That’s a wrap

Tomorrow, we both go back to work.  Any and all Spring Break activities end today.  In fact, our out-of-town activities ended yesterday.  We got a slow start yesterday, grabbing a quick bite from a selection of fruits and pastries our hotel provided, then we headed to a barbecue place that a friend recommended.  Recommendation approved, and now, we can tell others that Heim BBQ in Fort Worth is a winner.  They are apparently known far and wide for their bacon burnt ends and their chile mac and cheese.  Both are exceptional, though you have to do a little dissection with the bacon to get the meaty part away from the fatty bits.  

After that, we headed back downtown and took a trolley ride.  There is a complimentary trolley that makes a loop around downtown, and the driver we met was extremely polite and very helpful.  When he deposited us at the Water Gardens, we were glad to have taken advantage of that service.  We walked through the various parts of the large, outdoor display of fountains and man-made water features.  While we were there, we noticed that several parents were not only permitting their kids to wade into some of the pools, but they were apparently encouraging it.  Every entry point to these features noted that patrons should not get into the actual water, and a quick sniff test will tell you that the space smells more like an aquarium than a swimming pool.  I can't imagine what would prompt these parents to encourage this, especially considering the the Water Gardens were closed for a time in 2014 when one adult and three children were killed there.  In fact, right there.  In the "active pool" area where I was standing and watching three children splash about in the water.  

I feel bad, too, for the kids whose parents insisted that they follow the rules.  There were, no doubt, some children who wanted to join in the fun, but whose parents said no, and insisted that they follow the rules that other folks were clearly ignoring.  As much as I love the Water Gardens, I left a bit frustrated with their visitors.  

But it was time to head on down the road, anyhow, and when we did, we walked past the convention center and through a public space occupied by vendors, displays and other booths like you'd see at any decent convention.  It was all for the Bassmaster Classic.  And honestly, when would we see such a display again?  So we took a stroll.  We saw what basically amounted to an above-ground pool, filled with live fish that children were competitively catching as though it was a carnival game  We saw large, inflatable fish displays, trucks and boats, and notably, an inflatable bounce house shaped like a wide mouth bass.  It was a spectacle, and we had to have a look, but we didn't want to linger.  

After that strange promenade, we stopped at a local patio for one more cold beverage, then we headed out of town.  We're back home today, and made it here with no road debris and no need to find a shop that could pop a new bolt into the underside of the car.  It's back to work tomorrow, and that begins the sprint to the finish line at the end of the school year.  Then, it's on to Paris!  See you when we don our berets!

Until then, here is our photo album: https://tinyurl.com/DunlapFW

That place was a zoo!

I believe every parent and child in the greater Fort Worth area was at the Fort Worth Zoo yesterday.  We arrived around noon, and when we got there, all vehicles were being directed to park on the grass.  There were annoyed teenagers in yellow vests orchestrating the process so they could maximize use of the grassy space near the overstuffed parking lot.  We rolled in next to a big truck, and another big truck came in next to us on the other side,  I sometimes wonder why so many people need so many very large vehicles, but I have a new theory, thanks to the Fort Worth Zoo.  

Families need vehicles that large to transport what are, effectively, smaller vehicles.  It seemed that every child at the zoo yesterday needed a non-walking option.  The push-me-pull-you parade was out in full force.  There were strollers of varying size and complexity, some of them almost too wide for the doors that their owners were trying to shove them through.  Then, there were wagons.  And we’re not talking about old school Radio Flyers.  No wood or metal wagons like I remember from way back.  These things were padded and had cup holders.  Luxury wagons.  And the kids were often far too large to be pushed or pulled around.  I get that sometimes, mobility is a problem, and I suspect it’s easier to keep your kid from running off in a crowd if he is seated in a wheeled thing, but isn’t the whole point of taking a kid to a thing like the zoo that he gets to explore, burn a few calories, knock out some of that great kid-energy and sleep like a log that night?  Ditch the luxury wagons, make sure his shoes are tied and let him actually walk around. It will make so many things easier- not the least of which being my ability to walk around the zoo at the same time.  

The Fort Worth Zoo is a very good zoo.  And as much as we actively chose to go there and as much as we really enjoyed it, we got to our far away car at the end of our adventure, closed the car doors and enjoyed a moment of peace and quiet.  I told Cas I almost wanted to turn the radio off and sit in silence.  He really likes having music on all the time, and I think he was considering it.  

