Starling Travel

My friend, Jere, is the author of the most wonderful blog, Blind Prophecy. This Memorial Day, he went to the Cincinnati Zoo.

• 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

Here is a beautiful collage from Whimsy’s Quill:

• 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.

Mike and I are planning a trip to Yellowstone National Park soon, so we were interested to see if we were going to be buried in six feet of snow again this year. Fortunately, the lovely Roland K. Smith visited Yellowstone on opening day this year and gave us a bunch of photos to see how our trip might be.

• 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

Hiding in the heart of the warehouse district of Portland is a museum of toys. Protected behind glass to keep them safe from little hands, lies the childhood of many. A true piece of history is in each toy telling us stories ranging from the late 1800′s to the 1930′s. Ward Jenkins visited the museum with his two children and was surprised at what he found.

• 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

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When Star Trek: The Experience closed at the Las Vegas Hilton last year, I grieved. Mike and I attended the last week they were open and took a ton of photos.

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.

When I was scanning in my mother’s old photos, I found these from the 1964 New York World’s Fair:

You can see the rest of them here:

• 1964 New York World’s Fair on Flickr

The observation towers can still be seen today in Queens, New York. If you would like to take a miniature vacation back in time, you can watch these videos about the New York World’s Fair from the Prelinger Archive.

• To The Fair (Pt 1) (1965)
• To The Fair (Pt 2) (1965)
• Fridgidaire Presents Out of This World (1964)

Here are some home movies from the 1964 World’s Fair:

Here is a newsreel about the monorail:

It’s possible to still visit the site of the 1964 New York World’s Fair, but all of the Futurama is gone to be replaced by the real future.

Las Vegas has snow for the first time in years, and they got 6-8 INCHES! That’s probably the best Christmas present they could get this year.

Mike and I were caught in a snowstorm in Vegas once. It was that flurry of dandruff-like snow that we Utahans are very used to dealing with, so we drove right through it without a second thought. It melted before the end of the day.

To see my beloved Luxor Hotel covered with snow like this is so strange. It’s almost as if the black pyramid has been turned white.

More photos after the break: (Continue Reading…)

We made reservations to stay at the Luxor Hotel, but when we arrived, I was heartbroken. They were tearing out everything I loved in the hotel and it was all blocked off by big walls. It was 1996.

They had already removed the Nile River Ride on the lower level and were constructing a huge registration desk right at the front of the pyramid (where it should have been in the first place). I had been looking forward to riding the Nile River Ride again, but it wasn’t going to be. If I had known, I would have taken a bunch of pictures the previous time.

Large portions of the attractions level were quartered off. The Manhattan Buffet was gone and a transformation was overtaking the big city skyline. I’m so glad I took this photo with my beloved 110 camera. It was the last time I was going to see that little King Kong on the top of the Empire State Building in the Luxor. Sure, the “building” is still there, but it is painted to look like a building from Egypt instead of New York.

The Millennium Cafe was intact. Little did I know that it was going to become a La Salsa. I like the foot long margaritas and the Mexican food, but I still miss the “Cafe Eighties” feel of the Millennium Cafe.

They didn’t ruin everything. The view from my hotel room on the twentieth floor was still spectacular. The pool looked inviting as ever. It is the one facet of the Luxor Hotel that has changed little over the years.

You can see more photos from my 1996 stay at the Luxor Hotel here:

• Flickr: Luxor Hotel Remodel 1996

The Luxor Hotel has gone through yet ANOTHER renovation this year and I talk about it here:

• Starling Travel » Open Letter to The Luxor Hotel and Casino

What used to be my favorite hotel in Las Vegas has dwindled down to just another casino. It makes me sad and I wish for its glory days of the Nineties.

When we were in California last February, we were able to visit Star Trek The Tour. It is currently at the Queen Mary and is destined to travel to 40 U.S. cities, but we couldn’t be sure Salt Lake City was on the list, so we saw it while it was in California.

Star Trek The Tour is a collection of the props, sets and costumes from all the Star Trek television shows and movies. The coolest part was the staff allowed us all to take as many pictures and video as we wanted. I took so many pictures that I could fill the screen with them all. Here a couple of highlights:

When you first walk into the place, the Guardian of Forever is there to greet you. They let you walk up to and jump through it all you want. It’s awesome!

There were dozens of these exhibits with props from the original series. I loved how much attention to detail they gave them. Some of them were labeled as props, but repainted. Others were in original condition. If they were replicas, it said so on the little card.

Here is Captain Picard’s office with his desk and even a photo from Deanna and Riker’s wedding. It was fun so see all of the sets from television in real life.

You can see ALL of the photos I took here:

• Star Trek The Tour – a photoset on Flickr

At the end of the tour, you go through a Star Trek Experience. It was a lot of fun and this video doesn’t really do it justice:

Download this video for your iPod

The experience leads you out into the gift shop. If you think that it’s just ordinary Star Trek paraphernalia, then you would be mistaken. I bought my Starfleet Academy school ring there and I haven’t been able to find anything like it anywhere else. Not even The Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas has them.

