it was, and the way they slowly searched the inside of their eyelids for the words to describe "In the hotel lobby", convinced me completely they were avoiding a real hangover by staying completely buzzed for their whole visit.

After breakfast, we walked through an odd street fair with a band, and then to The World of Coke.  We ordered Coke Around the World, and sipped all kinds of yummy, and odd flavors.  I really don't like watermelon flavored anything.  The tamarind flavor was good though.

Then to MGM Grand.  Emily kept remembering the amusement park that was there years ago, although we knew it was closed, we walked through the casino determined to prove them liars.  I guess we didn't walk far enough, because we didn't reach the amusement park at all, but found, instead, the CSI Experience.  What a fun way to spend an hour.  There was a crime scene and a lab, and we could solve the crime.  Grissom is a good boss.  Bugs and drugs and car tread red herrings. 

After that, we participated in a TV show test.  We watched a pilot episode of a show pulled straight from Say Yes to the Dress.  It was so awesome, especially since it was with Emily.  We told those Neilson folks to put that show on, and boy will we watch it.

It was almost 5 and we wanted to regroup for the evening, so off we went back to Paris by way of the monorail.  We decided when we got there we should have dinner first, then figure out what to do.  Good decision.  The restaurant was Mon Ami Gabi.  French bistro and sidewalk cafe with a front seat view of the Bilagio fountains.  Fantastic gluten free menu too.  YUMMMMMMM.    Such a relaxing, elegant way to spend an evening.  We were so rejuvenate by dinner, we decided to wander around the strip up the other direction without going back to the room. 

We crossed the street to watch the fountains up close.  Cute ducks living in the fountains.   The lake shone like glass (quite a contrast to the stinky canal at Venice, do they make it stink for authenticity?). 

We then tried to catch the pirate show in front of Treasure Island.  It was in process when we got there.  We thought we might hang out for a bit until it was time for the next one, but we couldn't get close enough to see the schedule.  The wonders of the interweb cell phone age...  Emily called Josh back in Benica and he looked up the schedule on his google machine.  Dang...  It was going to be another hour and a half.  It was getting near the usual pumpkin hour, so we decided to go back to the hotel.

They left us such a nice note.  "Don't forget to change your clock for daylight savings time, because, if you don't, you might over sleep and check out of the hotel late.  And we wouldn't want that, would we?"  That may not be the exact words, but, that's what I got out of it.

Road Trip!

When I was a kid, we'd take vacations in the National Parks of the Southwest.  All vacations began with a nighttime trip though the desert to Vegas.  Somewhere around the Nevada border, the sky began to change with the dawn.  Adventures were to begin with the new day.

In the pursuit of recapturing the magic of that moment, we woke up at 1:30 and were on the road to Vegas.  Road Trip, Baby.  My dad was up with a cup of coffee, and we took off.  The 10 to the 210 to the 215 to the 15.  Stopped for gas, used the cruise control.  At 4:30 the sky began to brighten in the east and the mountains began to glow.  The moon was full and setting in the west and Emily acted as DJ.  My favorite songs were American Tune by Paul Simon and Old '55 by Tom Waits.  Feeling so holy....

We were still early for hotel check-in, so we went straight to Hoover Dam for the Dam Tour.  It was the best Dam Tour ever, and we saw the Dam turbines and a film about how the Dam thing was built.  The Dam Tour Guide filled the tour with Dam puns, as was appropriate.  The last time I had visited, there was a dynamic diorama that showed the impact of the Dam on the Colorado River, how it dried up just as it got to Mexico, where it used to be a fertile delta as it reached the Sea of Cortez, but for some reason, all talk about the water downstream was gone, and the emphasis was on the human achievement of the actual structure.  It is an amazing feat of civil engineering, and even the bathrooms were cool.  Terrazzo tile was everywhere, including the floor of the power plant.  Gorgeous!

Off to Vegas!  We drove through Downtown then down the Strip.  They had signs and lights from old Vegas hotels on display.  Things like the original Silver Slipper and Aladdin's Lamp.  There was a line around the block at the Silver and Gold Pawn Shop.  Yay, Pawn Stars!

Once we got to the end of the Strip, it was time to check into Paris.  Time to hit the town.  We found our way to Cesear's Palace, and practically bumped into Mesa Grill.  I was hungry and I knew Bobby Flay could cook me a great gluten free lunch. And he did.
Wandering up and down the Strip, we saw art and shops and fancy stuff, and found our way to the New York, New York piano bar.   I had fun here.  It was a neighborhood bar feeling in the middle of Vegas with sing alongs.  We jumped on the roller coaster and wandered back down the strip.  We looked at the Chihuli ceiling and suddenly realized, while looking at our hotel across the street, that although it was only around 9 pm, we had been up since 2 in the morning and were very, very, very tired.  Back to our room we went and to bed.  Welcome to Vegas!

