Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas & LA Diaries

Late last year, I visited some friends in the US and sharing here some of my trip highlights and new discoveries.

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Hoover Dam

Did you know that the Hoover Dam was the first man-made structure to exceed the masonry mass of the Great Pyramid of Giza?  The dam was built in interlocking blocks where the smallest blocks were about 25ft x 25ft and the largest blocks were about 25ft x 60ft. 😱. Of course today, there are other taller and bigger dams than Hoover Dam but given that this huge structure was built in 1935 in barren land, it's such a construction feat.  No wonder it is one of America's Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders.

Hoover Dam

Most fascinating thing I learned from my friends while we were at Hoover Dam - when crossing the dam, you'll change to a different time zone coz one side of the dam is Nevada and the other side is Arizona.  There is a 1-hour time difference between the two (Nevada being 1 hour behind).  How cool is that to experience two different time zones in one place?  So if you want to delay or expedite time at least by an hour, you know where to go. 😆  

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Historic Highway 66

On our way to Grand Canyon, we passed by the Historic Highway 66.  I didn't know we were passing through it and I almost missed seeing it because I was busy... busy sleeping...😴   And then I woke up and overheard the husbands of my friends talking about Highway 66.  

What's special about Route 66?  It's  one of the original highways in the US established as far back as 1926. Wow.   

Still groggy from sleep, I looked out the window and saw old-fashioned motels, restaurants, shops, a gas station, vintage cars.  It's like being transported to another period.  Once upon a time, those establishments were the most popular pit stops.  But when the Interstate Highway System was established, Route 66 was eventually removed from the US highway system (I think sometime in 1985).  But it's a good thing that some Route 66 establishments have been preserved and that section is being actively promoted and included in a lot of tours.

Apparently, Route 66 is also the place which served as an inspiration for the fictional town, Radiator Springs, in the movie "Cars".  When my friend's husband mentioned this interesting trivia, I was able to relate better. 😅

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Grand Canyon

When I was preparing for the trip, the indicative temperatures of my target destinations were within my tolerable range and there was no indication of snow fall.  By the time we got there, the coldest temperature was below 0 degree Celsius and there was snow.😩 The Arctic blast must have drastically changed everything.  

My friends' kids having a blast playing in the snow😍

While at the Grand Canyon, I spotted 2 teenagers who astonished me.  You know what they were wearing?  Just T-shirt, shorts and flipflops! 😱 The only sign that showed they felt cold too was that their hands were tucked under their arms but it's crazy, they were not even shivering!  Whereas, I was covered in thermal wear from head to toe and my body was still trembling. 🙈 

Overview of the Grand Canyon at the Visitor's Center

The Grand Canyon has been a national park since 1919 and it is massive! It spans more than 1 million acres. 😱  There are various vantage points in the park where you can enjoy spectacular views.  I can't remember anymore which vantage points we went to but here are some of the photos I took about an hour before sunset, during sunset and at dusk.

The views were just breathtaking.😍
How did such magnificent red rocks and ridges get formed?  The canyon was carved by the flowing water of the Colorado River and it was the wind and rain which caused the surface of the rocks to become exposed and erode over time.  It is estimated that it took 3 to 6 million years to form this beautiful canyon. 😱

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Las Vegas 

It was my first time in Las Vegas and my knowledge about Las Vegas is limited to what I've seen in movies, tv and news.  I didn't do any research prior to my trip either as I was relying on my friend to be my tour guide. 😌

What I learned from my friend was that there are two popular casino areas:  

(1) The Strip which is what most of us probably know - where the biggest casinos and resort hotels in the world are located such as Caesar's Palace, Venetian, MGM Grand, Bellagio, etc. But apparently, The Strip isn't technically part of Las Vegas as it is located just outside the city limits.  But everyone refers to The Strip as being in Las Vegas.  

(2) Downtown Las Vegas which is where all the original casinos started (prior to The Strip's existence).  And the most popular casino street in Downtown Las Vegas is Fremont Street.

