Blonde4ever's Tour of Casa de Shenandoah (2017)

 

Blonde4ever Takes a Tour of Casa de Shenandoah

Ever since I heard that Wayne Newton’s former residence Casa de Shenandoah was open to the public I have been longing to visit. I have seen pictures of it and could tell that his taste was right up my alley. If there is ever a choice between modern and antique, I choose antique every time.

I had purchased tickets for a bargain price from Groupon. Due to budget restraints, I had not sprung for the full tour of the barns and their inhabitants, the cars, and the museum, but should I ever go again I would certainly want to have the full experience. As it was our tickets only included a pre-tour movie and a full tour of the house.

When you arrive at the Visitor’s Center, you can purchase your ticket or hand in your Groupon printout as was the case for me. We were given wristbands to denote which tours we were a part of. We were a little early, so we had time to wander through the pricey but appealing gift shop and study all the pictures on the walls. We were given a picture of Wayne and his monkey, but I wish they would give those out at the end of the tour as no one wanted to carry it around all day and it wound up folded and shoved in my purse.

At the appointed time we were led into the theater to see a 20-minute movie to learn some history about Mr. Newton and his many accomplishments. Next, we were led out to a tour bus to be driven across the road to the estate itself. I felt a surge of excitement as we approached the gilded gates. I love seeing how the “other half” live. I was amazed at how lush and green the landscape was around the house. We learned that Wayne had originally intended for there to be an underground parking area and in digging for it had hit artesian wells. After some struggle, the water was declared his and that explains the many lakes and fountains you see all over the property.

As we approached the house I spotted what I thought were peacock decorations on an upper railing. I was stunned when they moved. Wow! How many people do you know have live peacocks as house adornments?

Our tour guide had been with the family for years and knew every detail of Wayne’s mansion and all its furnishings. We progressed slowly through the house. I am sure every article and picture in his “red room” or study had a story to it. I particularly loved the crystal footed pool table in the next room. Wayne had an amazing collection of Margaret Keane “Big Eyes” paintings on the wall of this room. I am well known for loving all things ornate and/or sparkly; almost everything in that mansion was ornate and sparkly. I oohed and ahhed my way from room to room. The dining room was incredible, the main living room breathtaking. It is hard to come up with enough superlatives. Yes, this style is from an earlier era but that does not detract from its beauty as far as I am concerned.

 

A child's bedroom

The living room

When we left the mansion we were allowed to spend a few minutes with the pheasants, bunnies, Boo the Capuchin monkey, the otters and all the myriad of creatures that are in the mini zoo there. At one point a tiny chihuahua ran over to me. It has to be the cutest thing I ever saw; apparently, Boo the monkey has his own dog. We only got to see the Arabian horses from a distance but I would love to see them up close. Next time.

Pictures don’t do this place justice. I recommend going yourself and buying the full tour. I came away with more knowledge and more respect for Mr. Wayne Newton.

(Update- Sadly this attraction has closed )

My First Vegas Trip and Quartermania Hijinks

The thing I remember most about my first Vegas trip is that I didn’t want to go.

Oh the irony…that I would wind up a Vegas fanatic who lives, eats, sleeps Vegas a few years later!
My husband’s work buddies had been regaling him with stories of Vegas and so he wanted to go to to see what it was like.

My reaction was:

• I don’t know how to gamble
• I have no interest in naked showgirls
• What am I going to do in a place like that?

He said he was going, with or without me, so rather than let him fly off to this den of iniquity alone, I acquiesced and agreed to accompany him.

The year was 1991. It was so long ago that the plane landed on the tarmac and you had to walk down a set of stairs onto the scalding hot asphalt. My first impression, “Jeez it is HOT here!”

We had booked a four-night package deal and the hotel the tour company had selected was the grand old Imperial Palace. Since most of my hotel/motel experiences prior to this trip had been of the Motel 6 variety, the IP seemed just fine to me. I don’t remember a lot about this trip and since it was in pre-internet, pre-trip report times there is no written record to refresh my memory. I will tell you what little I do remember.

The only shows we saw were the Unknown Comic at the Dunes (the guy with the bag on his head).

And, half of Crazy Girls (where, in consideration for my feelings, my husband realized that I was uncomfortable and we walked out). The only buffet we had was some strange thing that was located in a strip mall, up a flight of stairs. It was underwhelming. We were too green to know that we needed to go to one of the major hotels to have a true Vegas buffet experience.

I do remember waking at some ridiculously early time on our first morning and deciding to walk to Circus Circus to see the free acts because it was “Right over there!”

Days later we arrived, starving and exhausted, and we never did locate those darn free circus acts. Instead I had my first slot machine encounter. My husband plopped me at a nickel machine, gave me twenty dollars and wandered off. Oh the thrill of gambling for the first time! I think the fact that I hit a jackpot that day is what turned me into a lifetime gambler. I hit for 500 nickels! I have always been horrible at math so initially, I had no clue what 500 nickels was! 

I am rich!

 No, wait! 

Five hundred nickels is only $25! I wasn’t rich, but I was hooked.

My favorite memory of the trip was a night when my husband and I and the couple we were travelling with decided to see “Folies Bergere” at the TROP. We set off from the IP to walk in that direction but the men decided we needed to stop for a drink before we got there. We headed for Bally’s. Back then Bally’s had this bizarre fountain feature of women holding their breasts and streams of water emitting from their nipples. Somewhere in my old photo albums there exists a picture of Vicky and I duplicating this semi-obscene pose. (And we hadn’t had a drink yet!)

Once inside my husband spotted a bank of Quartermania machines. He was obsessed with them and played them everywhere we went. The four of us settled in at those machines to play for a minute and get a “free” drink. To keep us all playing on as little money as possible, we pooled our resources and gave each other coins when we ran out. The waitress was very accommodating and the drinks were coming fast and furious. At some point we came to the illogical conclusion that we would be “luckier” if we all hit the spin button with various body parts in unison. 

It went like this; one of us would scream “NOSES” and we would all bend over and hit the Spin buttons with our nose.

 “Elbows!”

 “Bums!”

 You get the picture, ridiculous and silly, but so much fun. We forgot all about the show and stayed at Bally’s for hours.

The next trip wasn’t until 1997, and the one after that was 2004.
At this point I decided that the trips were too infrequent and that I needed to take matters into my own hands.

I have been coming twice a year ever since. Vegas has changed so much over the years, but the one thing that never changes is its ability to make you forget all your troubles.

[Images: Steven Damron,  Mikano]