It was afternoon, and we had some space in our day between leaving the zoo and making it to our dinner reservation at 8:15.  Also, there was a distillery in town we hadn’t tried out in any previous visit.  Nothing like an out of the way spot where every person present must be 21 or older after the pure chaos of the Fort Worth Zoo during the last weekday of most folks’ spring break.  We really liked the TX Whiskey Ranch.  It’s both a very good distillery (yum!) and a beautiful place.  They boast a beautiful sunset view, and if we had been around at that time, we certainly would have taken them up on it.  The jury is still out on what our night looks like tonight, so it’s not off the table.  But apparently, they are perfectly placed to view the sun going down behind the silhouette of the Fort Worth skyline.  Sounds really pretty, and we kind of want to see that.  Maybe this trip, though, and maybe another day.  

All that remained on our agenda as we left the peace and tranquility of the Whiskey Ranch was our 8:15 reservation at the Reata.  It’s a good restaurant we visit every time we go to Fort Worth, and it’s changed locations a few times in its history.  Originally (at least when I started paying attention) it was in a building that got pretty badly battered by a tornado.  That sent it to the spot we have been before, a corner location with a great rooftop bar.  I guess their lease was up, so last night, we visited the newest Reata location, and at dinner, our server let us know that this, too, was temporary.  They had plans to move to yet another spot in the future.  Sheesh.  I certainly hope the new spot has a rooftop bar again.  That was pretty neat.  

Cas and I shared a steak dinner, and even though we’re pretty sure they brought the wrong appetizer, we enjoyed that, as well.  We ordered the bacon wrapped shrimp, and we got something else bacon wrapped, but it had peppers and crabmeat.  No worries- it was good, too.  I just hope someone at another table wasn’t too disappointed with our shrimp.  

Cas and I walked back from the restaurant, briefly entertained the idea of heading to a piano bar, saw the line to get in and headed back to our hotel.  The day was plenty full, as it turns out, and we were all tuckered out,  If only someone could have dragged us around in a padded luxury wagon (with cup holders!), we would have had all of the energy.  Alas, my fancy watch showed 15,000+ steps, and that was enough for me.  Today, we have ideas about a trolley ride and maybe a few more adventures, then we head back to the house, then back to our jobs in our schools, which are often more zoo-like than they should be.  

Here is a photo of me and Cas, in the zen-like, calm, barrel-lined space at the Whiskey Ranch: 

In case you want to see more photos, here is the link to our photo album: https://tinyurl.com/DunlapFW 

Gone fishin’

Skipping school.  Playing hookey.  Calling in sick.  It feels like I am breaking a rule or something, but I am well within my rights.  In fact, I rarely use a sick day, a PTO day or any other day when I am gone and everyone else is at work.  And when I have done that lately, it’s been to accompany loved ones to big, important medical things.  It’s frankly about time I take a few days for non-surgical reasons.  So here I am, at the beautiful and historic Ashton Hotel in downtown Fort Worth.  We had a very good, slightly strange day yesterday, and today, we’re planning to head to the zoo.  But let’s recap.

Cas is on Spring break this week.  He got to do some of the tedious adulting stuff earlier in the week, too.  He manned the checkbook when we had a repair person come out and fix a thing at our house, made a trip to our local warehouse store for paper towels and Kleenex and such, and on Wednesday, he drove me back and forth to work while my car got new brake pads.  Woo-Hoo!  What a fun vacation!  Nevertheless, when my Wednesday at work ended, I put a sign on the library door explaining that it would re-open Monday and I got the heck out of there.  Thursday started well enough.  I made a bit of food, and we went about the business of managing two more errands on our way out of town.  Somewhere along the path to Fort Worth, a chunk of road debris suddenly flew into our path and skated under Cas’ car.  It was quickly gone again, but it apparently sheared off the head of just one bolt on its way back to the rear bumper.  We didn’t know a single thing was wrong until we got off the highway and stopped moving at highway speeds.  There was a rattle.  The rattle showed up just a little bit on our way to the Kimbell Art Museum.  We figured it would probably still be there when we got out of the museum, so we checked out some art.  It’s a nice collection, and we had a good time moving from paintings to sculptures to an outdoor fountain.  We also made sure to locate the one thing in the space that was painted by Michaelangelo.  It was something he did when he was around twelve or thirteen years old, and it’s called “The Torment of Saint Anthony.”  I work with twelve and thirteen years old olds daily, so thinking of it from the perspective of someone who knows how middle schoolers operate, it’s even more impressive.  But we were starting to get a little hungry, so with a nod toward the great masters, we headed for the door.  