Since I'm not a gambler, casinos don't really interest me but it's the food in the casinos that is very interesting to me. 😂  Because my friends know I love to eat, we ate in both areas. 😋

Caesar's Palace

At The Strip, we tried the lunch buffet at Caesar's Palace. After the binge, we had to walk around to immediately burn some calories. 😂  

Paris Las Vegas

Bellagio

Inside Bellagio - check out the beautiful glass ornaments  

How amazing is this chocolate fountain inside Bellagio?  It's a floor-to-ceiling sculpture that circulates 3 kinds of chocolate - medium, dark, and white chocolate - through 500 feet of pipes, 24 hours a day.  There's about 2 tons of chocolate circulating in that temperature-controlled, glass-encased cascading fountain. 😱

World’s Largest Chocolate Fountain 

At Downtown Las Vegas, we had dinner at the California Hotel and to burn calories after, we walked towards Freemont Street.  I was expecting a more subdued area than The Strip coz after all, this was the old casino area but to my surprise, I thought it was more party mode at Fremont than The Strip.  No wonder my friend who is based in Las Vegas said she prefers Fremont over The Strip.

This place is called the Fremont Street Experience - it's a canopied street where there's a giant screen that stretches across the ceiling. At 1,400ft long, the screen in Fremont is said to be the world's largest audio-video system. 😱  Check out the photos and see how the canopy comes to life.  Occasionally, you'll also see people zip lining overhead.

As you walk inside the street, you'll see various performers and artists  - mimes, magicians, musicians, characters in costumes and of course, sexy showgirls and hunky men. 😎   Funny though, the only thing I can think of as I saw them was - how can they not shudder from the chilly temperature with the tiny fabrics they are wearing? 😅  Sorry for someone who easily gets cold, it's mind-boggling for me when I see people who can withstand what I cannot withstand. To withstand extreme temperature with very little protection sounds like a super power to me. 💪

Oh, I almost forgot - we tried another buffet while in Las Vegas - the Feast Buffet at the Red Rock Casino and Resort, one of my friend's favorite buffet places. 😋   No matter how much walking you do after a buffet though, it's psychologically hard to feel if you're burning calories if you are unable to sweat due to the cold weather. 😅

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LA

I didn't really have anything planned in LA except to hang out with my friend and her family but we still ended up going to some nearby stores. After decades of friendship, you know what I realized? My childhood bff and I cannot shop together! At every push of our cart, aisle after aisle, she would pick up something and tell me "this is a good buy", "this is a great deal", "this tastes really good", "I'm not telling you to buy that but just saying it really looks good on you"... 😂   Whereas when it was her husband who accompanied me in one supermarket (while she looked for some ingredients), you know how much my bill was? It was only 1/3 versus when I shopped with her. 😂  So hilarious! 

BTW, I just realized that I don't have any photos to share about LA.  When I checked my phone, the only photos I found were baked goodies from Porto's and a burrito bowl from Chipotle.😅

Last but not the least - I experienced my first Thanksgiving on this trip.  What was I thankful for?  I was thankful for having had the chance to spend time with great friends, celebrate my birthday with them and enjoy their kids while they are still kids. Hope they don't grow up too fast so I could still hug, kiss and play with them the next time. 😊   

Epcot: Most Educational & Stimulating Disney Theme Park

Did you know that before Walt Disney passed away in 1966, he had an idea - Epcot Center - a place that would serve as a center for American innovation and urban living?  But after his death, the idea was abandoned as the Disney company wasn't sure about maintaining an operating community because Walt Disney's original idea of the community included residential areas, churches, schools and mass transportation systems.

In 1982, Epcot in Florida was opened. Though it wasn't exactly how Walt Disney originally envisioned it to be, the park has a section that showcases modern innovation which is called Future World (at least, it has something that represents Walt Disney's original idea).

What's there to see and expect at Epcot?
Its promise is to Travel Around the Globe, Under the Sea, into Outer Space… and Beyond.  And it does deliver its promise.  I won't enumerate all the rides I tried coz some of them are really for little kids😅 but let me tell you which ones I really found fascinating.

