A couple of weeks ago we visited Paris (Casino) in Las Vegas. Mr. Troutbend had received free tickets for two to the Eiffel Tower Experience ($10 each value) so we took advantage of them.

Here is a rare photograph of me on the bridge over the pretend Seine, actually the casino floor.



Yes, it is very dark. You almost have to take my word for it that it's a picture of me: the perfect picture.

The Eiffel Tower is one-half the size of the real one in France, and it was plenty high enough for us. I think we were 400 or so feet above the Las Vegas Strip. It costs $2 more per person to go up in the Eiffel Tower Experience at night.



This is the new City Center complex that will be completed later this year. There are several buildings, most of them condos. The idea was that people would buy a condo or two for around a million dollars each or more and rent them out as vacation rentals when they weren't here. These would be your John McCain types who own more houses than they can count, or at least their wives do. Because of the economic/credit crisis a lot of purchasers are not going to be able to close on their completed condos, and so the condos will be foreclosed on without ever being occupied.



When I look at this picture all I can think is what a shame it is that those big ugly buildings are blocking what was once a good view of the Mojave desert and mountains toward the southwest.