There was still a rattle, and it had gotten worse.  But also, we were hungry.  So the plan was formed.  We stopped for a sandwich at a place one of my mother-in-law’s “foodie” friends recommended: “Local Foods Kitchen.”  Five stars, by the way.  Amazing food, though the atmosphere was a little chaotic.  While we ate, we researched auto repair shops in the immediate area.  We ended up choosing a spot called J&N that got us in and out in under 20 minutes with a new bolt, a rattle-free vehicle and a smile, all for ten bucks.  Mischief managed.  We need to go leave a Google review, because that place was… well, to borrow a term from the kids I teach… it was clutch. 

After that, it was late enough in the day to check in to our hotel. We did that, dropped our stuff off and headed to a spot just down the street that has a bubbles-themed happy hour.  Half price sparkling wines at a spot called “Grace.”  Seems appropriate to celebrate our vacation’s beginning with a toast.  From there, we headed to a few other spots, ending up at Thompson’s Bookstore, which is a bar that has a speakeasy walk-through-the-bookshelf bar downstairs from it.  Seems strange to have a secret bar under another bar, but they seem consistently busy in both bars, so it must be working out.  They print the password on the bottom of the receipt you get at the main floor’s bar, so to get downstairs, you have to walk to the bookshelf and speak the password to the man guarding the bookshelf.  Yesterday, it was “When it’s a jar.”  The password is a punchline to a punny joke.  Great.  When is a door not a door?  When it’s ajar!  Nyuk Nyuk.  We only used the password to take a stroll through the downstairs so we could scoot out of the secret exit.  

Something we discovered in our moving around town was that this weekend, Fort Worth is hosting an event that is touted as the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing.  And now, I feel like a dummy, because I didn’t know catching fish was a competitive sport.  I have follow up questions.  Is there a trophy?  Maybe a gold, silver, bronze kind of thing?  Who competes?  Did they make it through several levels of competition to get to the big show that is the Bassmasters Classic, which is what this thing is apparently called?  I am having a good time trying to predict who is in town specifically for the fishing competition and who is just a garden variety tourist.  We will certainly see more of this today as we head to the Zoo.  In the meantime, hang a Gone Fishin’ sign on my door, because I am off work and on an adventure with Cas.  

Five years ago today

Five years ago today was the last day I stood in front of my classroom as a teacher.  I saw all of my students- at least those who elected not to take advantage of the unofficial "senior skip day" they'd declared.  It was a Friday the 13th, the day before Spring Break, 2020.  I went to a post-work happy hour with some of my teacher friends, not knowing I would never return to that job- not knowing it would be a long time before any more post-work happy hours.  

Cas and I decided that morning to cancel our hotel reservation in New Orleans for the following week, since cancellations were free.  Heck, if everything blew over, we may get a better deal, right?  And Southwest Airlines let us apply the cost of our tickets to another flight later, so we could probably cancel that closer to take off, if we needed to.  

We needed to.  

Here are some things I remember saying on that day:

Okay, I want to show you guys how to get into Google Classroom and submit an assignment, just in case you need that information later.

Video calls with your class?  I think I remember something from grad school (searching files... searching files...) Yeah, it was called "Zoom."  You may want to check that out.  

For the love of God, if you vape, you gotta stop.  The thing that's going around is respiratory.  

I hope I'll see you all in a week, but if not, stay safe!

Those kids didn't get a prom or a regular graduation ceremony.  They each got a PowerPoint slide with their senior picture and some nice memories from their teachers written on it.  The District broadcast these slide shows at appointed times so loved ones could watch.  There was a drive-through parade where they were in cars with their caps and gowns- all in attendance stood at a safe distance and cheered for them.  

I was spending my last year as a classroom teacher, and I was actively seeking work as a school librarian, so I sprung for the extra autograph pages in my yearbook order.  I wanted to collect some nice memories from my last crop of kids at that school.  

I still have a blank set of autograph pages in my final yearbook from that job.  Me and my students stayed connected as much as we could.  They logged on to my Google classroom and completed some modified assignments from home.  I had been teaching mostly classes in Digital Media and one section of class in Journalism.  It wasn't going to be the same- I couldn't teach them to do animation if they didn't all have a computer to begin with.  And forget about audio and film editing.  We did lessons on photo composition.  They all had phones with cameras, and a bunch of them had Chromebooks- certainly not a powerful enough machine to do fancy film and animation projects.  Instead, they got to learn about the rule of thirds, s-curves, negative space- and they had to take and submit photos that demonstrated those elements.  It was the only thing I could think of, and the kids had it tough enough trying to learn to do calculus and analyze Hamlet from their homes.  

