The best way to win it big in Las Vegas is EASY. Here is the secret:

DO NOT GAMBLE!

If you go to Las Vegas, stay in a nice hotel for a low price, eat at the fancy restaurants for nearly nothing and enjoy the museums, exhibits and attractions without gambling, then you come out a winner every time.

Photo via: vintage_ads: Winning Big In Vegas

It doesn’t seem that different today:

Asbury Park fell into disrepair during the 1980’s and 1990’s, but recently has been cleaned up. After the renovation of Convention Hall, people started visiting more often.

Where: Asbury Park, New Jersey: Google Map

It surprises me how similar things look today:

You can see all the photos from that set in this slideshow:

Where: Aberystwyth, Dyfedunstarred, UK: Google Map

It reads:

Wonderful natural bridges and other wild scenery to be included in two new national parks.

It’s nice to see how people viewed our national parks one hundred years ago. Instead of complaining that the government is “stealing” our land, the press was excited to share the beauty of the areas that the parks protected. Because of that foresight, we can see these sites even now.

• U.S. National Park Service Fee-Free Weekends in Your National Parks

Mark your calendars for fee-free weekends this summer:

• July 18-19, 2009
• August 15-16, 2009

Mike and I enjoy several of the nearby National Parks. The photo shown is from a trip to Lake Mead in southern Nevada (near Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam), which is on the list of free parks this weekend. You can see all the photos of that camping trip here:

• Lake Mead – a set on Flickr

If you are feeling the financial squeeze this year, take advantage of the parks that your tax dollars go toward maintaining and try them out this weekend free of charge.

• Blind Prophecy » Wild and Wet Memorial Day

He was looking for an inventive and enjoyable way to fit exercise into his day.

Since my gym was closed, I decided to get my day’s exercise by visiting the Cincinnati Zoo. It’s about a 3 mile walk each direction, plus I spent the whole day on my feet. Despite a bit of rain and some very humid air (which made the rain forest section seem especially realistic), it was a very pleasant day. As our friend Nick put it tonight, “the zoo is one of the rare things about Cincinnati that doesn’t suck.”

I love to see people enjoying the cities in which they live. Sometimes it seems like we don’t spend enough time being tourists in our our towns. Congratulations to Jere for making this Memorial Day memorable!

You can see all the photos here:

• Cincinnati Zoo – a set on Flickr

• Whimsy’s Quill: 5 By 5 in Seattle

In the collage is an afternoon of us walking about the pier, various photos of downtown, and of the Underground Tour.

I love to see photos of people’s trips to various places, but I especially love this 5 By 5. It’s a great snapshot of a weekend in time.

• Roland K. Smith’s Weblog » Opening Day in Yellowstone National Park

For some strange reason we didn’t get to Yellowstone Park once last year. We decided we were definitely going to change that this year and further determined that, if possible and the weather permitted, we would go to Yellowstone on the first day that vehicular traffic was allowed into the Park.

Last year, Mike and I went to Yellowstone on opening day and we got a FAR different welcome.

The snow was piled higher than our ears. I don’t think we’ll run into that again this year. Thanks, Roland, for scoping it out for us!

To see more of Roland’s Yellowstone Photos:

• Yellowstone Springtime 2009

To see more of last year’s Yellowstone trip:

• Starling Travel » Yellowstone Photographs

• Yellowstone Park 04-20-08 on Flickr

• The Ward-O-Matic: Kidd’s Toy Museum

They simply don’t have the money or space to have the entire Kidd’s toy collection available to the public. But what is available to view is quite impressive.

A fascinating place. And better yet, it’s free!

Oh, and I have to say this: visiting the museum offered the opportunity for me to talk to Ava about racism. Hadn’t planned on it, but hey, no time like the present.

You can see all of his photos from the visit here:

• Kidd’s Toy Museum from Ward-O-Matic – a set on Flickr

Where:

Kidd Toy Museum
Google Map
1301 SE Grand Ave
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 233-7807

View Larger Map

You can see the rest of them here:

• Star Trek: The Experience August 2008 – a set on Flickr

It looks like Star Trek: The Experience is coming back to Las Vegas.

• Has Neonopolis achieved liftoff? – Las Vegas Sun

Perhaps most impressive, the attraction called Star Trek: The Experience appears also to be coming to Neonopolis. Plans are to retrofit a large amount of space on the first floor to allow for rides, as well as a Trek-themed restaurant and museum.

• Confirmed: New contract to keep Star Trek The Experience alive in Vegas | SCI FI Wire

Journalist Mark Hansel, who writes for In Business Las Vegas, has seen the contracts signed by studio officials, Neonopolis owners and the city of Las Vegas. “I have seen the contract, and I know that the city redevelopment manager met with CBS officials in New York to seal the deal,” said Hansel, who has covered the downtown redevelopment for years for In Business and the Las Vegas Sun. “They are hoping that there will be some sort of premiere event at the time of the movie opening that will be out here. Obviously, the big premiere will be in Hollywood, but they hope to have something out here, too.”

I am so excited for the return of Star Trek: The Experience and I have been scrambling to find the closest hotel to Neonopolis. Suddenly, all those hotels that I wouldn’t think of staying at like The Four Queens, The Gold Spike, Binion’s and Lady Luck are looking like they might be my new favorite places to stay. These have always been the most reasonably priced hotels, but because they were downtown, we didn’t want to stay at them. Now that Star Trek: The Experience will be nearby, they are looking much more attractive.