AJ's Day out 4: Sunset

As with all good things in life, unfortunately, it all must inevitably come to a close eventually. Antho's day out, which saw him wandering through Harrah's, the Linq Promenade and the Flamingo's Wildlife Habitat before eventually winding back to the Linq for sunset was a fun ride and the photos have been fun to find. It's always illuminating to see the world through someone else's eyes and photography is an excellent medium for doing so. I'm glad I handed off my camera to Antho and I hope you enjoy seeing these photos, as I have.  This is our Vegas, not the one you're likely to see advertised in the glossy print advertisements that bombard any freeway facing our city for 800 miles or so around, or the adverts that pop up on Facebook as you're planning your trip. Every experience is what you make of it, really, isn't it?

Another way to gain a different perspective, quite literally, is to hop on the 550-foot tall High Roller Observation wheel that stands proudly (and often quite colorfully) at the end of the Linq promenade. Antho and I rode it back when it first opened, years ago, but I don't think I got photos. We'll definitely make it back up there again in the future! It's not terribly expensive and they have all sorts of package deals and promotions depending on where you stay and what you want to do in the observation wheel itself. There's even an open bar package, though inevitably that's going to cost a pretty penny for the unlimited flow of booze. I imagine that's more for the, ahem, high rollers themselves who have the bankroll or the luck at the tables to consider the cost insignificant.  Personally, we don't have that kind of money, but if you do then have at it! There are so many things to do in this city, and so many ways to have fun, at any budget. Antho opted to spend most of the evening relaxing and people watching as the sun sunk behind the horizon and he waited for my shift to come to an end. It wasn't a bad day, not at all.  

Vegas: AJ's Day out part 3: Flamingo Wildlife Habitat

If you're at the Flamingo hotel and casino here in Vegas and wanted to see an actual, say, living and breathing Flamingo instead of the silly stuffed animals and artificial replicas that profligate the area, you're in luck! While I can never seem to find it on my own volition or haven't tried hard enough to yet, Antho is adept at finding the way to the Flamingo's Wildlife habitat. It's not far from their buffet, so once you're in the hall where the buffet is you should see the large glass windows and doors leading to the habitat. Once you step through those doors you'll be in a lush oasis where the soothing tones of trickling water mingle with the laughter of tourists and other visitors to the area, with conspicuously high humidity compared to the rest of the strip thanks to all that lovely water splashing around. The signature flamingos are there, along with pelicans, ducks, koi, catfish and many other beautiful creatures big and small. The habitat is open 24 hours as far as I'm aware, though the animals aren't going to be active for that entire duration, naturally. Everyone has to sleep sometime! During the busier hours of the day there will also be trainers around with some parrots, who will kindly pose for a photo for you if you'd like. We've seen at least one person get pooped on while posing, though, so pose at your own risk. 

 

It's free to enter, though I believe the photographs with the birds will cost you. There are certain times of the day where you may be able to participate in, or at least watch, as the animals are fed, which is always entertaining. Pelicans are especially goofy when eating, due to their expanding throat/chin pouch that they have. Nature, you crazy! It is neat to see all the diversity there is, though, and this is an extremely small slice of the sheer biodiversity existing on our planet. While the flamingos and many of the long-term residents have had their wings clipped to prevent an escape, there are many other birds who simply stop by to enjoy the scenery. I imagine it's especially lovely to come outside and enjoy a coffee in the early hours, as the animals and humans begin to rouse from their slumber. There's certainly plenty of options for grabbing a bite or a cuppa inside the casino, and there's a small cafe just inside the doors adjacent to the habitat itself. 

Lots of photos below, taken kindly by our lovely Antho Jay (or AJ for short) as ya girl Nau here was working at the time. Nice of him to capture these moments and adventures for us, right?

Enjoy!