The last newspapers of the year would not make it to print, either.  We did a PDF paper with what we had then spent the last bits of the year journaling instead of doing journalism.  Seemed fitting.  

I spent just a little time today re-reading my blog for them and their blogs for my class.  The majority of us were both hopeful and frustrated.  I was pretty burned out in my classroom, and I was certainly ready to move to a school library job, but those were some great kids, and I really missed out on their last few months of school just about as much as they did.  

It was five years ago today.  It seems like a whole different world.  Here's to those hopeful (if frustrated) kids who are probably around 23 years old, now.  It was a resilient bunch- I suspect they're plotting to take over the world as we speak.  Good thing, too.  They were smart kids...

Scenic Denton, Texas!

So, it's my spring break right now, but poor Cas is at work today.  And I have to go do my job when he's out on his spring break.  I don't mean to sound like I am complaining, either.  It's such a neat benefit to be an adult who gets a week off in the spring like the kids in school do, and this is only the second time since we've been together that our spring breaks didn't line up.  No matter, though- we're packing our weekends with adventures and I've been getting a ton of tedious adult-ing done.  It's nothing thrilling on that front, really.  I mean, today, I bought a new trash can for our kitchen.  See what I mean?  Tedious adult-ing.  But we did spend a night in scenic Denton, Texas on Saturday.  

See?  Just saying "scenic Denton" doesn't make it so, does it?  But there was an ad that showed up somewhere in front of me a while back for a touring company of guys from the improv TV show Whose line is it, anyway?  Well, they got me.  I wanted to see that show, so Cas and I bought tickets.  The show was at a performance hall on the UNT campus in scenic Denton, Texas.  Two of the performers from the regular show were on stage, along with two guys who were at varying levels of fame from other shows, and a fifth guy I had never heard of.  From the original show, we saw Ryan Styles and Greg Proops.  They added Kids in the Hall star David Foley and Gary Anthony Williams, a guy who voice-acts a character on a cartoon show I don't watch.  I honestly don't remember the name of the fifth guy.  Regardless, the show was hysterical, and we were glad to have gone.  Before that, we spent a little afternoon strolling-around time in Denton, checking out a used book and record store, a funky restaurant and a bar that was themed around board games.  In fact, it was called d20, which I needed Cas to explain to me.  That's a nerdy way to say 20-sided-dice.  Which, I suspect, is a very important kind of thing to have if you play lots and lots of role playing games.  Either way, it was a cool bar.  We played a few card games and one logic game, but mostly, we soaked in the atmosphere until we needed to get moving.  Here we are in front of the Denton courthouse that anchors a cute town square:

After that, we checked into our room, dropped off our stuff and headed to the theater for the show.  What a great time!  I can see us heading back to Denton, actually.  We felt pretty at-home there.  I guess a college atmosphere works for teachers?  Or maybe we were seeing what happens to a college town in its spring break, when all of their kids run away for vacation and the adults are still in town, because it didn't feel like we were overrun with kids in their late teens and early 20s.  

The next morning, we had breakfast at a place that was about as cowboy as you can get.  It was called Cartwright's Ranch House.  They had menu items named things like Annie Oakley and Doc Holiday, and every waitress was wearing a t-shirt that extolled the virtues of their chicken fried steak.  We split something, and still ate way too much.  

After that, we had to get back.  Cas had papers to grade before Monday, and when Monday morning came, he got in the car to go to work while I stood in the garage to wave goodbye.  No worries, though- he'll get to do that for me next week.  

This coming weekend will be the end of my break and the start of his, and we've got a few plans for that, but the following week, I am actually taking two personal days on Thursday and Friday so we can head to Fort Worth.  I have so many days stacked up that I could never actually use them all before retirement, so why not?  Because they roll over every year and I hate calling in, I have a lot.  

I am sure he'll make a photo album when he's not consumed with being an awesome math teacher, but for now, wish me a happy spring break!  And prepare to wish Cas a happy one in a week.  See you bac here on the weekend!

A Nature Fix

So, I’m betting that the first thing most people think of when they think of a trip to Las Vegas is not necessarily a scenic river raft ride on the Colorado River.  But seriously, maybe it should be.  Today, we went on our once delayed river raft trip from the good folks at Hoover Dam Rafting Adventures.  We initially booked an hour-and-a-half trip for Thursday that would all but ensure we’d be at the airport in time on Friday.  There was no real way of knowing if the time shown on the website included transportation to and from the river, and the folks I called on the phone from Dallas, while helpful, were not directly connected to the tour company, so they couldn’t guarantee we’d make it to our flight today.  So we booked yesterday.  

On Tuesday, we got a call that our Thursday tour was cancelled.  Not enough interest, I suspect.  And we were either due a refund in full or an upgrade to a three hour tour with pick up, drop off and a turkey sandwich for lunch.  Once the woman on the phone promised we’d be back to our hotel by 3:30, we were in.  Our flight leaves around seven, so no worries.  And oh my gosh, what a good call that was.  We were taken in a very comfortable van to a restricted road that wound down to the base of the Hoover Dam.  We stood there, taking it all in, before we boarded our raft.  There were some cancellations, so the raft was pretty unpopulated.  We were there with six other people- seven, if you include the tour guide/boat operator.  We cruised around, got out a few times and took some amazing photos.  The Hoover Dam is a spectacle of engineering.  When was the last time a government project came in early and under budget?  Probably back in the ‘30s, when this dam went up.  

It was really a good nature fix after the smoky casinos, flashing lights and constant thrum of the city.  One reasonably quick van ride, and you’re floating past it all.  

We really enjoyed it.  I mean really.  The whole trip down the river was beautiful.  There were different kinds of birds flitting about, lots of folks paddling canoes and plenty to see as we made our way from the Hoover Dam to a spot farther down the line.  There’s not much I can say to describe it all at this point.  It was beautiful.  We were happy to be there.  That’s it.  

But if you ever go to Las Vegas, book that trip.   Don’t worry about a river raft in the winter.  They make efforts to keep all their patrons dry when it’s cold outside.  We got some great photos, fed our need to do something outdoorsy, and really wrapped up our Las Vegas days in unlikely fashion.  Just how we like it.  

We’re at the airport, now, relaxing with nothing on our agenda but a flight home.  We’ve kicked back with two plastic cups of slightly overpriced wine and done a crossword puzzle together,  It’s a good day today.  We’ll head back to Dallas, soon.  My younger brother is all ready to stay up late for the airport retrieval that looks increasingly like it may fall just after midnight, and after that, we have to get ready for a return to work.  Apparently, a polar vortex is headed to Dallas mid-day on Sunday, and we will need our heavy winter coats pretty soon.  So we move on. 

Until the next time we’re off for a bit, take care of yourselves.  We’re on until March, and we somehow have different spring breaks this year.  I am a week before him, and we have one weekend in common.  We’ll do something, but until then, this Monday-to-Friday was pretty great.  

One last link for all the photos you can stand: tinyurl.com/Dunlapvegas 

Have a great 2025! 

Date night

Depending on who is reading this right now, you may or may not know that Thursday is date night at Casa de Heather and Cas.  Sometimes, that’s a dinner out; occasionally, it’s pizza and a movie.  It’s just a night when we don’t do homework, we don’t run a ton of errands, and we do something together.  

Today is Thursday, and it turns out we had ourselves a date night in Nevada.  It started in the morning with a trip to the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.  Oof, there are a lot of people who want that same photo.  We opted for a quick selfie and a hasty retreat.  There was one heck of a line.  That was our first adventure on a city bus.  There’s a double-decker bus called “The Deuce” that runs up and down the strip, extending out a little on the north and south ends to some other attractions.  For eight bucks a head, you can hop on anytime you want for a full 24 hours.  

Our intention was to go from our hotel at the south end of the Strip to that sign, even farther south, then all the way north, past the strip to Fremont Street, where we could see some of the remnant pieces of old Vegas.  It was interesting, but my threshold for places like that is pretty low.  At every turn, there’s a street performer or sketch artist or someone weaving items out of fallen palm fronds.  Each and every person wants you to buy a thing or tip for a thing, and they all have extra loud speakers, somehow.  All the shops had souvenirs, most of which were pretty inappropriate, and there were families with strollers everywhere.  It was frenetic.  It was more than I wanted to deal with.  We thought of maybe finding a place with outdoor seating where we could sip a beverage and watch the world go by, but the beverages available for sale were all canned beers and frozen fruity drinks, and we were feeling the need for something a little more upscale, somehow.  

That put us on a path to our next destination, which had us walking down a much more mellow street.  We made our way to the Mob Museum by way of a restaurant that specialized in margaritas and nachos.  That actually qualified as more upscale than the fare sold on the Fremont Street.  

That was a good stop, but we had to keep on moving.  The Mob Museum awaited us just a block or two away.  

It’s a good museum, too.  I was a little frustrated about one feature of the setup- it was put together in such a way that only one or two people could read an exhibit at a time.  The text was small and the hallways were tight, so there was lots to read and not much space to share.  That space constraint was unavoidable, too, as the Mob Museum was in a building that went up in the ‘30s and served as a combo post office and courthouse.  

