We are sitting back in the virgin loft lounge waiting for our flight back home, this lounge scrubs up better in the virgin website pictures, its the old Alaskan lounge we visited in 2010 with a lick of paint, at least the beer is unlimited this time (last time it was Max 2 per person) and they got rid of the gruel, but it’s no Qantas lounge. This is the 2nd visit to LAX today as we had to get up early and drop off an iPhone to another cast of geelongites passing through. The early start let us visit a few cool suburbs around LA like Laguna Beach and Santa Monica.

[Show as slideshow]

This is the real space shuttle one of three on display around the USA as well as the test shuttle we saw in Washington last trip that now lives in New York.

The exhibition is only temp, they have plans to build a huge exhibition hall and mount the shuttle vertical with the booster rockets attached, should be something worth calling in to see next visit.

There are some incredible videos on You Tube that show the  shuttle being transported through the streets of LA from the airport to the science museum, an incredible feat considering the size of the craft.

[Show as slideshow]

This was a pretty good place, other than having the Space Shuttle (see next story) it has a lot of family orientated displays including a pretty impressive aquarium and an Apollo capsule, Best of all it was a donation for entry (other than the $10 for parking).

[Show as slideshow]

Today we leave Las Vegas and head to Long Beach California the last port on the 2013 Roadtrip.  The drive takes about four and a half hours. Most of the scenery is desert and Joshua trees but there a few roadside casinos, signs and other interesting things to see.

One pic you will see here looks like a lake with a light tower, but it is in fact a huge solar energy complex covering a whopping 3500 acres and services 140,000 homes thats bigger than the Geelong region, all with a 2.2 billion dollar investment and free sunlight.  There are some 300,000 panels and that tower you see is about 150 metres tall.  This complex is a few kms on the California side of the border.

[Show as slideshow]

This is a pretty cool attraction in Vegas that not many people know about.  It is a museum dedicated to the old neon signs that have graced Las Vegas over the years.  They do a lot of work restoring works and placing them back on the streets as artwork but the broken down signs sitting around their yard have a certain charm and made for some good photos. The guided tour told a lot of stories about the life and times of this colourful city and there was some very interesting things to see.

[Show as slideshow]

1 2 3 ►

On our journeys along the strip we went to the old Imperial Palace Casino, it’s now renamed and undergoing a huge of a reno. There still is an old section of the casino where we stumbled upon a exhibition of Elvis’s stuff and had to have a look. They had his last car, a lovely Lincoln plus plenty of his clothes and jewels. A xray of his chest when he was sick once.. why I dont know.  A golden gun and even his bible.  And you will never believe it.. there was a gift shop as you exited.

[Show as slideshow]

This was a highlight of the evening a car display outside the Plaza hotel  or  Bucks Casino as you might remember it in Back to the Future.  All the owners were really proud of their vehicles and thought they were pretty cool -we didn’t quite understand… The best bit was watching one of them catching fire while jumping around like a kangaroo.. we will show the video at some stage.

[Show as slideshow]

Freemont Street is the old part of Vegas, many of the older style casinos are down there and many have a heritage look and feel. They all use neon instead of the LED screens that have taken over the strip so there is a bit of charm. The area is a cheaper than the strip so there are lots of younger people out and its a real party town.  Lots of outdoor bars, food including the Heart Attack Grill where they have a set of scales out the front, if you weigh 350 pounds you eat for free and look at the burgers they sell. Yeah I know what you are saying.. Rocky ate for free.. WRONG.. I didn’t even come close you bastards!, and no we did not eat there.  There are lots of old neon signs that have been salvaged from the wreckers, renovated and reinstalled around the precinct and help give the area a vibrant feel.

[Show as slideshow]

1 2 ►

These hotels are incredible one in a Spanish theme while the other is just like walking into Venice, although the water is a bit too blue.  The gondola ride goes right through the centre of the hotel.  The place is that big we got lost bad and it took us about 20 minutes to find the exit.

[Show as slideshow]

We continue north up the strip, through the Mirage home of the Beatles LOVE that we are going to see Monday night.  The pic of the big oval disc is home to the fashion mall a huge mega complex full of clothing.  The frog was a mascot for one of the bars and the pirate ships and volcanoes are part of shows that entertain passers by during the evening.  The people are kept of the streets by huge glass walkways at the intersections making it easy to get between casinos.  These walkways always have a busker or two, a few battlers, beggers and bums plus guys selling water… no I mean giving water away for a dollar donation. Some of the bums get creative and instead of the usual sad looking face and hand written card board sign saying I need food because im hungry some say need money for penis enlargement, need sugar daddy, need cash for hash.

Caesar’s is one of the original themed hotels in Vegas, but has undergone some incredible transformations over the years.  The detail is amazing, everything looks so real but im sure its just cement and fibre glass.

[Show as slideshow]

1 2 ►

These photos were taken to the south of our Hotel,, Theres Mandalay Bay that has a thai jungle theme, The Luxor- Egyptian theme, Monte Carlo, New York New York and the  modern looking Aria. The Aria has the most incredible video walls they would be 20 stories high and the quality is like your home TV.

[Show as slideshow]