Category Archives: Travel

Fun City

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When you come to Las Vegas and stay in one of the huge casino/hotels you never really have to leave. They have restaurants, bars, spas, pools and of course gambling. If you stay in Vegas longer than three days, a mistake in my eyes, you can just take the Monorail to another mega hotel casino for different choices . No need to walk the Strip.

If you walk the strip though you will have a different view. Street hustlers, drug addicts, runaway teens, gawkers and whores are in abundance. So are legal pot stores, souvenir stores and wedding chapels just a block off the strip and remnants of the old days. However, I wager Fun City was never really fun.

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Fun City

Pittsburgh Whiskey Snob

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OK, I’ll admit it I am a Whiskey snob. Growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1960’s I knew nothing. It was a shot an a beer or boilermaker. I didn’t care what kind of beer or whiskey. As I matured and traveled I began to appreciate Kentucky Bourbon. Traveling the world I was educated in Single Malt Scotch and Irish Whiskey. In Japan I discovered Suntory.

Moving back to Pittsburgh I discovered my city had progressed from a shot and a beer. You still may order that but now it would be “Oh I’ll have a Goose Island IPA and a shot of Knob Creek Rye.”

The Butcher and The Rye has a wall of Whiskey with over 700 brands. The even have their own special batch of Knob Creek. We even have our own distillery with another one to open this year.

Recently I visited Las Vegas and went into a place called The Whiskey Bar. The service was fine and the food was good but the selection, meh. I was not impressed, kind of average by Pittsburgh standards. You be the judge.

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Whiskey Bar Las Vegas

Sin City

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Las Vegas is like a tacky pleasure for people who don’t live there. We go there occasionally and do things we don’t normally do. You can stay in a plush resort, take a monorail to another plush resort. Eat amazing food at unbelievably high prices or graze on a cheap buffet and risk salmonella. You can gamble, drink, shop and dine without ever leaving the air conditioning of the hotels along the monorail.

However if you take off your blinders and walk around the strip you will see the other side. Expensive legal pot, illegal drugs, drunk and homeless people ,heroin addicts, prostitutes, run down buildings, hustlers and the hustled. Best to stay inside in the comfort of the one armed bandits.

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Sin City

Sin City

Sin City

Venice Fountain

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I walked by this fountain twice before taking a picture of it. The light was all wrong, I didn’t have a tripod, It really deserves a movie but I just didn’t have time. I thought this fountain to be descriptive of the neighborhood it exists in.

Venice California is a little bit gaudy. a little bit seedy and very unique and has been for a long time. It has been for my lifetime the definitive California beach community and this fountain is a part of that essence.

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Venice Fountain

Air Force One–Ronald Reagan

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Regardless of what you might think of Ronald Reagan, his Presidential Library is really very special. Located in Simi Valley California it commands beautiful views of the valley.

In addition to the historical perspective of Reagan of which I had little interest, it also contained a magnificent Genghis Khan exhibit. Part of the exhibit also has the Air Force One plane used by Reagan which was very interesting and full of surprises.

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Air Force One

Air Force One

Air Force One

Venice Beach California

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The first time I visited Venice Beach was in 1967. It was a funky hippie community by a beautiful beach. Jim Morrison lived in Venice Beach. Muscle Beach was more informal and weed was available but not legal. People lived on the beach they were hippies or vagabonds, the class homeless had not yet been invented.

Time changes everything. Sure there are still the panhandlers and beach people. The area is now upscale and expensive, Dominated by million dollar and luxury hotels, a small area of panhandlers and souvenir peddlers still exists and of course a lot of pot stores doing a brisk business.

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Venice Beach

Venice Beach

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

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<a href="http://https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/nevada/red-rock-canyon”>Red Rock Canyon is a National Conservation Area and managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It is not a National Park so like Bears Ears National Monument to the east it can easily be unprotected by arrogant and greedy politicians.

However In this snapshot of time it is still beautiful and pristine. It looks like the real west at every turn. There is a 14 mile scenic drive and many hikes and rock climbing opportunities.

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Red Rocks Canyon

Red Rocks Canyon

Purple Haze

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I have visited Las Vegas many times but usually on business and never made it very far from the strip. This time we finally made it to Red Rocks National Conservation Area.

Considering the greed and corruption of our current government I suggest you go quickly before they start, fracking, digging or otherwise destroy this beautiful wilderness. It is truly a magnificent area for climbing or hiking and if your not in the mood the 14 mile scenic drive will provide an easier way to explore the beauty of the area. This purple bush caught my eye. A splash of color in the wilderness.

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Purple Haze

Wholey Poly Fish Heads in The Strip District

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I love being retired for a lot of reasons. The biggest is being able to do things when places are not crowded. Once a month we journey down to the Pittsburgh Strip District about five miles away.
We visit The Pennsylvania Macaroni Company, Penzy Spices,Parma Sausage Company and other depending on what we need. Our last stop is always Wholey’s .

We are fortunate to have the largest fish wholesaler in three states located in Pittsburgh and even luckier that they have a retail store as well. I have been coming here since I was a kid but never looked into the tray labeled Fish Heads and Bones $1.98/lb. I always thought it would look gross and in a way it is but there is also some color and texture that is beautiful in its own way.

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Fish Heads