london bridge is falling down....

So I'm in Arizona for a trade show and I get asked "So have you gone to see London Bridge yet?". I'm thinking that this person has gotta be a wingnut. We are in the middle of the desert in Arizona, nowhere near london, are any body of water needing a major bridge. But as it turns out the person wasn't lying to me, nor were they the wingnut that I thought.

It turns out that back in the 60's London was in the process of replaced it's famous London Bridge. Robert C. McCulloch, founder of Lake Havasu and C.V. Wood Jr., Senior Planner had a vision, and a lot of money, and bought the famous London Bridge. Over the course of the three years between 1968 and 1971 the bridge was deconstructed and reconstructed spanning the Colorado River and a tourist trap was born. Who would have thunk it?

the land of milk and honey

I just spent 4 days in Vegas and what an experience it was. It is truly a an adults playland. It is almost unreal, beyond description. You can go to Vegas and see the world. I was staying at the Tropicana, a Vegas classic landmark, but by the standards of today's behemonths on the Strip it is a dinosaur with a broken leg. Across the street from us was New York, New York, with a replica of some of the Big Apples most famous landmarks including the Chrysler Building and the Statue of Liberty. They also have an amazing roller coaster, a ride I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a rush.

Speaking of getting a rush, take a visit to the Stratosphere. It is a needle shaped building, that tops out at 110 stories high giving some of the most breath-taking views of the city, highly recommended to do a night time. But if you want to take your thrill-seeking to a new level take the Big-shot. As their website says, "The Big Shot thrill ride catapults 16 riders from the 921-foot high platform up the Tower's mast to a height of 1,081 feet. Traveling at 45 miles per hour, riders experience 4G's as they reach the very top, and feel negative G's on the way down." You have no idea what it's like, I say everyone should do it at least once.

But it is a city that is about spending money. Internet can cost up to a $1/minute, something that you get for free at pretty much every hotel these days. Bring lots of money with you when you go.

For some pics of my trip go to http://photobucket.com/albums/y25/dawson-city-darcy/Las%20Vegas/

and the beat goes on.....

they say it's the little differences...but is it really?

As I sit here in my hotel room I am reminded of some of the little differences between Canada and the US. The commercials use Spanish instead of French, well the food here is actually mostly Mexican. I have had to get used to gallons instead of litres when filling my rental and I have to think in miles instead kilometres. In the mornings when I am looking at the weather I have to think in Fahrenheit instead of in Celsius. But really these are pretty minor differences to deal with and with the luck of my age I can remember using the imperial system (though I was rather young when the switch was made). With my training in cooking I had to get used to the imperial system all over again so like I say it's not that big of a deal.

I was in K-Mart the other day, and I noticed that most of the of the bottles of drinks were all in round metric volumes with the equivalent in imperial. Really, why do they bother? The US should just get on board with the rest of the world and finally make the switch to metric, but hey I guess they have to feel like they are still in charge.

But there are some differences that are very different. I've noticed a variety of signs as I have walked into any number of restaurants in both Arizona and California.
I can not get over the love affair that Americans have with their guns. Can you imagine having to be warned to not bring in your weapons.

I am here in South-east California/Arizona promoting tourism in the Yukon and by extension in Canada, and for the most part there are two types of people I talk with. The first are those that are very excited about coming to Canada and the Yukon because they have heard so many great things about it and those that are telling everyone, including me, about the great time that they had there. It is not uncommon to be told that they ended up enjoying the Yukon far more then the did Alaska and their own country. But every so often you get some wingnut who comes along and is very irate about our gun laws. They can't believe that they would have to declare their shotguns or rifles at the border or those who are just furious because they can not take their handguns into Canada.

Get over it, join the 20th Century, if not the 21st like the rest of us.

and the beat goes on....

here comes the sun.....

Waking this morning I looked out my hotel window and what do I see? Palm trees and sunshine. 24 hours ago, when I awoke it was still dark outside and it was a whole lot colder then here. It's only +6C outside (and I'm sure most of my Yukon friends will cringe at the only or the temp) but it is supposed to hit +20C today. Back in Dawson the high for today's forecast is -22C and it won't get light until after 10am and it will be dark by the time the work day is done.

It is different here though. I pulled into a fast-food place last night and there was a sign on the outside saying "No Weapons allowed in restaurant". I realize that the US is facisnated with their guns, and they truly have a gun culture, but it's always a rude awakening when I see it. Blows my mind sometimes.

This should be an interesting trip.


and the beat goes on......

small, small world......

It never ceases to amaze me as to how small the world truly is. No matter where I go, or for whatever reason I am heading there I seem to run into someone. Today for example, I am passing through Vancouver airport en route from Dawson, through Whitehorse and into Phoenix for work. I’m just standing there waiting for my bags to come off the terminal, and whom do I see but a whole boatload of friends from Ryerson (the university I went to in Toronto). They are in Vancouver for a university competition and were waiting for their bags at the next carousel. Blows my mind sometimes.

And this seems to be happening ever more frequently lately. Just last week, there was a comedy troupe from Newfoundland who came to Dawson for a show. Now in Newfoundland we don’t really have 6 degrees of separation, more like 2, and that’s sometimes pushing it.

Well, I went to this potluck dinner for the guys and we get to talking. Turns out that my brother had painted a mural for a show that one of the guys had done about 8 years ago in St. John’s. And as soon as I mentioned him they immediately recognized me from the restaurant that I was chef at around the same time.

It truly is a small world and getting smaller everyday. I am certain it has to do with the degree of freedom of movement we have now. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that at no point ever has there been such a degree of freedom. It truly is a small world, and getting smaller everyday.


and the beat goes on....