Water in the Desert

There are places that people just shouldn't go.  If you need special equipment to hang out, or have to struggle, just to get there, you might want to think twice about putting your home there.  I mean, really, to be in the ocean, you need scuba equipment and a boat, and if you want to stay there for a month, you need a way to replenish your supplies.

For humans to live there, the desert needs water.  That's it.  Tons and tons of water. Fortunately there is an aquifer under Palm Springs.  Wells and pumps pull water to the surface to build the oasis.  Unfortunately, not all of the water comes from the natural aquifer.  Much of it comes from Lake Mead in Nevada, pulled off the Colorado River. 

Before the dam was built, there was a smaller dam break that sent water to what is now the Salton Sea.  Water was there, and people came.  Now, driving around this accidental lake, you see the tail end of that cycle, boom to bust.  Abandoned lots and businesses.  People who love the desert still live there, but not much in the way of water skiing or fishing going on.

Then there is the date farming.  Dates are delicious and hard to grow.  We saw a movie at Shields Date Farm showing the hand work necessary to cultivate each date.  They need the dry desert air, but they also need the roots to be flooded for them to grow fat and sweet.  Every week, the orchard is flooded from water coming off Lake Mead or pumped from Northern California.  The valley produces most of the American grown dates.  Important, but difficult to sustain.  Water issues are complex when you consider people making a living, economic issues, the health of the environment.  But you know, the dates taste good.  YUMMM, and we had a Date Shake.  Probably the sweetest milkshake I've ever had.  Dad, Emily and I split one, and didn't finish it.

Off to the La Quinta Art Show.  No water issues here.  Just art.  Beautiful art.  I don't think I've ever been to such a large art show that had so many true pieces of art.  There wasn't a craft booth in the bunch.  Of course that meant very high price points, but it was good to see pieces being purchased.  I love to see artists getting paid for their work.

Back to my Dad's house and for a ride on the golf cart.  I would love one of those things.  They don't go fast.  They don't go far, but they get you around.  Definitely beats walking.

Another nice dinner with Dad and Nancy.  Great to sit around and talk.  Dad and Nancy and Emily have all been to such exotic places.  China, Russia, Switzerland.  I loved hearing the stories.

Now to set the alarm for 1:30 am to begin the Vegas leg of the trip.

Desert Oasis

My dad and step mom live part time in La Quinta.  It's not Palm Springs to the locals, but to us foreigners, it is.  This place is amazing. Lush, green, warm, well planned.  Lots of money here.  Of course there are places without money and a Walmart (Someone has to be the valet, and they have to shop somewhere).  Driving around pockets of golf courses and shopping centers and fancy restaurants.  Beautiful place to hang out.  We ate a wonderful breakfast, and Nancy was so cool with all of her gluten free details.  She even put the gluten free raisin toast in the oven on it's own rack to avoid toaster cross contamination!

Dad took us for a drive to see the "sight".  He is a perfect desert docent.  I now know where Merv Griffin lived and that the airport was named after the first female pilot to break the sound barrier.  The goal of our journey was the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. 

Before we get there, Dad tells us anecdotes of the feint of heart that will not go up the tram and that it got stuck one day.  Undeterred, Emily and I forged on.

We got very good parking in the uppermost lot, but still I was huffing and puffing by the time we got to the base station.  Base station was at 2500 feet. And in the tram we went.

The rise was steep and the view was beautiful.  The tram had a rotating floor, so you stood still and you got a 360 view all the way up.  The tram swayed a bit as it passed each of the 5 towers.

We got up to the top, at about 10,000 feet.   It was 32 degrees and there was snow on the ground.  We had a cup of coffee and watched a movie about how they made the thing.

There was an engineer guy who dreamed of this tram in the 30's and worked with people to get the money.  Construction didn't start till the late 50's and they had to build most of the towers using helicopters to get the equipment, materials and people up the mountain.  Early 60's saw the first ride up the hill, and in 2000 they changed the tram to the rotating one, adding height to the towers.

Pretty amazing.

We drove back to the house by way hwy 111 which passes through the heart of all the communities around here.  The highlight was The El Paseo.   Yes, the locals refer to the street as The El Paseo.  It's like Rodeo Drive.  Super upscale.

Back home for cleanup, rest and laundry, then off to Arnold Palmer's restaurant for a petite fillet.  YUMMMMMMMMM and some fantastic wine.  I made mental note of what I drank, and promptly forgot.  Oh well....