Vegas: AJ's Day out part 2: Linq Promenade

The Linq Promenade is a pretty great one-stop-shop if you want to hit a LOT of Vegas moments without having to go too far. Not only do we have the High Roller observation wheel towering over the city offering amazing views at the end of the pavilion, but there's the Brooklyn Bowl concert venue that constantly has a rotating event schedule bringing all sorts of incredible talents to the city, an In-N-Out burger for your favorite west coast burger chain (one the late great Anthony Bourdain loved above all else), or you can opt to grab some Fish n' Chips from Gordon Ramsey's restaurant... or if it's late and you're feeling peckish, you could always get your sugarfix from the Sprinkles Cupcakery's 24-hour cupcake ATM! There are fountains shooting up glistening streams of water droplets with light show effects, showgirls sparkling and sashaying as they ask for a photo (and a tip, of course), VR-entertainment rides and more. There's no shortage of bars or restaurants, from Western to sushi, and you could spend an entire day in the promenade before going back into the adjacent casinos. You can't miss them- there's a ginormous flamingo standing guard at the doors to the Flamingo itself! There's always something new to see and something exciting going on down here, so it's never a dull day or night whether it's the both of us or just Antho who gets out there and explores. Antho (or AJ for short) has gotten some good practice behind the lens, and I think the results are noticable. I don't know if the dude above was cognizant of the fact he was being photographed, but he certainly took to it well.

And it's a feeling many of us an relate to- that happy In-n-Out zen you find yourself in as your focus draws towards the deliciousness going into your face and away from the external world. Not all of us look that cool while eating. Way to go, dude bro.

The contrast of cultures, events, restaurants and all else extends to the murals decorating the walls of the Promenade, too. Fire and ice. Yin and yang. Life is all about balance, right? Letting Antho take the camera and go out exploring while I worked felt right, and I'm glad that it happened. Perhaps this brings more balance to our creative flow. 

Whatever the case, there's plenty more photos below!

Vegas: AJ's Day Out part 1: Harrah's

Have you ever been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras? We certainly haven't, at least, not as far as we're aware. I might have popped down to Louisiana for a visit as a very small child, but I don't think that really counts since I can't remember it. It's on my bucket list, though, especially since I have several friends online who've lived there and expressed quite clearly their affections for the city and it's people and culture. Anyway, this post isn't about Mardi Gras or New Orleans, not really- it's a collection of photos from when Antho recently set loose on the Strip with my camera and not much to do. You see, Antho is such a sweet, doting boyfriend that on his days off or the days he get out of work early he'll typically head down to the region of the Strip I happen to be working and hang out and explore until I get off. That way, if something comes up (like I get ravenously hungry but can't rush off to get food somewhere) he'll be there to help me out, and can head back out to enjoy people watching where he'll be out of the way until I'm free again. Recently he borrowed my copy of Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut for a casual afternoon of reading in the pavilion, enjoying the sunshine and background sounds of human conversation as throngs of tourists passed by. Me? I was resolutely inside for the duration of this lovely day, as ya girl's got bills to pay and work to be done. Antho volunteered to take my camera along, though, for posterity's sake and to share his adventures with me in hindsight. It's pretty humbling, too, for me to go through these photos as he's a pretty good photographer for someone who spends the vast majority of his time around a camera in front of the lens instead of behind it modelling our tie-dye, though he is required to play photographer part of the time. It's fun to go through and see things from his perspective, though, which is one of the greatest gifts photography has to offer. It's the best way to put yourself into someone else's shoes, and the old adage about how "a picture is worth a thousand words" will indubitably ring true for as long as humans have the capacity to view and reproduce photographs.  

Harrah's hotel and casino here in Vegas is geared towards a Mardi Gras theme, I think. To be fair, I've never been to Mardi Gras nor put any exceptional amount of effort into researching the meaning behind the casino's aesthetic. That being said, it's an extremely convenient place to stay for any visitors as it's right in the midst of some of the most popular tourist spots. The Linq Promenade and High Roller are literally right next door, and the Flamingo is next to that. Across the street is Caesar's and not far from that are Mirage, or Bellagio, depending which direction you go. Vegas is, of course, geared towards being exceptionally tourist friendly in the main corridor here, so the pedestrian access is pretty good though if you have mobility challenges you may need to plan ahead. There's constant construction going on around the area, so there's always some new obstacle or thing to look out for. This translates to there almost always being something new or exciting to do, though!

