Island Travel Vidoes

More From Atlanta

OK .. EAST OWNS the West. The East beat the West tonight 8 to 7, and even though Carolina Hurricanes only sent one player to the game (Eric Staal), he WON MVP of the Game. ITS STAAL GOOD !!! Way to go Eric and way to go East, winning both nights. Next year, the NHL All-Stars game in Montreal. Think snow and cold and Canadian hospitality.

So has the hotel improved? No way. Noise all night. No sleep. This Marriott is the PITS .. avoid it. The room service wait time is 45 minutes to an hour for a salad, and there is a 20% service charge added. Not worth the $144 per night. Oh well …

Walked to Underground Atlanta this afternoon. Atlanta is a real ghost town in the business district, and Underground continues to suffer because of that. I have been visting underground since my early teens, and it should be such a great entertainment magnet for the city. How bad has it gotten. Let’s put it this way … they now have a Dollar Store in Underground Atlanta. Enough said.

I learned something … Atlanta was originally called Thrasherville. I didn’t know that. I mistakeningly thought that might be where the local hockey team - the “Atlanta Thrashers” - got there name. I was wrong. The team chose their name from one of the indigenous birds. In fact, the three native sports team all chose the names of local birds … the Atlanta Hawks (NBA); the Atlanta Falcons (NFL) and the Atlanta Thrashers (NFL). Again, I never thought about that.

So what was special about the Phlips Arena. Well, being terribly transparent … the “Blue Crew” … these girls are AWESOME. And even better … there are the Ice Girls. The Hurricanes (my home team) has the Storm Squad - and they rock - but we have the regular RBC maintenance guys cleaning the ice. In Atlanta, they have the Ice Girls … six girls from the Blue crew that rotate the job. WAY TO GO. Almost enough to make you a Thrasher Fan (well, almost 

So that is about it. Visiting Atlanta. Stay away from the Atlanta Marriott. Use Marta - it is the best way of getting around. Each ride costs $1.75. Beware … you HAVE to buy a reuseable fare card. That card costs you .50 cents. That is a one time charge, and its rechargeable. But still, no where have I ever seen a transit system charge separately for the fare card. What to see: 1) CNN Center; 2) World of Coca-cola; 3) Georgia Aquarium; 4) Centennial Park; 5) Underground; 6) Stone Mountain. Worth a trip. And oh yes … Delta Airlines has a wonderful museum at Hartsfield. Call ahead and let them know you are coming as they need to pre-clear you for security (you will be on the tarmac at some point). Its back to Raleigh tomorrow morning. Cheers.

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drew — January 26, 2008, 11:39 pm

Greetings from Atlanta

Wow … 14 years ago I lived in Atlanta. Today I am returning for a weekend at the NHL All-Stars game. We are staying at the Marriott Atlanta on Spring street (not the larger Marquis). This is newly renovated … and I strongly believe they forgot to put back the sound proofing back in the walls. This is absolutely one of the noisest up-scale hotels I have ever stayed in. I would expect this from a Super8, but not from a full price hotel. Bummer. And oh yes, the room smells of paint. Lucky me. On the other hand, the games are at Philips arena, which is very nice, especially when compared to our rather utilitarian RBC center. My son thought the escallator at Peachtree Center Marta station was cool; it is reported to be the longest escalator in the southeast; according to the web, the longest in the United States is at the Wheaton Station of the Washington Metro. We rode that a number of years ago. The problem with downtown Atlanta always has been … what to do. There are only so many times you can walk through the CNN Center or the World of Coca-Cola. Amazingly, we have been pan-handled more times in Atlanta in one day that an entire week in New York. No wonder no one wants to go downtown. In any case … the East beat the West in the Skills Competition. That is a good thing. We’ll see how the actual game goes tomorrow.

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drew — , 11:25 pm

Fire at the Monte Carlo

I was saddened to see the fire at the Monte Carlo hotel in Las Vegas yesterday. While there were no serious injuries, and the damage looks largely cosmetic, nonetheless it saddened me to see the dark smoke and the dark charring on the exterior. The Monte Carlo was the very first hotel I stayed in on my very first trip to Las Vegas. It’s a nice, well maintained hotel with no particular theme. It was built in the late nineties (1996) just before the mega-theme hotels went up. I have never gone back to stay there, as it just never really had a compelling value proposition over other hotels on the strip, but I always visit the Buffet - which is one of the best buffet values on the strip, and I enjoy Lance Burton’s show. The casino is very pleasant as well - on the quiet side which is not always a bad thing. But whether I choose to stay there or not, I hated to see the fire. I hope the damage can be repaired quickly, and the hotel reopens soon. The last I saw was the hotel would need extensive work on the roofline before being permitted to reopen. I haven’t seen any estimates on how long that might take.

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drew — , 11:11 pm

And they actually Paid someone to figure this out

The irrational never ceases to amaze me … flew a Delta MD80 from Raleigh to Atlanta today. I kid you not, the row numbers of the left side of the aircraft are different from the opposite one on the right hand side. We were sitting in 20D & 20E. I looked across the aisle, and it was 21A, B and C. These rows are not offset; they are absolutely aligned. I can’t wait for someone to explain to me who came up with this idea. As the flight attendant noted … only a “man” could have come up with such a thing 

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drew — January 20, 2008, 5:38 pm

Vegas … April 2008

The next few posts are all about Vegas in April 2008. As you will see, things change. Some better, some just sad … others for the worst.

Some properties remain hot - Belaggio was hopping on a Thursday night - and some are dead, like the Monte Carlo (all signs of the recent fire are gone, at least from the facade.) The buffet at the Monte Carlo remains one of my favorites - I hit it twice this week. Monte Carlo is a nice, quiet property - but does little to really distingush itself. Oh well, enjoy the posts that follow. More from Vegas in July when I am back again. Cheers.

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