When you enter Epcot, you'll see Epcot's iconic Spaceship Earth.  If the lines are long, you can just skip this and pass by it on your way out which is what I did.

Epcot's icon, Spaceship Earth

At The Seas with Nemo & Friends, catch Turtle Talk with Crush  an animated interactive live show with Finding Nemo's Crush.  

Crush, though just an animation, does a live show and is able to identify people from the audience - he directs the show assistant to whom she should hand the microphone to by describing what the person is wearing or where he/she is seated in the audience.   He sees everyone and is even able to identify people who are not participating.😜 Amazing, right?

I've seen this similar technology before at Universal Studios but haven't really figured out how the technology works. Apparently, the animated image is a computer graphic avatar controlled by a puppet which is operated by a backstage puppeteer actor, then the performance is digitized in real time. Yes, real time.😱 Wow. And how is the animated Crush able to see the audience? There are cameras mounted in the theater which allows the hidden puppeteer actor to see the audience. But hands down to the actor's quick wit. With kids, you can never really predict what they would say but the actor always had answers guaranteed to make the audience laugh every time. 

If you have time to spare, there are a lot of colorful fishes and other marine life at the The Seas with Nemo & Friends.  I just forgot to take photos except for these walruses.  

BTW, kids rule in theme parks.  Check out these rows of strollers in just one section of the theme park.😮  

Kids, someday when you can already talk and express yourselves well, please don't forget to say thank you to your parents for all the things they did for you including bringing you to a theme park. The logistics to take you around a theme park isn't easy, not to mention the high cost of tickets, food and merchandise which your parents worked hard for so you can enjoy such an experience.  Unfortunately, most of us only realize this once we start working and paying for our own expenses.😅

In The Land section, I enjoyed the Living with the Land Boat Tour, a ride that takes you through the history of agriculture and ends in Epcot's greenhouse, hydroponics and aquaponics labs.  

Dragonfruits growing inside Epcot's greenhouse

Researchers and scientists in Epcot are able to dramatically increase crop yields in low-soil environments.

Eggplants

The Epcot greenhouse doesn't just produce crops in the average size but some sizes are way off the charts like Epcot's lemons which are known for being huge at 9 lbs each!😱And I heard the record weight for their lemons is 15 lbs! 😱😱 

Oversized Gourd

The researchers and scientists at Epcot study how to grow crops not just with less soil, but also with less water, less fertilizer and less space. Look at the plants growing on the pillars below. So much space saved.

Mixed Vegetables

There are also crops that are grown via hydroponics like the lettuce below. This method allows a stream of nutrient-infused water to circulate past the plants’ exposed roots, providing what they get from soil. Amazingly, this enables them to grow quicker than in soil, uses less water and occupies less space (as it allows growers to put plants closer together).

Lettuce grown via hydroponics

But even more amazing is how scientists are able to grow crops without soil like this Butternut Squash.

Soil-less butternut squash. Grows via Aeroponics.

This technology is called Aeroponics - where plant roots dangle free in the air and are sprayed with a fine mist of atomized nutrients.  Sounds like an unthinkable idea once upon a time but already made possible by science today.  Aeroponics may also be the kind of technology that could be used in space and so Epcot and NASA have partnered to pioneer new ways of growing food aeroponically.  One day, who knows this is how man would grow crops on Mars. 😉  

I wasn't able to take photos of the aquaponics' section but aquaponics is a system that combines aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fishes and prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment.  Just imagine plants at the top section and a tank of fishes like tilapia at the bottom section - each feeding off each other.  How amazing is that?

The Epcot greenhouse and labs supply ingredients to restaurants in Disney parks.  The cute tomatoes and cucumbers in the shape of Mickey Mouse heads served in restaurants also come from the Epcot greenhouse. How do they make them? Via molds placed around the produce as they are growing.

If you have an extra hour to spare, you may want to consider taking the Behind the Seeds tour (for an extra fee) in the greenhouse which would allow you to go on an in-depth tour of the greenhouses and try some produce grown on-site.  Since I was pressed for time, I wasn't able to do this but had I known about this optional tour earlier, I would have planned my day better to include it.  