When you aren't tripping over stray traffic cones or getting elbowed by large packs of people, you'll see just how much detail goes into these buildings. Vegas is basically a theme park for adults, after all.

Vegas: Stop at the El Cortez

Fremont Street is a bustling hub of weirdness in Downtown Las Vegas, where you can catch sight of obese old men in little speedos and bunny ears next to scantily clad nuns all posing for photos with tourists. A Pee Wee impersonator may pop up and uncharacteristically shout at you for payment should you try to take his photo without tipping, and some days you might even encounter a Spiderman on Spiderman turf war, or a hyper Power Ranger dancing it out with an oddly proportioned Minnie Mouse cousin. There are relatively cheap drinks flowing and lots of gambling options to try your luck, but the further you walk from the glistening balcony of Fremont Street Experience, the quieter and quirkier it gets. We decided to stop and pop in to the El Cortez a little ways east of Fremont Street experience and try their white russians, since that's been a thing with Antho recently. If it's good enough for The Dude, it's good enough for us.  We were a bit surprised to learn that they were not a cheap drink down in this neck of the woods, so we stopped at the two as we'd already sampled one earlier up the street. While they weren't bad, we'll likely stick to making them at home or going to Casino Royale near Harrah's when we're not busy. It was fun people watching, however, and we got shouted at by some lady who approached the bar and loudly asked a question of everyone in the general area (about a lighter or a match, or something)... good times. The El Cortez isn't a bad option if you're looking to stay downtown and don't want to pay an exorbitant rate for being on "the" street (Fremont Street Experience, that is). It's not going to be the classiest of accommodations, so you likely won't hobnob with any celebrities during your stay, but you never know. This is Vegas, after all. Anything can happen.   

Vegas: Pop's Philly Steaks

Pop's Philly Cheese steak claims to be the pride of philly, though whether this claim is true is not up to me to discern. I've never been to Philedelphia, though I have to admit I absolutely want to go! The Mutter museum is high on my bucket list, so it's only a matter of time until we eventually find our way to the city of brotherly love. In the mean time, we've got several options for finding a Philly Cheesesteak here in the desert- there is, of course, Pop's Philly Steaks, a uniquely shaped little hut with a drive through (far too low of a clearance for our big van to squeeze through) and a tiny parking lot. The restaurant is right next to a residential neighborhood, so the closest street parking would require parking in front of someone's residence. We didn't feel comfortable with that and did a lap until we could turn around and get another angle of attack for parking. On the second time we were able to find a spot, and during our meal we witnessed similar situations play out time and again as people sought out spots and waited patiently as the person previously occupying it had to do multiple difficult turns to get out to the street. 

This could be a major drawback, if the food weren't sufficiently delicious to merit patience. Luckily for us, the food was most definitely tasty, and the portions were pretty massive so we had plenty of food to fuel us for the remainder of the day ahead. The menu is pretty large, too, with a wide variety of hot and cold sandwiches, sides, even dessert. We opted for a Philly Cheesesteak with peppers, onions and mushrooms, which is how I typically get it. I don't care if it's a bastardization, I like the textures. I opted for provolone AND cheese whiz, because #treatyoself. Antho got an order of fried green beans, mozzarella sticks and fried plantains. Everything we had was good, and I'd definitely like to get back here sooner rather than later, though I may consider alternative methods for getting there or trying to time it out for a less-busy timeframe so as to make the parking a little less stressful.  

Luckily there's plenty of delicious options to stress eat away all your troubles!

Grab a cream soda and cozy in.

More photos below!

