Bodies: The Exhibition

On our spring 2017 Las Vegas trip for Dan's annual conference, I spent an afternoon at Bodies: The Exhibition, at Luxor.

I'm fascinated by plastination (replacing fat and water with plastic to preserve bodies. Yes, real bodies) and I've seen Dr. Gunther Von Hagen's Body World's exhibition three times. I've been working on a short story idea for the last decade that involves plastinaiton, but I can't quite get it in shape. My visit to Bodies: The Exhibition was both for general interest and to see if I could get inspired to return to my story idea.

Out of respect for the body donors, photograph inside the exhibition was strictly prohibited. If you just go to the website, you can see a majority of the images.

Bodies: The Exhibition was far less spectacular than Body Worlds. It was much smaller and less flashy. For example, in Body Worlds they had a full-size horse with rider. In Bodies: The Exhibition, there is a guy on a bicycle. Body Worlds has a guy with his own skin draped over his arm! You get the idea.

Grandeur aside, the basic teaching elements from both exhibitions were still there. It's the smaller organs that are fascinating: with exhibits often taking a healthy organ and showing it alongside a diseased organ. For example, showing a healthy brain, alongside a brain that has been affected by a stroke. Probably the most affecting exhibits, especially being in Sin City, are the diseased liver of an alcoholic and the blackened lungs of a smoker. They even provide an enormous plexi-glass case and a note asking smokers to drop their packets of cigarettes in the case, in efforts to kick the habit. I wonder if there are statistics regarding how impactful these types of exhibits are with regard to pushing visitors to make major lifestyle changes.

I always take an extra moment to look at the gallbladder, since it's amazing to me that stones getting trapped in this tiny organ caused me so much pain. The stones themselves are so small! I had emergency gallbladder surgery in 2006, having the organ removed.

Admittedly, the first time I visited Body Worlds, I felt queasy. The exhibit on the circulatory system really got to me. In the exhibit, they strip away everything to just leave the veins. Animals have so many veins. I felt faint looking at it. The guy holding his own skin also got to me, as did seeing certain identifying markers, like tattoos that are still visible. Or things like hair and nails. It no longer bothers me.

I toured Bodies: The Exhibition on a quiet, weekday afternoon. I was alone during much of the time. To start, there were a bunch of young frat guys and one of the guys vomited. He couldn't take it, so the whole group left. I'm not sure if he was queasy by the exhibits or it was from too much partying. Perhaps he should have stuck around to see the liver! If you're worried that the exhibits might bother you, know that the full bodies are not the first thing that you see. They start out with organs and less extreme exhibits, so that you can work your way up. It's really not greusome though.

This is a great education exhibition for kids. Many years ago, I took my former nephew (first husband's family) to see Body Worlds, when he had just turned thirteen. He was blown away by the experience and it was one of his favorite things that we did on his trip to California. He even got to hold a plastinated heart. It's exciting to see kids get excited about learning. Bodies: The Exhibition and Body Worlds, both provided a unique educational opportunity that's impactful.

I should also note that Bodies: The Exhibition is not without controversy. There are questions about how the cadavers become part of the exhibition and concerns that they might not have been legally or morally obtained. The bodies are from China and other than that, the origins are not verified. They are suspected to have been executed prisoners. Body Worlds has been part of a similar controversy, but creator Von Hagen, as gone to great lengths to assure that the cadavers he uses are obtained legally and with consent. They even tell you how to volunteer your body at the end of their exhibition.

Overall, Body Worlds is the far superior exhibition, however, if you're in Vegas and it's not likely that you'll have a Body Worlds visit your town, then by all means, go see Bodies: The Exhibition. It's an astonishing way of viewing the human body.

Palms Las Vegas- 2017 & 2018

For the last two years, I've been fortunate to stay with Dan at Palms for his annual Las Vegas trade show. I've actually accompanied him to Vegas for this show every year from the first year that we started dating, but these last two years we stayed at Palms, a hotel that neither of us had stayed previously.

In 2017, we were living in Oregon and quite frankly, really tired of the endless gloomy weather. Dan works so hard at the trade show, that he never gets time to relax. It's a holiday for me and a lot of long hours of hard work for him. I don't spend any time with him during the show. I'm just along to take care of his ironing! In 2017, we had planned to arrive the weekend prior to the show and have pool time together. Unfortunately, we messed up the booking and arrived late on a Friday evening to realize that we didn't have a place to stay.

Vegas has so many hotel rooms, that you'd think we'd have an easy time finding alternative accommodations.

Nope.

We drove around for hours, calling ever single hotel that we could think of, both on and off the strip. Most were booked solid. A few had rooms that were going for a few thousand a night. Yikes! We were exhausted and discouraged. Giving up, we decided to just drive to our home in Big Bear Lake, about three hours away.

We got to Jean, Nevada and decided to just check if Gold Strike had rooms available.

I don't think that Gold Strike is a hotel that anyone actively seeks out. It's old, smoky, run-down...but it had rooms. It had a few rooms at a great mark-up.