The courthouse saw lots of hearings about corruption and the museum did a lot to explain what happened in Las Vegas surrounding prohibition, which is why the basement speakeasy was so awesome.  The visit to that speakeasy punctuated our learning about organized crime and bootlegging.

We ordered a drink that came mixed in a glass flask inside a hollowed out book.  It was served with a glass of ice on the side, but the prohibition feel of the hidden hooch was pretty unique.  When we determined that we needed to leave to make our next destination before the cold really kicked in, the waitress assured us we could come back later on.  She was very good, and so were the drinks.  

Next stop: The Neon Museum.  This was a spot where signs pulled down from old casinos and businesses rest, some illuminated and others not so much.  It had placards telling the famous features of the specific pieces and historical information about some of the items.  It was all very cool, and it was all outdoors, as large, neon signs are supposed to be.  

All in all, it was a very cool museum.  When we wrapped up our visit there, we took our waitress’ advice and went right back to the Mob Museum’s Speakeasy.  The drinks were good, and they had some really good looking small plates to share.  Two more cocktails and a plate of beef sliders later, and we were ready to call it a night.  We hopped back on the bus.  That was an adventure. There was a clearly drunk man on the top part with us who wanted us to all know two things: Sunday is his 68th birthday and his wife left him.  While I am sad about the state of his marriage, I don’t entirely know what that has to do with me or the rest of the folks trying to get south on the Vegas Strip.  After he concluded a verbal argument with another passenger, he made his way off the bus.  We were also joined by some very, very chatty young ladies and a slew of bachelorette revelers or birthday girls or something.  It was a very long one-hour bus ride.  Now, I don’t think it was supposed to be a full hour, but there was a hockey game letting out right as we crept past that part of the strip, which is why it took so long.  Regardless, even that was entertaining.  

Tomorrow, we have to be packed and ready for our trip to the Hoover Dam.  The bags have to be checked in at the hotel desk when we leave for the adventure, so we can return to retrieve them, then head to the airport.  Apparently, our jobs want us back on Monday.  Go figure.  But overall, it was a pretty great date night.  

Here are our photos once again: tinyurl.com/Dunlapvegas 

Is this your card?

Our day yesterday began with a workout in the hotel fitness center.  As I pedaled the stationary bike, I wondered if the level of activity around me was normal for that particular fitness center, or if it was a New Year’s Day crowd bent on keeping resolutions.  For whatever reason, we had company.  So we did a little exercise, then we headed back to the room for a pair of showers and a bite to eat.  We had great plans today to eschew the monorail and walk about on the Strip.  It is a whole different perspective.  I spent a lot of time walking around, saying, “No, thank you.”  

I don’t want a flyer for a museum exhibit.  No, thank you.

I don’t want to go on your tour.  No, thank you.

I don’t want to engage in chit chat with a stranger that will invariably become a sales pitch.  No, thank you. 

I’d rather not pose for a photo with two showgirls.  No, thank you.

I would prefer not to take your trinket/leaflet/beaded bracelet as a signifier of my interest in your religion.  No, thank you.  

At least I said thank you.  It’s nothing I want to get used to, but walking on the Strip and fending off the hucksters and hustlers is probably a rite of passage for any Vegas visitor.  We did a fair amount of wandering, and were looking for a good lunch option when we ran into a “robot bartender.”  Don’t mind if I do.  We use a touch screen pad, tapped a credit card, and a robot arm started the job.  It fetched the glass and used a series of ceiling-mounted bottles to dispense measured shots of liquor.  The arm went to a dispenser for mixers and ice and it poured our beverages into cups.  Cas took a little film of the ordeal, but I mostly watched in delight.  The robot arm was perfectly adequate, but what it had in efficiency, it lacked in charm and local color.  A human bartender engages in conversation and occasionally, over-pours.  

Still, with several thousand steps registering on the step-counters and a robot-made drink in hand, we sought out a lunch option.  That many steps into the day and a workout done, we were actually pretty hungry, so we found a sandwich shop and went about the business of people watching some more.  News on that front: The sequin-per-person count, which ballooned on New Year’s Eve, was way down.  The number of people walking around in pajama pants was on the rise in the late morning and early afternoon, much to my dismay.  I am by no means a fancy dresser, but I am quite consistent.  I was brought up to look presentable in shared public spaces, so I always brush my hair and I never wear my in-the-house-only clothes to an out-of-the-house location.  