We were in bed by 9:30.  Emily and I are not party animals, I guess.

The Wild Animal ... oops, I mean The San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Off to new adventures in Palm Springs with my Dad!

I felt badly not leaving a tip at the hotel.  I intended to leave one every day, and in fact actually did, but came back each day only to find a clean room and the money sitting on the dresser.  On the day we went to Mexico, we met the housekeeper, and she asked me if the money was a tip for her. 

"Of course it is."

"Oh, thank you!  But, don't leave it any more."

Huh?  That was a first for me, and I still didn't quite get why, but I honored her request, and left our hotel tip-less our last day.

Breakfast at The Mission again and off to La Quinta in the Coachella Valley by way of The San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  I keep catching myself referring to it as the Wild Animal Park, but I am a big girl and I can change.  I will all it by it's right name.  I will.

This place is even cooler than the zoo.  The enclosures are huge and designed for herds and families of animals.  They breed animals in the park in hopes of reintroducing them to the wild.  The condor's home is here, and some rhino species as well as some other spectacular animals.  My favorites were the gorillas and the giraffes.  The giraffes were running in herds.  I don't think I've ever seen that before in my life.

We left the park and took a scenic route to La Quinta.  We drove through the rural towns of Ramona and Julian and through the Anza Borrego Desert State Park.  As we were approaching the park, I told Emily about the last time I had visited the park and we hit a sand storm.  Hum, imagine that.  There is a sand storm today, out in the distance.  We're driving away from it, so there should be no problem.  Humm, it seems to be coming toward the road we're on, but not to worry, it's still a long way away.  Wow, it seems to be speeding up.  We'd better hurry so we can stay ahead of it.  Oh My!  We are not going fast enough.  It's going to hit the road as we do!  Foot to the Gas!  Whew!  We just cleared it.  I felt like those people who film themselves getting caught in a tornado.  I always assumed they were foolish to be there in the path of danger.  I guess I can add myself to that fools list.

About 10 miles more lunar desert landscape in the wind and turn a corner.  Oops.  There's our friend the sand storm again.  Only this time he was living on the road, and we had no choice but to dive right into it and through it for about 2 miles.  It was  eerie, but fortunately there was a car on the road ahead of us, lead dogging for us.  A little nerve wracking, but passable.

Sand storms behind us, we headed for La Quinta.  We would occasionally pass prospectors in double wides and dive bars, but ended up cozy in a golf course oasis.  Dinner, visiting and jammies.  What to do tomorrow?

I need a Disney Movie

When my kids were younger we'd have movie nights with popcorn and pizza and sodas and usually about 3 movies.  Friday nights in pajamas.  When we had a particularly scary or sad movie, something that left you affected, we'd make sure we saw it early in the film festival, just to make sure we could show a fun movie after it to help avoid bad dreams.  It never failed.  We'd watch "Rear Window" or "Of Mice And Men", and as soon as the credits started rolling, someone said, "I need a Disney Movie".   And we'd choose something fluffy to cut the tension.  It could have been Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, not necessarily from the Disney Studios, but the idea was the same.  Follow "The Color Purple" with "The Apple Dumpling Gang".  Follow "The Mission" with "Rat Race"

After going to Mexico, I needed a Disney Movie.

The day started out all right.  We traveled to Old Town in San Diego with the intent of picking up the trolley there.  This would have worked if we found trolley parking there.  We hung out in Old Town and dipped candles and drank dandelion and burdock sodas and had a $2.99 breakfast at O'Hungry's.

From there, we went to Seaport Village.  Odd little mall with sock stores and music box stores.  Not much going on there but a sad merry-go-around that wished it lived at the zoo.  We parked there, validated parking and then boarded the San Diego Trolley to the border.

I had some pretty basic expectations of Avenida Revolucion in Tijuana.  I'd been there many times as a kid, and knew it would be kitschy and loud and have leather jackets and poorly built marionettes.  We only planned to spend a couple hours buying tchotchkes, and head back.  We were going on foot to reduce the time spent in line crossing the border and it would be fun.

So, we show up at the border and walk right in.  The guy at the visitors center was great.  He really tried to get us to go to the part of town with the museums.  It sounded wonderful, but we didn't really plan to spend that kind of time, so off to Avenida Revolucion.  On the way, there were shops and dentists and pharmacies, and friendly people saying "Welcome to Tijuana!  Please look in my shop."  Everyone was friendly and offered great deals.  We talked to someone about every 50 yards.  This was fun...  at first...  but that 50 yard space turned into 30 then 20 then 10.  By the time we reached Avenida Revolucion it was 2 guys at every store front. By invisible vote, Emily and I decided not to visit a store where someone tried to make us come in.  We walked the full length of the shopping street to the Jai Alai arena without going into a single shop.  I really wanted to look at earrings and leather jackets and huaraches, but no go....  We were both tired and stressed, and had to make our way back through this gauntlet.

