San Diego

     Greetings audience! It's Stephen Gaiber: The Autistic Traveler, and in this blog we're going to discuss my most recent getaway to San Diego. It's a well-known city in way south of California. I think San Diego has a lot to offer, such as theme parks (SeaWorld and Legoland in Carlsbad), Balboa Park and its museums, activities in downtown such as the Gaslamp district and the USS Midway, beaches such as La Jolla, Pacific and Mission Beach, and lots of activities for everyone. My personal opinion is that if you're looking for many tourist attractions paired with activities for the entire family, San Diego is your best choice. Now let's talk about some of the history of San Diego.

    Alonzo Erastus Horton got off a San Francisco streamer and strolled ashore in 1867. He was a worldwide traveler such as myself and felt that he had never saw anything more pretty. Though he wasn't nearly the first person to visit San Diego, he was the biggest real estate influence in San Diego. Alonzo Horton had a lot of influence in making San Diego what it is today, such as by creating jobs that helped stimulate tourism in San Diego. Centuries earlier, the area had belonged to the Southern California costal region's first Americans, known as San Dieguitos. The San Dieguitos were descended from Asians that crossed the land bridge in the Bering Strait in search of game, and from others who moved over the Sierra Nevadas and down the Pacific slope. Not unlike the modern Californians, they always found the best places to live. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first European to come, not to colonize San Diego but to find a northwest passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. I feel very inspired by a lot of the people who made San Diego what it is today, especially Horton since we both love to travel around the world, dream a lot, and make our dreams a reality when we find something we're passionate about. This is some of the brief history -- for more information, please visit http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/San-Diego-Magazine/San-Diego-Covered/San-Diego-History/.

     For those interested in saving money and still do the activities they want to do, one should explore the Go San Diego Card. I've talked about activity savings cards before, so I'll just elaberate on the Go San Diego Card. It's pretty much an all inclusive activity pass, where you can do as many activities as one can go to. One can do activities all around San Diego County. Those activities include the musuems at Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo, Belmont Park, Birch Aquarium, Legoland, San Diego Harbor Cruise, Legoland, Petco Park Tour, USS Midway Museum, San Diego Zoo Safari Park as well as many others. If one decides to get the 3, 5, or 7 day pass, they can get a premium attraction such as Seaworld, 3 Day Hop On and Hop Off Trolly, and Speed Boat Adventures. If YOU decide to leave San Diego and explore Orange County or Hollywood, some of the attractions included are Knotts Berry Farm, Knotts Soak City, a Whale Watching and Dolphin Cruise, Hollywood Museum, and Tour of the Dolby Theater. This is an excellent pass for those who want an all inclusive pass. For more information, please visit https://www.smartdestinations.com/san-diego-attractions-and-tours/_d_Sdo-p1.html?pass=Sdo_Prod_Go&allInc=true.

     One of the most notable parts of San Diego is Balboa Park, which has beautiful architecture as well as many different museums. I feel it's an excellent park that one can explore for the entire day, and it's also very close to Downtown San Diego. Some of the museums in Balboa Park include the Museum of Man, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego Natural History Museum, and many others. They are plentiful, but very small and easy to do. It's easy to spend less than 30 minutes in each museum. My favorite is the art museum because of how nice the art looks. The most famous part of Balboa Park is the San Diego Zoo. The zoo hosts 3,700 animals across 650 species. The zoo has expanded throughout the years, including with the Panda Trek in 2017, which can require patience due to long lines. Other exhibits in the zoo include Elephant Odyssey, Gorilla Tropics, Outback, and African Rocks, which opened last summer. I even hung with King Julien from Madagascar, who likes to "move it, move it." Also feel free to take a gondola from one part of the zoo to the other. If you are a zoo lover, this is a zoo you should check out. Please visit my video about the San Diego Zoo at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4CLOI0jXOI

     Well, San Diego is an excellent place to go for tourism, museums, the beach, and more. It's a big county with a lot to see from north to south to east to west. If you are an active person, you should get the Go San Diego Card. I hope you will experience why San Diego is a unique place to visit, and I look forward to sharing more adventures with YOU soon.