Exhausted, we took a room. As we were getting our keys, a tour bus pulled up and determined that the rooms were too expensive, so they would carrying on to Vegas. We tried to warn them that they would not find a better deal, but they didn't listen. I felt bad, because it was a group of senior citizens.

Our room was nothing special, but it was clean and it had a bed.

In the morning, we got to see our view. The window could use a clean.

We were determined to use the pool. When we asked a security guard for directions to the pool, he responded that he didn't know that the hotel had one. He wrangled an older security guard, who knew where the pool was located, but couldn't imagine anyone who would use it.

You're looking at them.

It was next to the loading dock and had the vibe of a pool that you'd find at a scummy apartment complex. It had a few broken lounge chairs. But we were so sun deprived from the PNW, that we were happy.

Gold Strike has a Denny's and a small quick-serve food kiosk. After our trauma of trying to find a hotel, the first thing we did after dumping off our luggage, was head back down to the casino for a drink. It was about 3am. There was one bartender that was also working the casino floor as a cocktail waitress. It wasn't exactly bustling, but she could have definitely used some back-up.

I'm grateful that we were able to get a room at Gold Strike. Other than sleeping and using the pool for a few hours, we just drove into Vegas for movies and food that weekend. It wasn't the weekend that we had envisioned. I wouldn't likely stay at Gold Strike on a future trip, unless we were desperate, but I have to say that every employee went out of their way to be kind and helpful. A wonderful group of people work at Gold Strike, which adds value to the hotel.

They also have funny, low-budget signs in the elevator.

And a car museum! We actually stopped here with Felix when he visited us during Christmas. A car museum and Denny's is pretty much the definition of heaven for an eight-year old.

Our experiences at Palms in 2017 and 2018 were very different, primarily, because during the second stay, the hotel was in the middle of 485 million dollar renovation. I'm sure that it will be stunning when the renovation is complete, but 2018 is not the year to stay at Palms.

The rooms are contemporary in style and thoughtfully designed. On our first stay, we were given a standard room with two queen beds. The room had a view of the front of the hotel, including of the nearby Rio.

Our recent trip, we were given a much larger corner room with a king bed and strip views.

In 2017, I enjoyed the pool at Palms. So many people are in Vegas for the trade show, that the pools are virtually empty during the day. On a previous trip, I was the only person using the pool at The Palazzo and I was able to swim laps. It was surreal. At Palms, there was just a handful of people in the giant pool complex. I was a little put-off by the strict security, which was gruff and would not allow me to bring a closed bottle of water into the pool area. However, I made friends with the bartender, who gave me two, very strong, Mai Tais for the price of one.

Here's some tipsy pictures from the Palms pool complex.

And in 2018, the view of the same pool complex from our room.

While the pool is being renovated ( I heard that it won't be ready until summer 2019), Palms guests can use the pool at Palms Place. Palms Place is located just a ten minute walk through the casino and a sky bridge. It's a nice pool area, but small and it has a lot of shade. I was only able to use it one time for about fifteen minutes. We had high winds during our visit and the pool was closed for safety issues on most of the days of our stay. The winds were scary and although I was disappointed, I understood. The lounge chairs were flying around! I can't imagine staying at Palms this summer, as there is no way that the pool at Palms Place can hold everyone. It's so small and intimate.

I like the food court at Palms, which includes two of my favorites: Earl of Sandwich and Coffee Bean. Chronic Tacos is also delicious.

A recent addition to the hotel is the Lucky Penny, Palm's answer to a twenty-four hour diner. I ate breakfast at Lucky Penny every morning and had the same thing: coffee, sourdough toast, and the AMAZING banana-split parfait. I've been craving the banana-split parfait. It's heavenly. I also love the name of the restaurant, as my mom's name was Penny. My mom would always look for shiny pennies and use them to sign her name in greeting cards. Every time I visit her grave, I see that people have left her pennies.

One of my favorite parts of Palms is the Brennan Theatres. As those reading my movie reviews already know, my experience at Brennan Theatres was hit and miss. It was a big miss on five-dollar ticket Mondays, when all of the locals came out. However, I was happy to have a movie theatre right in our hotel, especially when the pool was closed. Going to movies is one of my all-time favorite activities and if we hadn't been staying at Palms, I would have driven to the AMC at the Town Square mall to get my cinema fix.

Dan and I both agree that we wouldn't go out of our way to stay at Palms. It's a good, mid-range hotel, but its off-strip location makes it inconvenient. I'm sure that it will be much nicer when the renovations are complete. If his company puts us up here next year, I'll be interested to see how much the property has changed.

Museum of Pop Culture

The Museum of Pop Culture has long been on my Seattle to-do list. I finally got the opportunity to visit last March, while Dan was attending a work conference.

The Frank O. Gehry designed building is an eye-catcher, beckoning visitors to take a closer look. It's fun, uniquely shape with gorgeous iridescent glass. How could you not want to see what's inside?