Naturally, our next move was to go up in a really tall thing and look out.  Eiffel Tower replica, anyone?  We went into the Paris hotel and casino and eventually found out how to buy tickets to go up to the observation deck.  Unlike the observation deck at the Strat, this one was open air.  (Pro tip, there’s a kiosk to buy tickets as well as a scannable QR code.  Do the kiosk.  The QR takes you to Ticketmaster, who charges you an extra fee.  It’s only $1.50 per person, but to heck with Ticketmaster, am I right?). 

With the kiosk visited and the tickets ready, we headed up to the beautiful but unnecessary bridge that takes folks to the elevator.  You have to walk away from the base of the tower to an escalator that takes you to a bridge.  The very French-looking bridge takes you right back to the base of the tower, just up a floor from where you bought the tickets.  I mean, I get what they’re going for, but it does’t make any sense.  

The elevator ride up was pretty quick, and the physical space at the top was kind of small.  We settled in on a spot at the railing, having verified on the Internet that the Bellagio fountains start their first show of the day at 3 pm.  We stood there, looking down at the pool of water at 2:55.  Serendipitous timing, if you ask me.  We managed to stick around up top for the 3:30 show, as well, then we lined up to head down.  As we were waiting, a couple was ushering their frightened son out of the elevator.  They assured him it was safe and everything was fine, but the poor kid had psyched himself up.  He was terrified.  And then, he and his dad were back on the way down with us.  When we got down to the pretty, unnecessary bridge to the escalator to the ground floor, started to plan our evening.  Before we left Dallas, we managed to discover that the Rio Hotel and Casino, in addition to being home to the Penn & Teller Theater, is host to a Kiss-themed glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course.  Of course we played.  Like we had a choice.  It was quite entertaining.  I guess I like Kiss as well as any other long-haired guitar rockers from the era, but the people who constructed this feature were absolute fanatics.  Fun fact- there’s a wedding chapel in there, too.  How about 19 holes and a few vows?  Then, maybe you can Rock and Roll All Night, but keep your energy up, because in addition to loving and honoring in sickness and in health, you have to Party Every Day!  

With the mini golf complete, we made our way to the permanently fixed Penn & Teller Theater.  They have a whole space named for their act, and they do a ton of shows.  When we got to our seats, there was a man seated, playing a grand piano, and near him, a tall fellow plucking away at a stand-up bass.  The bass player had to head out, though, as he needed to prepare to work with his partner, Teller.  I had no idea that Penn Jillette was so musical.  

The show was spectacular.  It was as surprising and irreverent as the tricks were impressive and logistically unlikely.  Cas and I have a few suspicions about how some of the tricks were done, but who really cares?  They were good tricks.  The wow factor surpasses the importance of the wool remaining firmly pulled over our eyes.  Penn has a habit of pulling from the audience, and we were seated on the main floor in Row G, alphabetically seven from the front, so my biggest fear was the same as a lot of unprepared students in classrooms across the country- I didn’t want to get called on.  We both managed to avoid walking onto the stage or participating in the act. 

We woke up this morning still talking about the show, wondering aloud how some portions were done.  But never mind that- it was a spectacle.  Here’s where we sat:

Now, we’re on for an unstructured, unscheduled day.  Today was supposed to be our trip out to the Hoover Dam, but that’s on for tomorrow.  Today’s tour was cancelled, so we got a pricier trip tomorrow at no additional cost.  Sounds like a good deal to me.  So today, we buy tickets on a city bus and head out.  We can see the Mob Museum or maybe the Neon Museum, then tonight, we’re thinking maybe the big Ferris wheel is in our future.  More on all of that later.  For now, photos: tinyurl.com/Dunapvegas 

A Very Cas and Heather New Year

Happy new year! It’s 2025, and our year started with both of us literally and figuratively looking up.  We’re hoping for a year of good health, good times and good fortune for those we hold dear.  

Let’s recap the last day of 2024.  We started slow, knowing we had a long way to go until midnight, especially midnight two time zones away from our own, normal midnight.  By the time Las Vegas midnight hit, it was Dallas 2 am.  A slow start was in order, and that’s a tough one for me, as my usual wake up time allows me a 45-minute workout before I get ready for work.  

So we found our way to a Starbucks- everything is inside one of the Casino/Hotels, of course.  Starbucks was no exception.  We got a pair of fancy coffees and a couple of breakfast sandwiches, courtesy of students at Cas’ school who express teacher appreciation with Starbucks gift cards.  After that, we were ready to roll.  To avoid future $30 breakfasts, our first stop was a convenience store, where we picked up some bananas and pastries.  Five bucks now has us fed each morning until it’s time to go home.  