An Annual Getaway To Las Vegas

     Greetings audience! Today I am going to discuss my annual Vegas getaway and talk about things that you may or may not be aware of. Most of us know about or have been to Las Vegas, especially coming from Los Angeles. Today I am going to discuss the history of the strip, discuss my particular hotel and why I recommend it, and how Vegas keeps growing and expanding throughout the years.

     First, I'd like to tell you the cheapest and most affordable way I go to Vegas. The reason I started going to Vegas every year is because of the Megabus. You can either catch it from Los Angeles Union Station or Riverside Station. If you know the dates you want to go and book it from the minute tickets go on sale, you can get your tickets for as little as $1 each way. So with the booking fee currently, if I book from the minute it’s available, I can get the fare for $4.50 round trip. They also offer fares to San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. The bus ride consists of picking up passengers from Riverside and, at the bus driver’s discretion, a stop in Barstow. Then the bus goes straight to the Las Vegas South Strip Terminal. The ride can take from 4.5 to 7 hours, depending on traffic, but it beats driving yourself! For more information, visit https://us.megabus.com/.

     Las Vegas has a history of its own, full of resorts and vibrant lights that make it more unique than other cities. I mean, who could dream of many countries with their distinct symbols -- such as the Pharaoh in Luxor, Excalibur’s Castle, the Empire State Building, the MGM Lion, and flamingos -- all within a three-mile radius. This was what the visionaries of Vegas dreamed about when they saw three miles of desert road. These visionaries kept on pursing their dreams of making the strip a reality. It came with much criticism and laughs along the way, since no one believed in them. They inspire all of us, myself included, to follow our dreams no matter what anyone else thinks.

     Let’s talk about how the strip has expanded over the years. On April 3, 1941, the El Rancho Las Vegas opened up with 63 rooms and in 2004 became a Hilton timeshare. The famous Flamingo Hotel was the third hotel that opened up, with 105 rooms on December 26, 1946 -- what a fascinating post-Christmas present. On November 1, 1979, Imperial Palace was created and became the Linq area, which we will discuss when I talk about how the strip has grown. I felt that learning about the history of the strip was fascinating and I learned so much about one of the biggest casino destinations in the world. If you want more information about each of the hotels and more history, please visit http://www.lvstriphistory.com/.

     Now I am going to talk about the hotel I stayed in on this trip to Vegas. It's the Royal Resort. It's a no-thrills hotel behind the Encore Hotel and near the convention center. It’s not in the most central location but still accessible to a lot of the strip action, especially if one takes the bus. It has late-night pool hours for those who like to swim and don't want to be pressured into leaving the pool because of pool hours at the resorts. The best part about this hotel is that there are, at least as of now, no resort fees. Most of us who've been to Vegas know the pain in our wallets that resort fees can cause and how there's no way around them, even when staying at non-resort or non-strip hotels. This hotel doesn't have a casino, but with all the hotels within walking distance, there's no need to worry. For those who just don't care about staying at a fancy resort with resort fees, this is an excellent place to explore. You won't regret staying here. I just wish they offered breakfast, even if it was $10 more a night. I might stay here every year if the price is right.

     Well audience, I can safely talk about one thing that keeps happening to the strip throughout time. The strip keeps on expanding for its tourism market. Some of the new additions are the T-Mobile Arena, the Linq, and the High Rollers Ferris Wheel. The High Rollers Ferris Wheel lets you explore the city from the sky, and the T-Mobile Arena hosts loads of events. The Linq area has an In-N-Out Burger, a Ghirardelli, an Irish Bar, as well as many great restaurants and a shopping area. Another nice place to check out, especially for Disney fans, is Magical Memories in the Forum Shops in Caesars Palace. It has art work representing scenes from many Disney movies and is definitely worth checking out for any die-hard Disney fan. The strip always is a changing environment, from a street in the middle of the desert to a family destination to an adult playground to a place that has something for everyone.

     So now YOU know how I feel about going to Vegas. There are lots of reasons that I in particular go every year, from the cheap bus ride to the lively resorts that make you feel like a kid again. Even though I'm not a big drinker or gambler, just walking the strip and checking out the hotels is enough reason to go to Vegas. I’m so excited to see this paradise just keep on growing. For more information, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAlyxFtXX4s.