Vegas: Math Alive! Exhbit at the Springs Preserve May 2018

The Springs preserve plays host to two large museums on it's grounds: The Nevada State Museum and the Origen Museum. This exhibit was in the Origen Museum, same one we saw the Space exhibit on my birthday in. This time around, the exhibit was focused on Mathematics- not surprising, perhaps, given the name of the event. We caught it right at the tail end of it's run, so it will no longer be available to check out by the time this post is live, I'm afraid. I hope that by preserving it's awesomeness and sharing it with you here now you'll feel inspired to look into and check out future events at the Springs Preserve! There's always something new going on and we've had a lot of fun checking it out over the time we've had our memberships. It's always a family friendly affair, too, so for those of you with young ones it's a great option for a day out with them! Personally, I've always had something of an on-again-off-again love affair with math. I felt it came easily when I was attending a math and science magnet school as a child, and paid far less attention than I should have during lessons. Everything up through geometry made sense, and geometry came easily as my spacial-awareness from years of drawing was already pretty high. It was when we started to dabble in algebra, mixing the letters with numbers, that things started to go awry for me. I think that with the right teachers it would have been no problem, as I had a teacher later in life who explained it all in a manner that clarified things immensely, but for most of my middle and high school career I found myself growing resentful and frustrated by the teachers I had, who made it seem so effortlessly easy and insulted my efforts to ask questions after class...that's right, I legitamately had a teacher make fun of me when I came to her room after class to ask her for additional guidance. She had always been a bit of a nightmare teacher, with a reputation around campus for being a monster, but to mock a student's honest efforts at trying to learn and understand the material? Wow. In the end I needed to seek out outside tutoring and it helped, but it took time to get over the psychological block that I was innately bad at math after her abuses and taunts over the school year.  You may have to plan your visit for earlier in the day, however, if you're planning on visiting the butterfly exhbit, their zoo (say hi to Mojave Max their tortoise!), the Sustainability gallery , Boomtown and Waterworks, or other areas of the Preserve like the botanical gardens...

 

More photos below!

Vegas: Springs Preserve Botanical Gardens May 2018

No visit to the Springs Preserve would be complete without taking some time to explore their gardens! Now, I know what you may be thinking; but isn't it all pretty much gardens? Well...yes...technically speaking, that would be correct, however there's a separate botanical gardens area near the butterfly exhibit full of edible plants and cultivated raised beds where they offer lessons and classes! You can even send the kiddies off to a gardening summer camp to learn about the fun of growing your own. While I've never caught any of the lessons, Antho and I have explored the area and tried to make note of the various new fruits and veggies coming in with the changing seasons. On one visit we might find an abundance of chili peppers scattered among the many bushes near the Sustainability gallery (there's a lot of garden, after all) or mint and basil flourishing. Sometimes there's a bunch of little green tomatoes like on this visit, other times the bell peppers or squash steal the show. It's always quite exciting to me how many different plants and animals can thrive in this seemingly inhospitable climate. Our land is often more compacted sand and pebbles than deep brown loam, but the evidence is right here in the Preserve that in spite of our scorching summers, gardening is absolutely possible. It may pose more of a challenge than other regions, but with enough tenacity and know-how it's possible! Luckily for us, the volunteers at the Preserve, along with the various farmer's markets we have here in Vegas, make it easy to speak to knowledgeable people with experience on how to find your gardening groove with this land. If you're not keen on trying the DIY approach, you can simply stroll the gardens here and admire all the beautiful results of their work over the seasons, or check out the butterfly exhibit, the OriGen Museum, the Nevada State Museum, the Zoo or Waterworks and Boomtown, or come out for one of their holiday events!There's a lot to see here! It's no secret that the Springs Preserve makes the short-list of my favorite things to do in Vegas. 

As I've mentioned before, the gardens are always changing as a result of the seasonal shift in temperatures. This never ceases to entertain and fascinate me, as I think being born and raised primarily in the city lends a lot of us to dissociate from the seasonal nature of things. I really appreciated the awareness of it I found in Japan, and the use of seasonal produce is obsessively followed and planned for in the cuisine. There's a prime season for each and every fruit and vegetable, and being in tune with that makes it easier to get the best flavors and results in your cooking. It's a secret a lot of chefs know and utilise, which is why it should surprise no one that a lot of the culinary geniuses occupying this city can be found at the farmers markets or any of the specialty markets scouring out the best of the best of that season's offerings. Going into summer, I'm excited for all the tomatoes that will be available! A good tomato sandwich is a gloriously simple and delicious thing. Antho is especially fond of fried green tomatoes, which prelude the big beefy red ripe ones of later days. 

 

More photos below!

