For all you diehard Trekkies out there (c’mon, I can’t be the only one), I have more tidbits on the ending of the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. This information comes straight from the mouths (keyboards?) of some of the STTE castmembers who have made it such a memorable experience for the last several years. The station will close around 9pm after the last show on September 1, at which time there will be a formal decommissioning ceremony, with all the accompanying pomp and circumstance. Fans are welcome to attend. A “Wall of Memories” has also sprung up at the Experience, where fans and former castmembers are sharing their fondest memories of times enjoyed there. (This is likely to turn into “WallS of Memories,” as the first wall is reportedly almost full already!)
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There’s a very interesting interview in the 7/20/08 Newsweek with the CEO of Amtrak, Alex Kummant, talking about the expansion of rail service in the U.S. as a result of high oil prices. I have long been a proponent of expanding the rail infrastructure in this country and increasing rail service in high-traffic corridors in order to decrease carbon emissions from automobiles, but obviously the oil crisis is another great reason to rethink train travel–so long as train travel is more affordable than driving a car, which at the moment is debatable. The question, though, remains, is it practical and affordable for the U.S. to invest in rail infrastructure after a century of mostly ignoring that particular mode of travel? Other countries have invested in rail infrastructures, to their benefit. The U.S. has been rather shortsighted in this regard, and now we’re paying for it. At this point, it would be a huge investment of money to build that infrastructure. But, as Kummant states, there would also be benefits for the economy, such as more jobs in that sector and real estate booms along train corridors. I think we’ll be hearing a lot more on this topic in the months to come. [Read more →]

There’s a great article at MSNBC today, “The best guided city walks” by Emilie Harting. Harting extolls the virtues of going on guided tours over listening to an iPod tour or reading a guide book to become acquainted with a city. Overall, I agree. Obviously, if your reason for traveling is to get away from all other human beings, then you might be better off with an iPod tour or a guide book. (Or going somewhere other than a city!) But for more social solos, a guided tour is a great way to meet other people when you’re traveling alone. When I was in London many years ago, I struck out on my own some days, and with my new classmates some days, and I also went on several guided tours. Each way of traveling has its benefits and downsides, but having a mix of them was really perfect for me. On those guided tours, I know I got more out of visiting certain sites than I would have had I gone alone or even with friends. There’s nothing like having an expert at your elbow giving you color commentary on the little insider secrets and funny (or scary or dramatic) stories about a place. They are also there to answer the questions you have that are bound to crop up.

I’m already planning to go on a few guided tours when I go to New Orleans this winter. Can’t wait.

Vegas comes to Vermont!

The Colchester-Milton Rotary Club is hosting a charity casino night and Texas Hold’em Tournament on Friday, August 15, 2008, from 7-11pm at the Hampton Inn off Exit 16 in Colchester. There is a $100 entry fee for the Texas Hold’em game, with rebuys in the first hour only. The tournament offers cash prizes. Registration for the poker tournament is 6pm, and the tournament starts at 7pm. There are 100 seats available. Contact Suzanne Brown 802-985-3596 if you would like to register early. [Read more →]

Today’s Wall Street Journal has an article (”Delta Launches Online Boarding Pass Ads“) featuring a new attempt by Delta Airlines to raise revenues via advertising that will appear on your online boarding passes for your target destination. So, for instance, if you’re flying to Vegas, the ads will be for Vegas restaurants, hotels, and attractions. Interesting idea. I have to say, I’d much rather see the airlines go in this direction than nickel-and-dime passengers with baggage fees and making us pay to use the toilet. Thumbs up, Delta. [Read more →]

The Vegas Internet community is all abuzz tonight with the news that a great discount code (SDM060, “The Ultimate Escape”) that had been shared all over the Internet–on normally trusted sites–was only intended for certain MGM player’s club members, and many, many unhappy travelers have received emails from the MGM Grand telling them, essentially, that the reservations they had booked (and received confirmations for) are no good and they have to either rebook MGM (at a higher price, of course) or book another hotel. You can read more about this at The Strip Podcast. [Read more →]

I first heard about Yapta, an airfare tracking site, a couple of months ago and wanted to test it out myself before I recommended it. Suffice it to say, Yapta has won me over, completely.

I had booked airfare for a trip to Vegas in September through Jetblue at a price that was a bit higher than I would have liked (because I waited about 1 week too long before booking). Luckily, Yapta can track airfares even after you’ve booked, and let you know if the price goes down. If it does, you can call the airline for a credit or refund of the difference between the price you paid and the cheaper fare. Well, today, Yapta emailed me an alert that my flights were now selling for $40 less than what I paid for them. I immediately got on the phone with Jetblue and voila! Instant $40 credit in my True Blue account toward my next flight. Woo! [Read more →]

I was running errands the other day downtown in Burlington and had a couple of hours to kill while waiting to pick something up from a repair shop. I decided I was in the mood for some strawberry shortcake, so went in search of a restaurant that had it. And searched….and searched…and searched. I’m serious, I looked at the menus in front of every restaurant on Church Street, plus some on St. Paul Street, College Street and Battery Street, and inquired inside some other restaurants where I felt sure they must serve strawberry shortcake (they didn’t). I must have walked 3 miles in search of strawberry shortcake (and got a sunburn in the process!). Some restaurants don’t even post their dessert menus outside; others just didn’t have shortcake; one didn’t offer dessert at all.

The only place downtown that had traditional strawberry shortcake was Smokejacks, but it was $8, and I’m sorry, I’m not paying $8 for strawberry shortcake. $8 is what I’ll pay for a lunch entree, not a dessert. The next closest thing was a creative version of strawberry shortcake (featuring chocolate biscuits and liquor-soaked strawberries) at Leunigs for about $6, but I wasn’t in the mood for creative, I wanted traditional. You know, biscuits on the bottom, fresh strawberries and juice that soaks into the biscuits, with whipped cream on top? My third choice was a strawberry “shortcrepe” from the Skinny Pancake for about $6. I would have paid $6, but I wasn’t in the mood for a crepe. It’s just not the same, you know? [Read more →]

…must come to an end, but do they all have to end at the same damn time???

Word hit the Internet today that the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton is closing in September. I figured it would close sometime this year, as news came in April that it had no contract beyond the end of this year, but somehow I hoped it would get a last-minute stay of execution. I’m sure the space will probably be turned into yet another hip nightclub. Yawn.

I am a big-time Trekkie from as far back as I can remember. I’ve seen all the series and movies–even the bad ones. So needless to say, one of my favorite things to do when I go to Vegas is spend time at the Experience, where I can indulge my inner Trekkie for a little while. It doesn’t hurt that they chose to model the Experience after Quark’s and the Promenade from my favorite of all Trek series, Deep Space Nine.

I’ll never forget my first trip there, back when the only ride was the Klingon Encounter (which remained my favorite even after the Borg Invasion 4D was introduced). What a rush to be standing on the bridge of the Enterprise-D! And seeing all the show props in the History of the Future Museum. The attention to detail was mind-boggling, from the Enterprise and Voyager replicas hanging from the ceiling to the warp core and laser beams in the SpaceQuest casino. They really did a good job of immersing fans in that world. There were TVs everywhere showing episodes of the various Trek shows. I thought “I want to LIVE here!”

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Finally, another free thing to do in Burlington, VT. From the University of Vermont’s press release: