ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
What a crazy experience. Neither one of us had ever been to Las Vegas. Several people had questioned why we wanted to go. It’s a good question after one has been there. But we hadn’t been there. Curiosity? You know the old saying about cats. Well, it didn’t kill us although it was pretty hot. I thought that I would try Las Vegas and then l would give you an opinion. It’s better than giving you an opinion without having the experience. Kind of like a bunch of old white men legislating their morals and world view on the rest of us. Whoa! Step off the soapbox.
Anyway, we walked famous strip and ducked into a few casinos to see what over-the-top looks like in Las Vegas. We saw the fountain and the decorations at the Bellagio, the canals at The Venetian, the spectacles of Caesars Palace, New York New York, and The Mirage. When we walked past The Flamingo, I think I heard the creaking bones of Wayne Newton and Rich Little. They’re still alive and propped up there.
You know that we love the music of The Beatles. We went to see Cirque de Soleil’s production of LOVE at The Mirage. It was an evening of great music and incredible athleticism. Interesting fact - I believe that The Beatles’ producer George Martin’s son reworked the songs and produced the soundtrack for the show. Loved LOVE.
We also went down to old downtown Las Vegas. We saw the old casinos and walked through the Fremont East entertainment district. It’s not as shiny as the strip, but it was a little more to my liking.
There are a number of the celebrity chefs working in Vegas now. We managed to avoid them and had a great lunch at Carmine’s (fuggidaboutit) and then a nice dinner at The Bootlegger, which has been in business in Las Vegas since about the time the mob started building its business there. We dined with photos of Vegas royalty looking down on us.
We took advantage of our location to go see Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. If you haven’t been and get the chance, it’s a mind-blowing experience. This project was dedicated in 1935 by FDR and the engineering, architecture, and functionality stands up. As an aside, FDR didn’t want to give credit to Herbert Hoover for the project, so he dedicated it as Boulder Dam. Congress changed the name to Hoover Dam later. Our guide took us through the inside of the dam, showed us the turbine room on the Nevada side, and took us to a shaft which opened up to the side opposite of the lake. The builders constructed the dam by forming huge individual building blocks of concrete. They ran pipe all through the structure to pump cold water through the concrete to help it cool and cure. They water is no longer running but our guide told us that the concrete is still cooling and curing even after all this time. Our guide told us that dams are usually built to last for 300 years - Hoover Dam is expected to function properly and have a life span of 3000 years. This was one of the more interesting sights we’ve experienced so far.
Your best friend Buster
Bellagio and Ceasars Palace next door
The Bellagio
Flowers and such inside Bellagio
Flowers and such inside Bellagio - the hands go up 27 feet
A little snapshot of ONE of the walkways inside Caesars Palace - it went on forever
New York New York
I’m sure they are all different but they all look the same to me - blah
Hoover Dam and Lake Mead (view from the bridge over the Colorado River)
The bridge over the Colorado River
The turbine room on the Nevada side of the dam - there’s another one like this on the Arizona side
This turbine is being serviced before being placed back in its spot at number 3 position (see above)
Nice art deco design
The path to get a view from inside the dam
Lake Mead showing the consequences of drought