In my first diary about my trip across the US, I mentioned that in 2004 I'd won the "US Green Card Lottery", had thought about taking the offer up for about 6 months and then decided the country I thought I knew wasn't making much sense to me anymore (it was an election year). So one of the things I was very much on the look out for during my trip in August 2009 were signs of life that, despite all the negativity in the media, in particular Fox News, was if America still knew how to look after its own. Whether there could be a way out of the darkness of the past 8 years and whether it was evident enough that people just had to keep on trying. Light at the end of the tunnel thinking.
I guess key to the way I think was my old sig line:
In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.
So I think it was that spirit in Americans that is what I was most trying to find.
Picking up from my last diary, having visited E-Solar and having been 'visited' by the spectre of Fox News, my final day/night in Anaheim I wandered back over to Disney. I wont bore you with too much of the detail, except to say that they have some pretty amazing rides, but the highlight of the day, well night actually, was the Electric light parade late that evening.
Disney Photos electric show
There is a great youtube video here for anyone interested.
Disney really did fascinate me, not just the sheer size of it, but the massive organization which must be behind making this such a professional show, not to mention such a special place for kids. I couldn't help but wonder what the juniors in the Electric light parade, who would be doing this as a part-time job, thought about it. Maybe not much for some, but for others, being involved in something like this would lead onto a career in entertainment, theme park design, robotics control or any one of a number of associated professions needed to build and operate a theme park. Something they could one day tell their own kids about. Certainly would have beaten a job in terms of inspiring future aspirations than at McDonalds, KFC or Burger King I'm sure. A great place to visit, a great place to work, a place created to leave people with only good memories, but most of all a great place to inspire the imagination.
There was a great three piece band playing some really good music just before you made your way into one of the Disney parks. I don't know what genre the sound was, maybe Spanish or Flamenco, but I liked it and would have purchased a CD had I been going from, not towards, the Disney park. The other photo here was of the California Park Disney Summer sign.
The rides were massive with probably the biggest Roller Coasters I've ever been on and landscaping something else with this artificial waterfall which I think is meant to be a beaver dam.
The OC
I'd planned a couple of days down at the beach and picked Newport as the place to go as when I booked it was fairly economical. So prior to checking into the hotel, I did another guided tour, this time of "The OC".
We went all the way down to Balboa Pier, near Peninsula Park, where there was a heap of activity and a giant inflated gorilla on the beach. It looked as though some sort of high school surf race. The bus driver in both directions also pointed out the Crab Cooker restaurant (it has its own Wiki entry) and kept raving on about the 'clam chowder'. Not sure if anyones tried it but he insisted it was legendary.
One great part of the tour was a boat ride for a couple of hours in Newport Bay. The trip, leaving from the Balboa Pavillion, follows the same route as the Balboa-Santa Catalina ferry until just outside the entrance to the ocean, turns around and goes around the back of Balboa Island. The homes on the bay here are some of the most expensive real estate in the Southern US, starting price on the harbor would set you back around $5-$10 Million. The places I saw in a real estate office window for the lower end of this estimate, looked a little like renovators delights.
The tour guide told us about this house pictured below which belonged to two brothers whose parents had passed away. Seems the title to the land was split and the brothers had fallen out. What she told us was to look closely at the houses and what was unusual about them. Supposedly one brother had gone away on a holiday only to return to find the other had built a building in front of his house so he couldn't get in. It was an entertaining story, but checking the property out on Google Street View doesn't quite bear this one out.
I don't remember who the two brothers were. Maybe someone else knows if this is true.
There is a yacht club at Newport, which she said costs a bundle to join up, something like $20,000 or so. But if you join as a junior, they let you become a club member for $25.
There was a nautical Museum back on shore at Balboa Pavillion/Esplanade, and as we had about an hour to kill I went in for a look. Once again, as per my first diary about LA, there was a big spiel about Captain James Cook, who along with being credited with discovery of Australia, also charted the California coastline. There were a number of models, a historical navigation display which went all the way from ancient times to today. There were a number of instructional videos which you could watch and most were narrated by young adults.
Two more ship photos. The detail and scale so close you'd hardly recognize these were in fact models without an external reference point.
I'd read in a promotional pamphlet about a place called Sherman Gardens which was supposed to have a special display on of 'Endangered plants'. I guess because of the interest in climate disruption as well as having worked in a plant nursery many years ago, I went in for a look.