Next on our agenda was a rollercoaster.  Not a figurative rollercoaster- a literal one.  The folks at the New York New York casino have found a way to sandwich a full-sized, high-quality roller coaster into the Vegas Strip.  There was apparently a different coaster atop another casino farther north, but this was a really good coaster, and Cas assures me the other one left something to be desired.  The coaster we rode was properly exciting and very well constructed.  This was an objectively good coaster, and I wasn’t expecting that, as it had to be exciting and thrilling while winding around some large structural pieces.  Five stars- definitely recommend- with the caveat that you should sit it out if you have trouble with your neck.  It bounces your head around a bit.  And bring a ponytail holder for long hair.  Just sayin’.  

After that, we hopped on the monorail.  There is a monorail that runs north-south parallel to the Vegas Strip, and it’s a great way to move about the space.  The track is only four miles long, but the four miles are heavily populated real estate.  It’s a very cool feature.  The New York New York hotel and casino is accessible from the southernmost stop on the monorail, wile the northernmost stop features the Sahara and the Strat.  The Strat features a tall observation deck, and we’re suckers for going way up into tall things and looking out.  That was our destination, but on the way, we walked through the Sahara Casino.  If I’m being honest, most casinos I have seen on this trip are disappointing to look at.  You want the scenes from movies with some lucky rube throwing dice at one table, while nearby, a Sean Connery type lifts only the corner of a card with his thumb, places a chip on the table and orders a martini.  Alas, in each of these casinos, I was getting flashbacks to working in the Dave and Buster’s midway, and it made me feel like I should be carrying a cocktail tray.  Video slots are as bright and loud as they are pervasive.  So much for old-world charm.  

Bonus time, though- what did we happen to see in the Sahara as we walked past the flashing, buzzing, dinging and whirring?  The Casbar.  I mean.  Cas.  Bar.  A bar for Cas?  Don’t mind if we do.  

Like we had a choice… We had to stop in.  The signature drink at the Casbar is the Casbar sour.  Two of those, please.  Cas assured me that we’d drop everything for a Heather Bar, if one exists.  I’m good either way.  After a lifetime of never finding his name in the keychain section of souvenir shops or on coffee mugs, a whole bar and a signature drink named for him was pretty neat.  And the Casbar sour is pretty tasty.  

After that, we were off to the Strat, then up to the observation deck.  We stood 1,149 feet up above it all, looking out at the mountains in the distance, then at the Vegas Strip.  We had a very light lunch and gazed out the windows, then we watched some crazy people do a thing where they (in serious harnesses) jumped from the side of the building down to the street.  They are hooked onto a cable and a bungee cord. And everything is controlled so they head straight on a y-axis with no divergence from the plan.  Feels like cheating- we’re still reeling from our jump over the Kawarau River in New Zealand in 2016.  That’s pretty hard to top.  

From the Strat, we headed back south on the Monorail.  We had a little time to kill and a little looking around to do before our dinner reservations.  We only made reservations for one night in town, here, and that was last night.  New Year’s Eve dinner was the one thing we didn’t want to leave to chance.  Everyone who was in town for the midnight fireworks and the myriad concerts leading up to that was going to have to eat, too, and we didn’t want to engage in any competition for a table.  To that end, we had Chinese at a place called Chin Chin, which was, of course, inside of a hotel/casino.  After that (and a little more walking and exploring) Cas let me off the hook.  He’s good at powering through and staying awake. But I wasn’t going to make it to midnight.  I needed a nap.  So at about 10:30 Vegas time (already the new year at home) we flopped for an hour.  That made getting up to head outside a pretty tough sell, but we managed to pry ourselves out of the blankets and put our shoes back on for the midnight fireworks show.  And good thing we did, too.  It did not disappoint.  The whole Strip was closed off to traffic, and people were walking around in the road.  Pretty surreal, as the road is usually bumper-to-bumper, even with the monorail eliminating tons of cars.  But we did it.  We stood there in the road, looked out at the big screen ticking down the seconds until 2025, and we cheered the arrival of another year of adventures together.  

Today, we have a little unstructured time in the beginning of the day, and tickets to see Penn and Teller in the evening.  Tomorrow, we’re headed to explore Fremont street, where relics of Old Vegas promise to impress, and Friday (changed from Thursday due to a little schedule shuffling on the part of the tour company) we head to a raft on the Colorado River to check out the Hoover Dam.  I am excited for all of it.  See you on the other side of this day- hope your 2025 is starting off great.  

Check out out photo album: https://tinyurl.com/dunlapvegas