There were shops I wanted to see.  There used to be an underground bazar that opened up to La Especial restaurant and a classy figurine shop with Lladros and an upscale department store.  None of these places were still there.  Instead, everything was boarded up.  We started back down the street and hit Cesaer's Hotel.  Emily, reading the sign posted over the door, said "'Home of the Cesaer Salad', yeah right".  I said, "It really is, and we're going in there."  The prices were in pesos so I was a bit unnerved with whether the would take our American dollars, and I forgot to look at the exchange rate so I had no idea how much 80 pesos would turn out to be, but, no matter.  We were there.  I ordered a Cesaer Salad with no croutons and watched carefully as the waiter mixed the anchovies and garlic together with mustard, egg yolk and olive oil.  Romaine leaves and cheese and yum.  Salad and soda bolstered my courage.  Then the bill came and I felt even better.  A $20 bill covered lunch and a tidy tip. 

Off we went and were able to make it into 2 shops.  One with blouses and another with high quality hand made figurines.  We spoke to the owner of the figurine shop for about 10 minutes while he wrapped up our packages and he blamed American news for the shops closing up.  We told him how we didn't walk into the stores because of the aggressive "invitations".  He said that a third of the shops were closed and everyone still in business was desperate.  It was very painful to watch this once vibrant, albeit tacky, tourist mecca dry up.

On the way back to the border crossing we paid attention to how many shops and street front stands were shut down.  It was amazing and disheartening.  We walked in silence.  There was plenty to say, but it wasn't the time. 

We waited 2 hours in the border crossing line, showed our passport, got on the trolley.  Gradually, as the demographic in the trolley got down to just us, we talked about the experience and the general depression of the place.  Next time we take a cab to the museums.

On the other side of TJ, our Disney Movie was Seaport Village.  This place is totally made up and has nothing but over priced, silly things. It was pleasant, and had twinkle lights, no history, no culture, just mediocre tourist mall.  And it was perfect.  We saw the sun set there and paid our parking and went back to the hotel. 

On the way, we saw Belmont Park's wooden roller coaster, and we begrudgingly decided we really ought to ride it.  We parked, walked 50 yards, purchased a ticket, walked right on to the coaster and road it.  Best Roller Coaster EVER!  Within 10 minutes we were back in the car.  Within an hour we were eating shrimp cocktail in the hotel and watching The Voice. 

We would be leaving San Diego in the morning.

The Zoo

It's amazing how nostalgia works.  I have recurring dreams where I am in the San Diego Zoo or driving around it.  I have yet to interpret their meanings, but I was kind of freaked out wandering around the zoo, not remembering if my deja vu was due to dreams or actual memories of the times I went to the zoo before.  I was standing on the conveyor ramp and remebering when it was new, and that all of San Diego was excited about it. 

I wish I had season passes to this zoo.  It is still the greatest zoo in the world.  San Diegans are so proud of it and they all visit.  Huge cross section of people looking at animals.  Cranky sweaty babies climb all over their parents complaining, and then are focused and thrilled by the sight of tiny little gazelle walking through their enclosure.  "OOHHH! A Baby!!!" The zoo must be responsible for many cases of schizophrenia.

At the zoo, the best thing to watch is the animals interacting with other animals.  The Rhino Brothers were rhino wrestling so hard, they were bleeding.  There was a tired herding dog waiting to manage his petting zoo flock.  Capybaras and Tapers were hanging out together.  The best was kid and parent orangutan wrestling.

We saw Pandas.  Oh, they are so cool, and they look like we need to take care of them.  I was grateful for this zoo.  I really believe comfortable captivity is a good thing to protect endangered species.  There are over 400 California Condors in the wild again (up from 20) due to breading programs in the zoo.  There are Yellowstone bears that live there because their mom was teaching them how to gather food from human trash instead of teaching them how to fish.  Safer for people and bears that they have a home at the zoo.  Bad that people caused the situation in the first place.

Emily loved the Skyfari over the zoo, and all day long I regretted my hat.  Looks like a blue potato chip.

After the zoo, we road the kiddie train ("You know this is an amusement ride and it doesn't go anywhere, right?") and the Merry-go-round.  I am such a kid.  I was 4 in a little blue dress with ice cream dripping down my arm sitting in the wet spot of a freshly painted train seat.  "Leaving San Diego."  The Village artist colony was very cool.