Anyway, while in The Land, I also recommend Soarin' Around the World - an attraction that simulates a hang gliding flight that takes you to various regions of the world.  The effect is achieved through a 180-degree, 80-foot IMAX digital projection dome.  It felt super real - the only thing that occasionally reminded me that it wasn't real were the hanging feet of the riders above us. 😂

My next stop was at Imagination where I watched the Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival rendered in 4D.  There were 3 short films - around 5 minutes each  - and it's amazing how a short film can make you laugh, teach you lessons, nudge you to reflect about life and move you to tears - all in 5 minutes.  

On the way out, I chanced upon Wreck-it-Ralph and Vanellope.  😍

Wreck-it-Ralph and Vanellope

At the time of my visit, it was the International Food and Wine festival at Epcot and lucky me, Impossible Burger (which I've been wishing to taste) had a stall.  Impossible Burger has the same flavor and aroma of a beef burger except that its meat is made from plants.  It tastes so good that if it were served to me on a blind test, I don't think I would even realize that the patty is not made from meat. 🙈 

Impossible Burger Slider - how can a plant-based burger taste so good???

Since it was just a slider, I had to eat more and so I also tried the Impossible Cottage Pie - plant-based ground meat with carrots, mushrooms and peas topped with mashed cauliflower, white beans and mozzarella. Yum, yum!😋😋

Impossible Cottage Pie

I was tempted to order another Impossible slider and pie (they were that good!) but I had to get hold of my EQ so I could try more foods.  But I ended up eating another slider - ESPN College Gameday's The Steakhouse Blended Burger.  How can you resist this description?  Beef and Mushroom Slider with Brie Cheese Fondue, Arugula and a Truffle and Blue Cheese Potato Chip on a Brioche Bun. 😋

The Steakhhouse Blended Burger

I also tried the Chocolate Picante - Dark Chocolate Mousse with Cayenne Pepper, Paprika and Mango-Lime Compote. Sounds like a weird combination of ingredients but it tastes really yum!😋 

Chocolate Picante

After doing half of the Future World, the East section, I decided to go to the World Showcase which features various pavilions representing countries like Mexico, Norway, China, Japan, Italy, Germany, etc., totalling 11 pavilions.  

Here's the Mexico pavilion - everything is Mexican-themed including the ride/show, music, food, souvenirs, etc.  

Mexico pavilion

Inside the Mexico pavilion

Among the 11 pavilions, the most popular is Norway's because of the Frozen Ever After attraction which may take up to 2 to 3 hours of waiting time during peak season. 😱😱 This is where FastPass may come in handy (if you buy your tickets online from Disney World and download the Disney app on your phone, you'll be entitled up to 2 FastPass which you can dynamically change any time).  If you have kids, this is a must-see but if you're all adults and you can't get a Fastpass within your available time, I personally think you can skip this one unless you're crazy about Frozen.  In retrospect, I would have traded the time I've spent on Frozen Ever After for a Behind the Seeds Tour back at the greenhouse. 😆

Frozen Ever After in the Norway Pavilion

The pavilions also house educational exhibits. For example in Norway, there is a section that talks about the history of Vikings.  Then inside the Japan pavilion, there's an exhibit of Japanese pop culture items and kawaii stuff. 😍 

Inside the Japan pavilion - kawaii stuff

More kawaii stuff 😍

And if you super love Japanese stuff, for shopping, there's even a Mitsukoshi Department store in the Japan pavilion. 😆 

I actually didn't enter all the pavilions because there's not enough time but I enjoyed watching some of the street performers along the way like these - 

Spanish musicians 

A mime artist 

After going around the World Showcase, I went back to Future World, this time to explore the West section.  I headed to the Odyssey Events pavilion which features the Epcot Experience - a glimpse into the park's ground-breaking future.  Check out these various renditions of Epcot created by Disney Imagineers in a 360-degree presentation -

These are just some of the ones I was able to capture but there were a lot of other mesmerizing transformations. 😍

The popular spots I intentionally skipped at Epcot were the thrill rides - Mission Space and Test Track - coz I've never been a fan of thrill rides. I am scared of them. 😅  

My final stop was the iconic Spaceship Earth.  What's inside that iconic sphere?