The gardens were incredibly well maintained and very well done with respect to how they'd laid out the various themes. Below are Bromeliads and some very colorful hanging baskets of Fuschias and another flowering plant which I am not sure whether are azaleas, camellias, rhododendrons or something else.
This is probably the best Succulent and Cacti garden in terms of variety I've seen.
I had trouble finding the endangered plant display so asked a young guy pushing a wheelbarrow who wasn't sure and another young lady working there if she knew, to which she said thought it had finished.
One last story which I am having trouble confirming was the guide said that the Newport Beach William G Kerchkhoff Marine Laboratory college students were supposedly researching the growth patterns of a species of seaweed which can grow up to a couple of feet a day. They do appear to have a seaweed issue with this tractor purchased to clean it up but that is as much information I can find on this. Seaweed is algae of course, which is of interest as it can potentially be made into a fuel and byproducts a feed stock for animals.
Exxon just signed a deal for $600 Million to develop fuels from Algae so this may be an area they'd be interested in.
Exxon to Invest Millions to Make Fuel From Algae
I also went to Laguna Beach and Dana Point via bus on route 1, but my phone camera battery was flat so no shots even though it is a great coast road to travel down for the scenery alone. Leaving Newport beach my next flight was East to the city of Lost Wages, Sin City or City of Lights.
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Las Vegas
If there was one place I wanted to see in the US, it was the city built in a desert, where what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I once worked on a project where we had a native Las Vegan (?) in charge of a large part of the commissioning of the plant. He was one of the most outrageous, surreal, yet generous people I have ever met. Lots of stories to tell here but none printable as he lived his whole life by that motto - what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. So I was wanting to visit Vegas, not just for the nightlife or extravagent, over the top casinos, but for the people, wanting to see what it was that created such spirited characters as 'Jerry'.
First night I did another tour, this time a night tour to get a good look at Vegas. The place has two major centres downtown or the 'original strip' as some call it, up around Fremont Street and the newer Las Vegas strip where the largest, most amazing hotels and casinos anywhere in the world are.
Fremont Street TV roof and art
The Fremont Street Experience with the largest TV screen in the world, playing classic songs on the hour every hour. In the two hours we were there, at 8pm and 9pm they played Don Macleans 'American Pie' and Queens 'We Will Rock you'. Both songs I'd played in school rock bands when I was younger, but American Pie probably the song I've been able to master. I can even play the guitar chord progression and sing all verses when completely drunk, which is a significant feat as there are a lot of them.
So it was pretty cool standing out on Fremont street, Bud Lite in hand, singing along at the top of my lungs with a whole lot of US tourists to a classic American Song. Aside from that, it is excellent what they have done to bring life back to downtown Las Vegas, making it a place families can visit and feel safe.
And the art work being created right in the mall at Fremont Street by a guy, spray cans of paint and an easel which spins. I wish I'd taken a photo of the artist, but the work he produced is shown here.
Although I should have learnt my lesson about walking from place to place, after spending time in Anaheim, and the distances involved in the heat, I decided to do a Casino crawl. Not sure this happens in the US (I'm betting it does), but a night out in Australia and it appears Britain, can sometime be a 'Pub Crawl'. Which basically involves having a drink in as many premises as possible over the course of a night. As I really didn't know enough about Vegas, I decided this was the best way to educate myself - Walk to the furthest casino from where I was and have a drink at each one.
So I walked out onto the street and headed down to Mandalay Bay.
Amongst many of the interesting things to do, inside this hotel was its own underwater world called Shark Reef.
Deuce Bigalow, Attack of the Killer Piranhas, Barrier Reef Coral
I'd already had a couple of beers by the time I went into the Aquarium and my personal reactions to some of the aquatic life in there I found amusing. The first fish made me think of the awful blender scene in the Rob Schneider film, Deuce Bigalow. The piranha are in an open top tank which for some reason, having seen these voracious canivores on TV and in B grade horror movies, gave me the brilliant idea of putting my hand in to see if they'd make a bee line for it. I don't even know where this brief flash of insanity came from, but fortunately there is a shark reef guide sitting on a chair right next to the tank who discourages any one from doing so. I think it is a clever way to give people a bit of a thrill being so close to these fish you can touch them. Note: I didn't try to catch one after all.
And of course the coral reminds me of the Barrier Reef back home which it is anticipated will be a victim of climate disruption, most likely in my lifetime.
