Friday, June 13, 2008
A word about Tim Russert
Tim Russert died today very suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 58. Just a note about him. If there's one thing I hate, it's the news media in this country. And if there's something I hate anywhere close to how much I hate the media, it's politics. Strange then how the death of NBC's chief political reporter left me so profoundly sad today. Here's why....in a world where the news media is all about sensationalizing and "creating" stories rather than reporting them, and where entire news networks exist to present news with their own political slant ("fair and balanced"??? Yeah, right.), this was a man who represented what is right about journalism. I think it's testament to how well he did his job that until he died, I never had any idea which way his own personal politics ran (in his early life, he campaigned for a Democratic senator from NY). He never seemed to be pushing his own agenda nor one of any party. The other thing I always enjoyed about him was how truly passionate he was about what he did, and also what a genuinely good down-to-earth guy he seemed to be. He loved his dad, raised a great son, and would've been a great guy to tailgate with, I think. RIP, Mr. Russert. Election Night 2008 will certainly not be the same without you.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Vegas Baby!
Just back from 8 fabulous days in Las Vegas!! Stayed at a great Wyndham Grand Desert condo just a couple blocks behind the new Planet Hollywood casino (formerly the Aladdin). We could zip right down all the back streets to get pretty much anywhere we wanted to go. It was a really nice place. The weather for this trip was unreal....after temps in the 100s the week before we got there, it dropped about 40 degrees and was in the 60s when we arrived and even colder at night. The first few days we were there we were actually chilly which was quite unexpected! It steadily warmed thoughout the week but the only really hot day we had was the final Saturday when it got back up into the 90s
My friend Lyn and I arrived early evening on Saturday, May 24. Grabbed some dinner and did a little gambling at Planet Hollywood. On Sunday, we had found a way on the Internet that you could join the Wynn player's club and, by playing a certain game, win enough points for 2 free buffets without losing any money. We went over and decided to do that, but instead Lyn won $25 free play and I won two tickets to their Cirque de Soleil show, Le Reve! Those puppies were about $100 bucks apiece! We never did get the buffets though....LOL!
Sunday night we went to see Cher at Caesars Palace. We both thought the show was great!! The coliseum at Caesars has all this multimedia capability, and she used it all to the hilt. The show was kind of a retrospective of her entire career and she must've had about 20 costume changes.
Monday we hit the outlet mall for a while and then found this new shopping area down near that end of Vegas called Town Square...more of a local place than a tourist. It had several upscale restaurants that had great happy hours so we partook at the Yard House (world's largest selection of draft beer!) and this wonderful martini bar called Blue Martini. I had a Caramel Swirl martini that was absolutely out of this world.....vanilla vodka, butterscotch schnapps, amarula cream liqueur, and caramel. Ohmigod, it was incredible. Then did something I've always wanted to do...taken a pic with the Vegas sign.
Tuesday we hit downtown for a while...went a little further south downtown than we usually do and found some of the old Vegas neon signs that the Neon Museum preserves. Here's me with a couple of them:
And here's Lyn at the very divey downtown El Cortez with the slot machine she was obsessed with for the whole trip, Super Jackpot Party (I'm a Village People Jackpot Party fan myself):
And at the top where we found the Mount Charleston Lodge...I love that they still had their Christmas wreath and lights up.
We stopped there for some refreshments before heading back down and then over to Red Rocks Canyon, which was a beautiful 14-mile loop drive. Here we are there:
Then we headed just a little further on to this little fake "Western" town called Bonnie Springs, which had a tiny train, fake stagecoaches, a petting zoo, and a bar. Very bizarre place. Here's me relaxing with a beverage (trust me, I would never drive a motorcycle if I looked as drunk as I do in this picture!) and one of Lyn hopping the stagecoach:
On our way back into town, we stopped at the Red Rock Casino...this place is fabulous. We didn't stay long because it was dark and we still had to get back into town on the motorcycle. By the time we made it back to the condo, we were dragging badly. We managed to get to Ellis Island for their famous 4.99 steak dinner, which is now 6.99. Inflations strikes everywhere! WE were so exhausted that I thought Lyn was literally going to fall asleep in the middle of her plate. It had been a very long but fun day.
On Friday, our friends Fran and Lyne' arrived. We picked them up at the airport and then headed to Mandalay Bay to a Mexican restaurant called Border Grill. It was pricey, but the food and margaritas were wonderful. Friday night we saw Barry....Fran, Lyn, and I had 2nd row seats and Lyne' was in one of the stage seats. I have to confess that I just wasn't too excited about seeing the show....mainly because I've just seen it too many times and I'm ready for a change. He is always great though. Afterwards, we went to the Top of the World bar at the Stratosphere for yet more martinis...here's Lyn, Fran, and Lyne' with the fabulous view behind them.