Ssandart got video in the Borg Simulator. Since these kind of rides make me motion sick, I avoided them. Looks like they were pretty cool, though. Skip to the 2:06 minute mark to see the video of the simulator:

Here’s a commercial for Star Trek The Tour on YouTube:

A special thank you to Wil Wheaton for announcing this on his blog:

• WWdN: In Exile: announcement two of four (collect them all!)

I wouldn’t have known about this if I hadn’t read it in his blog, so I’m so glad I was able to play with all the fun at Star Trek The Tour!

Dear Luxor Hotel,

I used to really love you, but the Luxor has really gone downhill. Despite all the renovations, I really don’t want to step into a casino with Carrot Top with top billing and EVERY casino has a strip show. Advertising yours (Fantasy) just makes you look pathetic.

You keep sending me these “offers,” but they aren’t appealing in the least. If you don’t have a good show to draw me in (in all honesty, your shows are scaring me away), and you don’t have anything else to draw me in, then the price of the room needs to draw me in and I can beat your price at the Las Vegas Hilton or Imperial Palace every time. Barry Manilow and “Dealer-tainers” are just as scary as 3 Redneck Tenors, but I pay MUCH MUCH less for the room.

Seriously, the Luxor hotel used to be my FAVORITE hotel. I’ve written about it online many times:

• Starling Travel » Small Pleasures Week: The Luxor Atrium
• Starling Travel » The King Tut Exhibit
• Starling Travel » Luxor Hotel SWAG
• Starling Fitness » The Perfect Run
• Pick Me! » You’re Going Out of Town Again?!
• Pick Me! » Confession of a Security Guard
• Pick Me! » What Has Happened To My Luxor Hotel?

I didn’t realize how many times I had written about the Luxor until I looked it up. I even went so far as to call it my “beloved Luxor Hotel.”

I’ve visited since the “new pulse” was installed. Stripping the hotel of the theme was kind of silly, but I understand that you’re trying to make it upscale. A lot of casinos are trying to play down their kid-friendly aspects right now. Of course, that doesn’t explain Ronn Lucas and his puppets. I understand what you’re trying to do, but there is NO WAY that you’ll be able to be upscale if you don’t draw in some better entertainment. And by the way, paying stars to come dance at your nightclub doesn’t count as entertainment.

And don’t even get me started about the billboards plastered on the side of the pyramid. Anubis himself might have come to take down that Absolut bottle if the wind storm hadn’t gotten to it first. Adidas? Since when are you a sports bar? Aren’t you embarrassed that Google Maps shows you with half a sign advertising Motorola from InterOp plastered on your beautiful, black pyramid? You should be.

When your advertising isn’t merely unappealing, it’s downright insulting. For example, take the Valentines Day offer you sent in February 2008. Here was the offer:

• Complimentary admission for two to Cathouse: This is your restaurant where women in lingerie serve you food right? I noticed you didn’t offer me a dinner there, just admission so I don’t have to pay the cover charge. Do you really think women in lingerie feeding my husband food is romantic? What kind of Valentines Day do YOU celebrate?

• 2 for 1 Admission to Fantasy: THE STRIP SHOW? What kind of couple goes to a strip show on Valentines Day? Not only that, you expect my husband to pay for himself and I get in FREE? Wow… thanks for the offer… I’m so underwhelmed.

• Chocolate Covered Strawberries (from in-room dining): That sounds nice, I guess…

• Complimentary admission for 2 to Nuture The Spa: I don’t care what you call it. Nuture The Spa is just a hotel gym with a massage therapist or two. I’ve been there. I know. I love to exercise there, but your admission doesn’t include the cost of a massage, so really all you’re offering me are a few treadmills and a hot soak in a tub. Admission to your spa should ALWAYS be free.

• Complimentary Deluxe Tower Room Upgrade (based on availability): Have you not figured out yet that the coolest part of staying at the Luxor Hotel is the room in the pyramid with the fun, slanty walls? I don’t WANT to stay in the tower, but if I did, I would be pretty underwhelmed with the lack of promise that “based on availability” gives me.

Really? Is this really the best Valentines Day offer you could make me? Mike and I were in Vegas right before Valentines Day. A really good offer might have made us stay a couple of days longer at YOUR hotel. Instead, you insulted everything about the holiday.

Every time we drive past the Luxor now, my heart aches for what you used to be. How much longer until you dismantle whatever is left of cool that you had? Please, please, please fire the advertising company that you have hired. If you are doing this in-house, STOP IT and hire a good advertising agency. I would hate for the Luxor to suffer the fate of The Sands, Stardust and so many other great casinos that couldn’t compete in this market. You deserve so much more than a burst of fireworks and a carefully timed implosion.

Best,
Laura Moncur