Not to be outdone, the connotations of Vegas are that anything goes, and the biggest and best will be found there. So it was no surprise to be shown the worlds largest chocolate fountain in Bellagios along with what would have to be one of the largest crystals I've seen.
Chocolate fountain and largest crystal
Extravagance everywhere with the indoor glass tiger enclosure in the Mirage resort, and a gift you could give someone who has everything, a personal water massager. The massager like a drive through car wash for humans with a plastic protector stopping the water from escaping.
Indoor Tiger enclosure, water massager
And for anyone thats not been to Vegas, you do not have to leave the casino you are staying at. Everything, and I mean everything is catered for inside each of the massive casinos on the strip. Restaurants, every form of gambling imaginable, entertainment, bars, the works. Entire streets of buildings like the Pub below make up the internals of these casinos, which gives some idea of the size.
Inside Tropicana, Nine Fine Irishman Pub
My Casino crawl continued along the strip, but was getting a little messy as the afternoon wore on (and beers kicked in). I got to see the inside of Mandalay Bay, the Luxor, Excalibur, MGM Grand, Tropicana, Bellagios and of course the casino at which I was staying, New York, New York. So there is still plenty to see, and I can't wait to go back, maybe visit some of the other things I was told about particularly the Gondola at Paris, the Venetian, Treasure Island, the Stratosphere and a few of the other places which helped shape Jerry's character.
Excalibur and Eiffel Tower
Mirage Volcano and Luxor
New York, New York and City Centre
New York, New York was where I stayed and was an OK place to hang out and have a drink. They have a good bar downstairs which had a couple of pianos facing each other and puts on a good show of a night. The other shot above is of a place called 'City Centre' which when times were good, MGM had signed to build with a group called Dubai World.
Amongst a group of 6 massive highrises, these two buildings called Veer, are built at slight angles, similar I guess to the leaning tower of Pisa. The entire precinct estimated to employ over 12,000 people (I heard 20,000 and 12,000 from 2 different people) when fully complete. With Dubai world taking on MGM in court, it may turn out to be more a matter of 'if' not so much 'when'.
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Grand Canyon -
A visit to Las Vegas, either for the one time or if you have not been there before, would not be complete without a trip out to the Grand Canyon. My trip included an aerial flight from Boulder City over the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, continuing on over a section of the Canyon before landing at the Grand Canyon Airport and visiting Eagle Point, a walk on the Skywalk and Guano Point for lunch.
The area at the Skywalk had some interesting Indian dwellings which are shown below.
Left to right the photographs above had the following signs identifying the dwellings.
- Havasupai - Sweat Lodge
The waterfalls on this Wikipedia entry are something else.
- Hualapai
- No sign at this
- Tipi
- Hopi
- No sign up at these two lodgings
I've added the Wikipedia links for the three tribes I recorded details of the lodgings. It is fascinating reading for anyone that is interested in the history (and present) of the land and its people around the Grand Canyon.
The Skywalk is multiple layers of clear glass, strong enough to hold 2 x 747's or 800 people according to the people at the park. It goes out from the edge of the canyon 66 feet (20 metres) and is worth a look IMO. I did make an observation whilst out there and that is the glass is supported by two horse shoe shaped box steel rails with the center between these where the views could be seen. Almost all the females I saw out on the Skywalk seemed to be not particularly worried about walking on either the section of glass over the supporting from or with nothing underneath. Not so for about four or five husbands and partners who for some reason either didn't leave the hand rails or didn't spend more than a second or two on the glass only portion before rushing to the edges. Not every 'bloke' was doing this, but they did stand out, particularly as their partners were showing them up.
Eagle point named as the ridge line does appear to resemble the shape of an eagle with wings outstretched.
Skywalk and Eagle point
Lake Mead
This lake, the lifeblood of the Vegas community supplying it with water and power for 500,000 homes, is getting desperately low. According to the pilot, the lake had dropped by 130 feet from its highs. Although according to this report it is closer to 100 feet.
Since 1999, Lake Mead has dropped about 1 percent a year.
The lake went form 96 percent capacity to roughly 43 percent.
In 2000, the water level at Lake Mead was 1,214 feet,Bureau of Reclamation has projected the level will drop 14 more feet this summer. That will bring it perilously close to 1,075 feet... July 2009 report
There are efforts underway to tap into a bore water reservoir, but time is short.