Vegas: Springs Preserve Butterfly Exhibit May 2018

For a limited time frame every year, the Springs Preserve converts one of their greenhouses into a butterfly habitat, filling it to the brim with the beautiful little flutterers. The exorbitantly green interior is maintained at a specific temperature and humidity level to keep the precious guests at their happiest, and each guest who enters is inspected prior to entry and exit in a secured secondary environment to prevent any possible hitch-hikers from contaminating the environment (and to keep their guests safely inside)... but even with meticulous work nature will invariably run its course, so if you choose to visit the butterfly habitat please be cautious of where you're stepping! Sometimes the little lovelies who aren't feeling so well, or are having a hard time getting airborne, will find their way to the walkways. We had a butterfly land on my purse, another on my hand, and Antho had one land upon a dread while another found itself attracted to his socks... so we BOTH had multiple butterflies land on us this trip! Given their friendliness, it's best to keep a close eye on kids who may get overly excited and try to grab one of the delicate little things. It's okay, I totally understand the impulse, but the volunteers at the Preserve put a lot of time and effort into protecting their headlining stars. The exhibit can only stay open for a limited time each year due to the fragile nature of the butterflies, who aren't well-adapted to our extreme seasons. This makes it all the more magical to catch it during it's short season of operation! The butterflies were not very shy this time through, with some of them happily landing on us as mentioned above, and others posing for photos with all the leisurely calm of a beach-goer getting a tan. There's a stunning amount of variety among them, too, with small fuzzy orange fellas floating around next to massive blue and brown winged butterfly behemoths. We've visited the exhibit in the past, and made a conscious effort to get to it once more before it closed for the 2018 summer season. 

There will be plenty of photos below!

Vegas: May Visit to the Springs Preserve part one

Another Springs Preserve post! Can you believe it? I know, readers, I certainly like to drivel on about this place a lot, but it's endlessly evolving and so much fun to visit!

This post is, unfortunately, a bit delayed in going live given that it's from a visit last month. It's been a hectic month or so, though, with new jobs and changing schedules, adventures, out-of-town work requiring road tripping, and all sorts of other excitement. I've touched on this outing a little bit already, having shared our visit with the friendly tortoise and the snazzy Gila monster, but these photos will cover more of the open grounds from when you first enter the preserve itself. The Springs Preserve is massive, with a lot to try to take in on any given visit and then it changes with every season and holiday to boot, making it an endlessly fascinating place to stop at while here in lovely Las Vegas. Antho and I got annual memberships after our very first visit in the September of 2017, and we've gone time and time, and time, and time, again since then! There's a museum with rotating exhibits, live animals to check out, then gardens and hiking paths galore. It's pretty epic. Not only is there the animals in their zoo, but plenty of wild animals stop in, too, like this cute little green guy above. Nature doing nature stuff. 

This particular visit took place on a warm, beautiful, sunny day in early May. I guess you'd say that was the tail end of spring by Vegas standards, as we start to get into the high 80's / low 90's (Fahrenheit) by the end of May, if not higher. Once the heat really settles in, it takes hold for months on end with only brief thunderstorms and heavy rains surprising us once or twice, if we're lucky. Those summer monsoons provide much-needed moisture to the drought-ridden desert landscape, along with providing some flash-floods that catch unwitting drivers by surprise. You win some, you lose some. The ground is so hard packed here that when we do finally get that rainfall the land so desperately needs, it tends to collect on the surface and run into the lowest points of elevation before eventually draining. There's an extensive system of tunnels and drainage tubes underneath the city of Las Vegas, because even though our rain is few and far between it tends to come with quite a flash.

  

Despite our drought conditions, life does thrive here. From lizards to birds, spiders to mountain lions, there are plenty of creatures that have adapted to survive the terrain. Plantlife, too, has adapted to these tough conditions. 

