August 1990

August 1990

Aimee and I made the three-hour drive north to explore the Wisconsin Dells, a popular summer excursion for Chicagoans. The Dells is a scenic glacier-carved gorge of tall limestone bluffs on the Wisconsin River. They are similar to the Mississippi bluffs north of my hometown of Alton, IL. We take an amphibious “duck boat” tour to see this original attraction.

Most tourists now come for the other attractions of shopping and water parks. We took in the Tommy Bartlett Water Show on nearby Lake Delton. It is a water-skiing show similar to the one I saw as a teenager at Cypress Gardens in Tampa, FL.

October 1990

October 1990

We went to Las Vegas for a few days staying at the Excalibur Hotel. It is brand new, having just opened a few months ago in June. With four thousand rooms it is the largest hotel in the world.

This casino-hotel is on the far south side of the Strip. We walked up the strip to visit the other hotels, Caesars Palace and the new Mirage with its volcano fountain. It is a longer walk than I realized, and Aimee rightly complains she didn’t bring the right shoes for this much exercise.

Before this trip I read the book ‘Beat the Dealer’ thinking I could pay for the trip with a little card counting at the Blackjack table. I did make money but concluded I was only making $2.50 an hour. Not a good paying job!

Instead Aimee and I went to a few shows. We saw Dolly Parton in concert; she gave a terrific performance. We also saw a typical Vegas show. I had to tip the host a ten-spot to get a decent table.