A victim of being too long in drought could see this make Las Vegas a casualty of climate disruption through water shortages, as is expected in areas fed by glaciers.
Guano Point Mine and Bat Cave
The Guano point tramway or cable car was built around 1957 in order to extract Bat droppings or Guano from a cave on the opposite side of the Canyon. The Cable going across the canyon was 7,500 feet long and raised the car 2,500 feet.
I found it interesting to note that the investment for the mine was not able to be recouped as the estimating engineer, for the amount of Guano, said there were 100,000 tonnes when in fact the mine had only 1,000 tonnes making the cable way and mine a complete waste of money. It wasn't until the airforce flew a sortie through the canyon, cutting the cable, that the company which owned the mine was able to sue them for loss of business and recoup some of their losses.
Possibly the first Guano (Loco) bailout package in American history.
Final shots of Grand Canyon from Guano Point before saying goodbye
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So did I find what I was looking for? Did I see the commitment from Americans trying to make things better in the future? Well, I think it was there and I did scratch the surface to find it.
From the opportunity and ideas an after-school job at Disneyland would create in young people, to the amazing creativity, building design to create a Disneyland for Adults at Las Vegas, I think I saw it.
That places like Newport Beach encourage younger people to get involved in studying and educating about Maritime history, or provide opportunity for juniors to join the yacht club at a 10,000% discount to adults. That the local college is actively looking for potential fuels of the future or a beautiful garden in town has so many younger people working for them, I think America gets it. Maybe these are anomalies, not played out across the USA, but they should be. As the future is not your pension fund, it will be these young people.
I want to come back. I want to visit New York and Times Square, I want to visit Washington DC, I want to visit Yellowstone, Silicon Valley and San Francisco, the Great Lakes, Aspen Colorado, take that trip with my buddy from Shreveport to New Orleans and finish off that Casino crawl in Vegas.
Disney is about not being afraid to dream. From the small child who falls in love with Mickey Mouse, to the teenager and the 'No Fear' thrill from the roller coaster, to the robotic technician who creates the future, to the designers who have to come up with the most imaginative landscapes and themes, to make the imagination come alive, to the artists who visualize the impossible.
That is what America is. That is what Fox News, the Republican party aim to destroy. That is why you must fight them with all you have. For if we are afraid to dream, we are afraid to imagine a better future for ourselves and thus we lose 'the edge', the reason we are here. Which is to leave behind a world which is a better place than when we arrived.
To meet the obligation we owe that future, seven generations from now.
Imagination is not dead either. Fox and the right wing media keep you distracted by helping Americans imagine things are getting worse and can't get better. They train people to use their imaginations to come up with horrible things to say about other people. Horrible imaginary constructs so they don't like their next door neighbor because he thinks health care should be affordable, or the climate is important, or education should be honest and factual, or caring about other people is important. So they must be socialists, or fascists, communists or some other scary word... the one they want people to forget though is that they are actually... Americans.
My point would be this, to build these things in America took a country of different people. Incredible imagination coupled with pragmatism gave us the remarkable place that is Disneyland, that is Las Vegas. That in America if you have a skill, a belief in something no matter how different, you can pursue it and find a place for it within society. A place that is respected and valued because it takes so many to build these things. It takes many people to build a home, but only one arsonist to burn it down.
America is a place where incredible things have been imagined and achieved by ordinary Americans working together. The big bankers, big media and corporations have forgotten that it is ordinary Americans choosing to pursue extraordinary dreams that creates these things. Not Credit default swaps or Collateral Debt obligations which deserve pats on the backs or exhorbitant bonuses. No, the things which would deserve any sort of accolades would be if they were able to lay claim to creating more jobs than there are Americans to fill them, where a reduction in external dependence on imported fossil fuels occurs, where zero carbon emitting energy producing assets replace those we invented over 100 years ago, where Americans are number one on the health rankings for their number one costs instead of number 37, where opportunity is there for any American who goes looking.
That kids know this. That if they work hard at what they are good at, they will find a place in American society. Because it is up to us to create that opportunity, not talk it down or try to destroy it.
In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.
I hope if I can see the honest truth in this statement, others may too, and it can in fact change your approach to life. That it is not just about ourselves. That we are in fact 'all in this together'. That like every generation before we should be consciously working towards improving life for the one that follows. America knows how to do this, achieving it is a struggle which I think will be well worth the fight.
I'm Australian and after visiting America for a month, I certainly think it's worth it.