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Leaving Las Vegas

Morning’s cold light shines harshly even on the strip, but this Saturday morning on Fremont Street looks especially forlorn. I’ll be on a plane to San Francisco for my conference in a few hours. » about 100 words

Casey Bisson

Golden Gate Hotel and Casino

According to the history printed on their diner placemats, the Golden Gate has been standing at the corner of Fremont and Main streets for 100 years. kris247 had some good fun eating unhealthy quantities of 99 cent shrimp cocktail at the Gate. [update:] The stay wasn’t bad, in fact, I enjoyed the best sleep I’ve […] » about 100 words

Casey Bisson

Fatburger and Henderson, NV

My trip to Henderson was a bust. I’ll eventually make a story about what I’d planned to do, but the only thing that worked out was a visit to Fatburger in the Sunset Station Casino. Along the way I snapped this bad panorama of the Vegas strip. The point here was to show the sprawl […] » about 200 words

Casey Bisson

Nevada Test Site Tour

Toured the Nevada Test Site today. No cameras allowed, but I did take along a GPS and marked points of interest along the way. I’ll have to upload the track and landmarks when I get home, but Google Sightseeing has some interesting Nevada destinations, including one for the test site area. But satellite photos can […] » about 100 words

Casey Bisson

Waiting In Long Beach

Long Beach airport is a small affair, seemingly more fitting for Dubuque Iowa than the south Los Angeles sprawl. Gates one through three are in a pre-manufactured temporary structure that’s obviously been in use for some time, but the food from the one vendor is better than in Boston and the Queen Mary Spa offers […] » about 300 words

Casey Bisson

beatnikside’s Vegas Photo Gallery

I can’t help but like beatnickside‘s Las Vegas Flickr photo set. It’s one of the most photographed of cities, but these photos are fresher than that. Sometimes enteraining, sometimes informing, the shots of Vegas’s glitz and glamour show special attention to detail. This week is Vegas week at MaisonBisson, since I’m out here before heading […] » about 200 words

Unusual Hotels

I recently discovered Unusual Hotels of the World, “the online guide for travelers interestedinstaying somewhere truly different,” and was pleasantly surprised to find a few hotels in North America I’d like to check in to some day. Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida, is actually underwater. I have secret interest in trains, so I’d […] » about 200 words

Casey Bisson

Palm Travel Guides

MyPalmLife is running a story about some new travel guides that run on your Palm-powered device. Produced as a collaboration between Rough Guides and Visual IT, they also support PocketPC and Symbion devices. London, Paris, Rome, New York, and San Francisco are available now at an introductory price of $20 each. “Further cities will be […] » about 200 words

Casey Bisson

What’s Up With Lowell And Donuts?

Donut Shack Eat-a-Donut Still Hungry Top Donut See the full What’s Up With Lowell And Donuts Flickr photoset with slideshow. Follow that with the Post-Donut Tour photo set. Story/explanation/narrative to follow. Sometime. Road-trip Music: We compared the Magnetic Fields’ original version of Book of Love from the 69 Love Songs set to the new Peter […] » about 200 words

St. Louis

I’m ashamed to say that St. Louis, Missouri, wasn’t on my list of must-see-cities™. It’s not that I thought I wouldn’t like St. Louis, it just never crossed my mind to go there. I’d also forgotten about the Arch. I ended up in St. Louis because it was hosting the Library Information Technology Association annual […] » about 400 words

Casey Bisson

St. Louis WiFi

Panera offers free WiFi in about 400 locations. The odd thing is that even though their listings didn’t name a location near my hotel, a proximity search found one in my hotel:

Westport Plaza

147 Westport Plaza

Maryland Heights, MO 63146

Then there’s also Apple Store West Country:

131 West County Center

Des Peres, MO 63131

…Just a quarter mile east of 270 on Manchester.

Apple stores are are one of my favorites for free WiFi because they host resources generally not available elsewhere while away from home-base. And since I’ll be traveling without my PowerBook this time, I’m glad to know there’s a store nearby. I could, conceivably, go in and Photoshop some pictures from my digital camera, upload them to Flickr, then blog them all on the showroom floor. I once forgot my powersupply while at a conference in DC, and the Apple Store fellows let me charge up, check my email, and browse the web for an hour or more.