My friend Lyn and I arrived early evening on Saturday, May 24. Grabbed some dinner and did a little gambling at Planet Hollywood. On Sunday, we had found a way on the Internet that you could join the Wynn player's club and, by playing a certain game, win enough points for 2 free buffets without losing any money. We went over and decided to do that, but instead Lyn won $25 free play and I won two tickets to their Cirque de Soleil show, Le Reve! Those puppies were about $100 bucks apiece! We never did get the buffets though....LOL!
Sunday night we went to see Cher at Caesars Palace. We both thought the show was great!! The coliseum at Caesars has all this multimedia capability, and she used it all to the hilt. The show was kind of a retrospective of her entire career and she must've had about 20 costume changes.
Monday we hit the outlet mall for a while and then found this new shopping area down near that end of Vegas called Town Square...more of a local place than a tourist. It had several upscale restaurants that had great happy hours so we partook at the Yard House (world's largest selection of draft beer!) and this wonderful martini bar called Blue Martini. I had a Caramel Swirl martini that was absolutely out of this world.....vanilla vodka, butterscotch schnapps, amarula cream liqueur, and caramel. Ohmigod, it was incredible. Then did something I've always wanted to do...taken a pic with the Vegas sign.
Tuesday we hit downtown for a while...went a little further south downtown than we usually do and found some of the old Vegas neon signs that the Neon Museum preserves. Here's me with a couple of them:
And here's Lyn at the very divey downtown El Cortez with the slot machine she was obsessed with for the whole trip, Super Jackpot Party (I'm a Village People Jackpot Party fan myself):
Wednesday, Lyn was brave enough to join me yet again on another Harley motorcycle ride. It was looking doubtful because we had tried all week and the rental places were either all sold out or what they had available was a little too grand for me to be comfortable with. But we finally found one on Wednesday....a Harley Fat Boy! First we stopped at In n' Out Burger for sustenance and then headed up to Mount Charleston, the highest elevation in Nevada. It was amazing to start out in desert and end up in pine trees and snow....but boy, was it cold! Here's Lyn about 2/3 of the way up:
And at the top where we found the Mount Charleston Lodge...I love that they still had their Christmas wreath and lights up.
We stopped there for some refreshments before heading back down and then over to Red Rocks Canyon, which was a beautiful 14-mile loop drive. Here we are there:
Then we headed just a little further on to this little fake "Western" town called Bonnie Springs, which had a tiny train, fake stagecoaches, a petting zoo, and a bar. Very bizarre place. Here's me relaxing with a beverage (trust me, I would never drive a motorcycle if I looked as drunk as I do in this picture!) and one of Lyn hopping the stagecoach:
On our way back into town, we stopped at the Red Rock Casino...this place is fabulous. We didn't stay long because it was dark and we still had to get back into town on the motorcycle. By the time we made it back to the condo, we were dragging badly. We managed to get to Ellis Island for their famous 4.99 steak dinner, which is now 6.99. Inflations strikes everywhere! WE were so exhausted that I thought Lyn was literally going to fall asleep in the middle of her plate. It had been a very long but fun day.
On Friday, our friends Fran and Lyne' arrived. We picked them up at the airport and then headed to Mandalay Bay to a Mexican restaurant called Border Grill. It was pricey, but the food and margaritas were wonderful. Friday night we saw Barry....Fran, Lyn, and I had 2nd row seats and Lyne' was in one of the stage seats. I have to confess that I just wasn't too excited about seeing the show....mainly because I've just seen it too many times and I'm ready for a change. He is always great though. Afterwards, we went to the Top of the World bar at the Stratosphere for yet more martinis...here's Lyn, Fran, and Lyne' with the fabulous view behind them.
Saturday was our last day...after breakfast at Terrible's, we headed downtown for a while. Had a good time playing $3 blackjack down there but I was on a horrible losing streak. We had dinner at Benihana at the Hilton which was great (other than the totally obnoxious guy at our table) and then on to see Barry again. I have to confess...going in I was really not excited at all, but on this night, Barry really turned it up a notch. He was in a very silly mood and everything was just up on a different level than the night before. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Below are some pics of the big guy in action:
Had an early Sunday morning flight home. It was a great trip and we always have so much fun when we Broads get together!
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