Off to Coronado!  We drove over the bridge where Baxter was punted in Anchorman, and then walked on the beach of the Hotel Del Coronado.  Photographers were using the evening light taking family portraits on the rocks, and a guy made the MOST Excellent sand castle.

Dinner at The Fish Market.  We sat by the window and ate fresh catch.  Yum.

Asleep by 10 then off to Mexico!

Sea mammals make me cry.  I can't help it, and I make no excuse.  Even more than dogs.  I know this because I saw dogs and sea mammals and I have quantitative evidence it's true.  The dog was Emma, a graying boxer that waited patiently for her family to eat breakfast and letting me pet her while I waited to be seated.  What a good dog.  But then, about an hour later, I was sitting in the Shamu show, listening to Celine Dion singing about being guardians of the environment and watching orcas jumping and splashing and dancing, and, while they were splashing hundreds of gallons of salt water over the audience, I was overcome with joy... pure joy.  Tears and smiles for 20 minutes straight.

It happened again in the dolphin show. Eight dolphins jumping in unison to music joined by pilot whales pushing trainers around by the foot. 

Dogs let you know that they really like you.  They look at you and are happy when you pet them.  They wait for you patiently.  We think they are great because they love us.  Sea mammals act like they really like to jump and dance, and they really like applause.  These guys splash harder when we laugh.  It's amazing to me how much they enjoy our company.  I am grateful to be able to see that.

Out of the hotel today at 8 AM and we walked down the ocean boardwalk.  Tomorrow, I take off my shoes.  We bought cheap sunglasses (to keep our eyes from closing like Gizmo) and visited a farmers market.  Really good mexican chocolate flavored almonds.  We visited a gluten free bakery and asked the lady there for a GF friendly restaurant.   The Mission.  Delicious hipster Mexican food with a yummy gluten free menu.

Off to Sea World.  What a cool place.  For us NorCal folks who are used to Marine World, it's a very different place.  Much more about appreciating the animals, much less about the roller coasters.  Although, we did go on a real mind trip of a coaster there.  Started with a high drop water ride...  Soaked us.  Then, oh yesss, not done yet, the boat was lifted in an elevator that dumped us out on to a regular coaster, which ended in a quick dump into a splash zone. 

 

Clean up and dinner at Barrio Star, more, but different hipster mexican food. Then off to the Old Globe Theater.

Room With A View the Musical.  Brand new show, only the second night performed.  I'm sure it's on it's way to Broadway.  Lovely music, tight book.  Tidy retelling of the novel.  Great voices, strong characterization.  Loved it.

Should be sleeping now.  Another day tomorrow.

Vacation... Could be a cruise or building a campfire.  I know people who take vacation time so they can putter around the house.  My idea of a vacation is adventure, planning for serendipity.  Open to new people and new places.

So, this time, and for the first time in a long time, vacation is an adventure.  Few people to please, flexible and active.  These are the rules:  Hotels are reserved and paid for, Maps are important, Bucket Lists are respected.  Many ideas and few appointments.  Adventures begin promptly at 9 am.  Absolutely no slow starts in the morning.

Today, we started right after I finished work.  My travel buddy is Emily.  When she was still in high school we talked about going on a road trip.  I needed the time off, and fortunately for me (I wish it was different for her) Emily is between jobs and has some available time.

So, off we go.  Josh drove us to the airport by way of Spice Monkey for dinner.  You have to try Spice Monkey.  They have gluten free and vegan food, but also some very gluteny meaty hamburgers, and they know their way around the spices and peppers. Yum.  Em had a fish sandwich, I had the best turkey burger ever (no bun), and Josh had the Sherpa'd Pie.

OK, so off to the plane in plenty of time.  Used the passport for the first time as ID.  We sat next to a very sad, drunk girl who broke out in a crying jag after an additional half bottle of wine (pretty lit when she showed up).  Many sparkly geodes and the Spirit of St Louis in the airport, then off to the car rental place.

What is this car?  It's a Dodge something or other that looks like a Magnum Lite.  I paid for the economy car, and this thing is midsized and squashed like a gangster car.  We parked it in the free parking and The Night Clerk, who we are under strict orders not to shank, warned us not to move the car, ever, or we might not be able to park ever again... oooooooh, scary..... 

The hotel is nice and clean, but probably old and recently remodeled.  We can hear the ocean from our room and see the barflies hanging out in the lounge. 

Time to fall asleep to Letterman, and Sea World in the morning.  It is decided.  Tomorrow night, we do have an appointment at the Old Globe Theater. 

First Day!  We've only just begun.