More photos below~

Vegas: Gila Monster at the Springs Preserve

In case you haven't noticed from the sheer voluminous backlog of posts I've written thus far involving the Springs Preserve, it really is one of my absolute favorite local spots here in the confines of our lovely little city of Las Vegas. Not only is it an expansive property with acreage upon acres of stunning natural views of untampered wild foliage coupled with immaculately tended gardens but all of these views change with the seasons and there are always some new and exciting events popping up all year long. There are stone-studded pathways leading you through tunnels of foliage and butterflies hiding in a particularly sunny and climate-controlled corner. There are even animals and a museum to get your learning on! It's such a nice escape and it's only a 10-15 minute journey from where we live currently, but even if you're not super-central like we are it's at such a convenient juncture of freeways that you'd be hard-pressed to find an inconvenient way of getting there. There's also lots of good food to be found nearby, as well as inside their very own on-premises restaurant, so you needn't fear hunger while hiking. This post is primarily going to cap-off our little visit to their zoo area, where the friendly tortoise gentleman popped up to say hello to us previously. I'll have more posts about the Preserve up soon, but I've been drowning a bit under a backlog of photos and inadequate memory to store them all... eesh... between the blogging, the tie-dye, and travel photos I accumulate I manage to burn through all available storage on my poor desktop! I have external drives and lots of Google storage, but it's a pain to shuffle things around. I guess it's a bit of digital spring cleaning, though, which was much needed. I literally couldn't import any more photos off of my camera, and I've got a lot of more stuff to show you from the past month! 

Like check out this handsome critter! I've always been fascinated by Gila monsters, the venomous lizard who has to gnaw their deadly poison into your system with their big, impressive jaws. They're definitely a remnant of an earlier, more creative time in nature's history, and they too fall into the flashy-colored stylish ways of their fellow venomous friends in the animal kingdom. Nature's way of saying to frigg right the hell off, mate, if you know what's good for you.

I'm not saying to frigg off, though, mate!

There's plenty more photos here to gander, so feast your eyes if you're not freaked out by the dinosaurs. 

10 things to do in Vegas this summer (part two)

There's no shortage of ways to stay entertained in fabulous Las Vegas, but if you need some inspiration for things to do this summer this list offers the second half of five out of ten (previous five can be viewed here) of my picks for things to do in Las Vegas during the summer season of 2018! 

6. Take in the view from the High Roller at the Linq promenade

If you're one for spectacular views from above, then this is one opportunity you won't want to miss out on! You can go during the day or night, or try to plan it out to catch the spectacular sunset views. The Linq promenade is easily accessible from most of the Strip as it's right in the heart of it all. The Linq promenade itself has plenty of restaurants, bars, shops and other entertainments to keep you busy for hours, if not days, if you stay nearby.  It's attached to both Harrah's and the Flamingo/ 

7. Jump off of the tallest tower in the city 

If simply gazing out at the lights and admiring their beauty isn't thrilling enough for you, you can try jumping off of the Stratosphere tower after taking in the view from the 108th floor. It's not hard to spot the Stratosphere and it's used as a landmark for orienting oneself by locals for a reason, and it's a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from Downtown and Fremont districts, so if you're still riding that adrenaline high you can also...

8. Zipline over the crowds under the Fremont Street Experience

Keep that adrenaline rush roaring by hopping a quick ride (bus, Lyft, Uber or even a rental bike) down to Fremont Street, at the North end of the Las Vegas boulevard strip. Here you'll find some insane people watching coupled with ample booze and mayhem to keep you entertained for hours. Within a short amount of time walking under the television screen-topped street, you'll likely encounter screaming butts flying overhead. Those would be the zipliners, who grabbed tickets to Slotzilla before you. You can join their ranks and zip over the street in a seated or superman style pose. 

9. Dance to some Reggae in the Desert 

Get funky with Las Vegas's largest reggae festival! General admission is $24.99 per person, making it one of the more affordable all-day music festivals. 

10. Dive-in movies at Wet'n'Wild! 

Same idea as the Dive-in movies at the Cosmo, except this time it's at Wet'n'Wild! Wet'n'Wild is a chain with several locations, so it's a little less limited to -just- Vegas, but there's definitely a lot of fun to be had between swim and screen time with the family! This will be especially appealing to those of you who don't want to be in a casino environment and the movies are much more family-friendly overall, with fun features like Moana, Despicable Me and even the Lion King (because who doesn't want to sob hysterically at the water park?)... 

Hope this provides you with some entertainment this summer!

Thanks for stopping by!

💕

XOXO,

NAU