It's a 15-minute ride in the dark which demonstrates how communication has evolved starting from prehistoric man's cave drawings, to the creation of the alphabet, to the invention of the printing press to today's modern communication technology.  

What's fascinating about the ride is at end of it, the touchscreen computer in your cabin will ask you some questions such as from which country are you from and what is your personal interest - health, career or travel.  After it processes your data, the screen would flash what could be your future life - with you starring in the video as the biggest surprise!😅 It's hilarious to watch yourself in an animated video.  But don't worry, most likely you'll have a smiling face coz I think earlier in the ride (which I can't quite remember), the voice-over would ask you to smile for the camera but which you may be tempted not to take seriously coz it's too dark to see. 😆 

Anyway, out of curiosity I took a quick look at the screen of the cabin in front of me to know if everyone has the same video but it looks like they were customized based on the personal interest you picked.  In my case, I chose Health.  What is the future of Health shown in the video?  You take a daily smart pill that could assess your body's condition and send your vital signs straight to your doctor, you'll have a robot trainer in your workouts and you'll have a wrist sensor that records everything about your health which could communicate with smart menu in restaurants to determine what food to serve you. 😅

The magic of Disney never seizes to entertain and amaze me.  But in all the Disney parks I have ever visited, I must say Epcot is the most educational, mind-stimulating and inspiring. 💚

What to see at the Kennedy Space Center

If you're visiting Florida and you've visited other Disney Theme Parks and Universal Studios in Anaheim or other parts of the world, you may want to prioritize visiting the Kennedy Space Center for a different kind of experience.  The interactive displays, videos, simulators, etc. would also give you a similar magical vibe except that all of them are reality-based - humans orbiting the earth, humans landing on the moon, man-made robots roving in Mars, and a lot of other unthinkable and mind-blowing possibilities which man has made possible.  At the end of the visit, one (regardless of age) would be inspired to dream boldly and be greater than average (which is one of NASA's popular messages written in an equation form 😅).

What's there to see at the Kennedy Space Center?

At the complex entrance, you'll be greeted by the iconic NASA globe and the giant timer which displays the countdown until the next rocket launch.  The next takeoff is scheduled on Jan 11, 2020 for a SpaceX Falcon 9 Test (uncrewed).  So if you're scheduled to visit the complex then, you could witness a real rocket launch.😮 

I've never imagined I would meet a real-life astronaut someday but I did while I was there.  The tour I booked had an exclusive meet & greet at the start of the tour so what a way to kick off the visit.  It was just 10 minutes though so not enough time to ask a lot of questions.

It's fascinating to hear an astronaut's story like what inspired one to become an astronaut, what was the experience in space like, how did one adjust once back on earth, etc. so when I learned that there was another astronaut encounter scheduled in the afternoon, I decided to forego an IMAX show in favor of going to the astronaut session coz I was thinking I could always look up NASA videos online but not get another chance to hear a live Q&A with an astronaut.  Besides, it's such a delight to watch both kids and adults ask questions such as:

How do you sleep when there's no gravity?

How do you do no. 2 in space?

How did you feel the first time you went on a mission?

Did you feel differently when you went on your second mission?

How long did it take you to gain back the weight you've lost while in space?

Very educational and amusing.  I didn't just enjoy listening to the Q&A but also enjoyed watching the kids' faces light up in awe. 😍 

At the end of the session, there's also an opportunity to have a photo taken with the astronaut.  

BTW, did you notice the 3 patches on the jacket of the astronaut? Those have significance - each patch was specially-designed and it represents a mission an astronaut has been part of - this means Mark has been part of 3 missions.  The patch contains the name of the mission, the year it took place and the names of all the astronauts part of the mission.  The photo below shows some mission logo designs.

Anyway, other than meeting an astronaut what's there to see at the Kennedy Space Center?

Rockets from NASA’s Mercury, Apollo, and Gemini programs are displayed in this outdoor exhibit called the Rocket Garden.  There are also walking tours available throughout the day in the Rocket Garden.