Tickets were a little speedy (look at me, using my PNW lingo!) at twenty-eight dollars. I didn't realize it at the time, but if you book online, you can save two dollars. It literally pays to plan.

I did find the admission to be well-worth it for a museum that pays homage to all things pop-culture. The collection of movie props and costumes is amazing and the entire museum is immersive. It's very cool. It far exceeded all of my expectations.

I took the advice of the woman working at the info booth and headed to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Among many amazing things, they had Harrison Ford's leather jacket and hat from the Indiana Jones films. I went back to check this out more than once. I'm a huge Indiana Jones fan and it was so cool to see it in person. Also memorable were props from the original Planet of the Apes and Blade Runner.

I didn't take pictures inside the museum. Photography is allowed, but I had a negative impression early in my visit. I noticed that everyone was queueing up to take a snap of the displays, usually selfies with the object, but that they were not taking the time to really look at the item. It was like a quick grab for pictures. It turned me off. I knew that I would be blogging about my visit, but I figured rather than worrying about taking pictures, I would just enjoy my time. In turn, I highly recommend that you visit the Museum of Pop Culture and leave your phone off. Just soak it all in and take the memories.

The Museum of Pop Culture was hosting a special exhibition- Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses.

Like many of my generation, I was a huge Nirvana fan in high school. I can remember hearing about Kurt Cobain's suicide and wearing my Nirvana tee-shirt ( Nevermind album cover) to play rehearsal the next day, a Saturday in eleventh grade. In a strange "this is the most LA thing that has probably ever happened to me" kind of way, I took an online poetry classes with Francis Bean Cobain a few years ago. Surreal.

Anyhow, the Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses was a small exhibit chronically their career. It included a bunch of memorabilia, included personal photos, primarily donated by band member Krist Novoselic. I enjoyed it, especially learning about the beginnings of the band. The highlight was observing as a French woman, about my age, explained Nirvana to her toddler. She was speaking in French, but I kept hearing the band members names as she pointed to items on display.

Another temporary music exhibit was devoted to Jimi Hendrix - Wild Blue Angel: Hendrix Abroad, 1966-1970. I know that Hendrix is an icon, but I'm only somewhat familiar with his music. I enjoyed learning about his career and seeing some of his outrageous costumes.

Next, I headed to Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic. This whole area was heavily themed to look like a castle and even had a dragon. My favorite part was seeing costumes from The Princess Bride, including Buttercup's dress. Among other things, the exhibit has items from The Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings.

I love horror films, but I found it difficult to work up my courage to visit a temporary exhibit called Scared to Death. I walked in the front entrance alone and down a blood-splattered staircase with a sculpture comprised of Jason masks peering down at me. The lighting was dim and there was atmospheric sounds. At the bottom of the staircase, I spotted a warning sign. The exhibit was warned to be immersive and that scared me off. I was afraid that there might be scareactors in costume or other startle elements. I cannot handle being startled, so I bailed.

I went to the massive Star Trek exhibit, which was not scary! I've not watched many episodes of any of the Star Trek series, so much of this was lost on me. Although, I did recognize iconic things, like the Tribbles and it was cool to see the original flight deck. If you're a trekkie, this is a must see. It was two floors. much bigger than any other exhibit in the museum.

Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction has an amazing collection of props from just about every major Sci-Fi franchise that you can imagine. I loved the hover boards from Back to the Future and the robots from the Terminator Franchise. The even had props from my favorite sci-fi comedy, Mars Attacks. I think this was probably the most popular exhibit in the entire museum.

I lucked out. As I entered the Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction, I noticed that there was a quick passage to the horror section. I could peek in and I saw that the room was crowded and it didn't appear to have any startle elements. I tentatively walked inside.

I'm so glad that I didn't miss out. There were elements that might freak people out, such as walking through a maze of body bags. However, nothing jumpy. As with the other themed rooms, they had props from all of the famous horror films- except Saw, which as a Saw fan, left me feeling disappointed. Speaking of Saws, not "Saw", they did have a prop saw from Eli Roth's Hostel. The most grotesque props were a bunch of zombie heads from The Walking Dead, which were floating in a giant water tank.

I ended with an exhibit about indie video games. This did not hold my interest and I walked through it in five minutes. If you're a gamer, you'd probably love it. It was filled with different stations where you could play the games, mostly games I've never heard of.

The Museum of Pop Culture has a few common areas with cool elements. There is a multi-story sculpture comprised of guitars and a lounge area with an enormous screen where they play music videos. Speaking of music, there is an interactive exhibit where you can play different instruments and create. I'm not at all musically inclined, so I skipped this one.

I visited the museum on a Tuesday morning and it was absolutely packed with both school groups and tourists. Make sure to arrive when they open and plan your visit. Within the first hour of opening, the crowds were making it difficult to enjoy.

The Museum of Pop Culture should definitely be high on your list of things to-do in Seattle. It's in a great location; right next to the Space Needle and Chihuly Gardens. You can easily do all three attractions in a single day.

I'll end with this fun sign for the museum.