Casey Bisson

Weird Museum Tour, September 2004

Travelling buddies, Willberry & Cliff I should thank RoadSideAmerica.com for making a rainy day a fun day™. Will and I were supposed to go on a hike, but the rain killed that plan and most anything else we could come up with. RoadSideAmerica.com gave us alternatives. RandMcNally gave me directions. Cliffy met me in Warren, […] » about 300 words

Casey Bisson

Scenes from the Museum of Bad Art

The Museum of Bad Art (MoBA) in the Dedham Community Theater. It’s in the basement outside the men’s bathroom, illuminated by a single fluorescent light hanging from the ceiling The MOBA slideshow. More photos from MaisonBisson. » about 100 words

Casey Bisson

The Real Florida Gators

From an email from my Dad: Florida allows those who win permits to take three alligators. They sell the meat and hides , except the tails, which have the best cuts of alligator meat, and which they normally keep to feed their families. Mal asked how the alligator meat is cooked; the lady said by […] » about 300 words

Casey Bisson

Jacque’s Cabaret

BostonNoise.org says “Jacques’ Cabaret is Boston’s oldest gay bar. The upstairs features live female impersonator shows five nights per week, including weekends. The downstairs basement is open only on Friday and Saturday, and hosts local bands.” Jacque’s official website shows Norell Gardner & his cast of miss-leading ladies playing every Friday and Saturday upstairs. The […] » about 400 words

Going to See the Goats

Went with Will to see the Mountain Goats, Will’s favorite band ever. Plans included reliving the beef tatar at the Korea Garden. Read my earlier story about it, but remember that it’s not actually called beef tatar. It’s “Ok Doi Bi Bim Bab” on their menu. Of course I wanted to take pictures of the […] » about 500 words

Casey Bisson

Vegas Links 2004

Now that the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation’s Atomic Testing Museum. is open, you don’t have to wait for the DOE’s occaisional tours of the test site to get your radiation fix. Lawrence Livermore National Lab has a review of the new museum.

We caught a show at the Amargosa Opera House (official site) in Death Valley, just a short drive west of Vegas. The Opera House deserves a story of its own and the views and scenery of Death Valley are just beautiful.

Getting around Vegas is easy; a simple Vegas strip map is all you need. Meanwhile, it’s fun to look at the conventions and conferences that will be running during your stay.

We never made it to this fondue restaurant, and I didn’t make it to the site of a 1988 rocket fuel explosion (reported in this 1997 story about a similar accident). My suspicion is that the site of the explosion and the old rocket fuel production facility has since been leveled and casinos built there.

Photo galleries and videos of our trip are online.

Casey Bisson

Vegas!

I might get around to telling the story later, but for now all I have is a couple movies and a few pictures. There’s a short video of the koi and gardens at the Flamingo, an album of snapshots and nightlife, an album of pictures from the very unique Amargosa Hotel and Opera House, and a short video of our short visit to Crystal, NV.

We saw Zoomanity and a show at the Amargosa Opera House. We drove through Death Valley, danced ourselves silly at Coyote Ugly, and did a hundred other fun or stupid things.

Casey Bisson

Getting to Vegas

I blame Missouri. Kansas City in particular.

I’m sure there’s probably another airport like this somewhere, but I don’t know about it. KCI, MO, is setup so that you have to exit and re-enter security areas just to change planes. Then, if you need to use the bathroom or get something to eat, well then you have to go through security again then too. Of all the airports to suffer a three hour delay in, KCI might be the worst.

Then somebody pulled a fire alarm, and we all had to exit and go through security again.

I’m just glad the flight home is direct.

Casey Bisson

Conferencing in DC

I’m in Washington D.C. at the Computers in Libraries conference. It’s a good lineup of presenters and good programs, but I’m sad to know that I’ll be missing a peace rally this Saturday.

Where to eat and drink:

Old Dominion Brewery is in Virginia not far from DC. It’s in an industrial park and you’ll doubt that you’re in the right place, but the food and local brews are good.

California Pizza Kitchen on the corner of Connecticut Ave and N street. Alright, but not outstanding. Let’s try this: pretty good for a chain restaurant.

Gazuza at 1629 Connecticut Ave near DuPont Circle was quite a find. Good music, comfortable lounge, open late for DC.

Washington Hilton at 1919 Connecticut Ave. Small (overpriced) rooms, good lunch cafe, bad bar. Really bad bar.

Casey Bisson

Vegas Guide, part 3: Nukes and Moon Hoaxes

On a map, Mercury sits a little northwest of Las Vegas. There is nothing to suggest that the town is inaccessible to the average tourist, but it is in fact a part of the Nevada Test Site — a nuclear bomb testing facility. The site was formed in 1950 from land originally granted to the […] » about 500 words

Casey Bisson

Vegas Guide, part 4: Flesh

Prostitution in Vegas is illegal, but that’s okay. For a little jiggle, you can check out the innumerable gentlemen’s clubs and strip shows. Even many of the ritzy hotels often have their own “tantalizing topless revues.” Freemont Street, the heart of old Vegas and one of the city’s largest attractions, is home to more than […] » about 600 words