The Rocket Garden

Then there's the building that houses the Atlantis.  

When you enter, you'll get to watch a moving documentary about how NASA tried, failed, tried and finally succeeded in creating a re-usable orbiter. Then the curtain opens to reveal the actual Atlantis space shuttle. 😱

Atlantis orbiter

Atlantis is only one of three space-flown shuttles to be on display in the U.S.  After its first flight in 1985, it made 32 more missions and flew 126 million miles over the next 26 years.  Wow.

Within the Atlantis building, there are a lot of other interesting things on display like -

Hubble Space Telescope

Control Panel of a Space Shuttle - that's just one side of it!😮

A treadmill designed for space use 💪

A toilet bowl - imagine you have to strap your legs and
lock your thighs to stay put😱 

Shuttle pantry - where you need to strap your food containers with velcro.

Bedroom - to sleep, you get inside the white cover on the left
and strap yourself

Astrovan - the official bus that brings astronauts to the launch pad

A small scale model of the Atlantis orbiter
with the rocket boosters and external tank still intact

While in the Atlantis Building, another highlight is the Shuttle Simulator which what veteran NASA astronauts call “the next best thing to flying aboard a space shuttle”.  With this, you’ll experience a pre-launch briefing by a shuttle commander and then you'll be strapped into seats to simulate an 8.5 minute ascent into orbit.  It mimics the 17,500-mph liftoff of a NASA shuttle orbiter.😱  How does it feel?  The speed of vibration was so fast and I was thinking my brain would be so shaken up that I would have amnesia after the ride. 😅😂

Then there's a bus ride that goes around the NASA complex.   You will come close to the massive Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) which is the final assembly point for space shuttles and external fuel tanks and rocket boosters.

I know the building doesn't look massive in the photo I took from the bus but do you know how massive it is?  The building covers 8 acres!😱 The VAB high bay doors are the largest in the world at 456 feet high and it takes about 45 minutes to completely open or close the door.  And the flag that you see is the largest American flag - it's 209-foot-tall and 110-foot-wide. 😱 

The bus would also take you around the launch sites including Launch Pad 39A of Space X. 

Launch Pad 39A of Space X

Launch Pad 39A of Space X

Viewing deck for takeoffs

During the bus tour, you might also spot some animals like alligators, turtles and eagles since there are several habitats within the complex.

The bus tour ends at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.  The giant hall houses the Saturn V rocket with exhibit of all Apollo missions. 

Saturn V rocket that took Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon

Actual piece of moon rock you can touch

Below is the Apollo 14 Command Capsule.

Apollo 14 command module Kittyhawk

Apollo 14 was composed of Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa. It was the third mission to land on the moon but Alan Shepard was the first American to walk on the moon.

 

Kittyhawk's door up close - look at all those mechanisms😱

Lunar Roving Vehicle

Snapshot of Mission Rules - the complete list is composed of
 thousands of possible scenarios😱

After the bus tour, I still had time to drop by Journey to Mars, listen to a short NASA talk and check out these Mars Rovers -  

Spirit Rover - first rover to climb hills and found signs of past water

Curiosity Rover - it grinds rock samples and
could identify what they are made of. Wow.

My last stop was at the Heroes and Legends' Hall which is situated nearest the entrance/exit.  It is dedicated to the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. 

The visit starts with video footages of individuals of various ages who define the qualities of their heroes and identify who their heroes are (parents, teachers, superheroes and yes, some have named astronauts as their heroes).  It ends with a 4D multi-sensory show that features America's earliest space missions to interviews with the U.S. Astronauts Hall of Famers. Very inspiring.    

Two astronauts whose stories I have read (and also the story of the astronaut in the NASA session and some US Astronauts Hall of Famers) became astronauts because they looked up to specific astronaut heroes when they were kids.  I wouldn't be surprised if some of the kids who have visited the Kennedy Space Center would end up becoming astronauts someday or be inspired to invent something out of today's science fiction coz after all, walking on the moon used to be found only in sci-fi comicbooks. 😉