Let’s start with how we got there – we went to Dr. Lonnie Hammergren’s house. The good doctor is a neuro surgeon, and former lieutenant governor of Nevada. He is running again this year, and so is pushing himself at various events. E recently joined the ‘Red Hat Society’ and they were invited, with guests, to the doctor’s house on Sunday the 13th. I have always wanted to go there – we drove by when we were looking to move here and were impressed with what we could see over the wall in his back yard. He calls it the ‘Museum of Nevada History’ and has an open house every year around Halloween. He usually as 20,000 or so visitors that day, and I’ve never wanted to be part of a crowd like that. But this was a smaller group, so we went. Here’s what part of his back yard looks like:
You can see what drivers on the street behind might see over the wall. I really like the Statue of Liberty hand. The train engine on the right is from some mining railroad. The yellow roller coaster used to be on top of the Stratosphere. Dr. H hits every hotel and casino when it closes and buys things - big things, like roller coasters, signs, bars, and whatever else he finds interesting. He's got Liberace's last dressing room, his own planetarium (dome ceiling, projector and everything) and junk (sorry, high quality collectables) everywhere. I’ll pull out my photos of his place and post those soon.
We went with some friends, and they wanted to hit Mix for the view. There is a special elevator in the back of Mandalay Bay to get up there, with a security desk and guard. The place opens at 5pm, so we had to wander around a while before going up. The sign said ‘appropriate dress’ and we were in jeans, but I guess that early it was OK. They run one of those special ‘ultra lounges’ up there after 9pm, so I am sure the dress code changes as it gets later.
It’s a glass elevator that goes up the fifty stories on the outside of The Hotel – the second tower at Mandalay Bay. That side of the building faces east, so as you go up you get a direct view of the end of the airport runways, with the strip running off to your left. Getting off the elevators you are faced with the Fire side of the place,
with the Ice restaurant straight ahead in the back. As you can see, most of the booths face the large windows looking north. Mandalay is the last big casino on the south end of the strip, so this view lets you look up at all the big places, with downtown in the distance and our mountains in the distance.
I showed the glass bubbles yesterday, but the dining room was challenging to see through the glass
Both the bar and restaurant have outside patios, so if you don’t like looking through the glass you can go sit outside and enjoy the view.
But the neat part is in the back – just to the left of the elevator as you come in (to the left of the bar photo). This is the side of the building that faces south.
This looks past the other Mandalay Tower and over the pool area, with the end of the airport runways. So you can watch the planes taking off in front of you.
What’s neat about this? Let me give you a hint – the whole tower is glass, so there are no solid outside walls, just the glass.
Yes, this is the view when sitting down in the rest rooms. You don’t have to sit facing a metal door; you enter small rooms from behind next to the toilet and sit facing the windows. Both the men’s and lady’s rooms have views like this. In addition the men can also stand facing the windows. I think it might be a little disorienting if you’ve been here drinking for a while and take a break. Imagine this view at night after a few drinks (expensive drinks). Oh, and the rest rooms follow the bar theme - everything is black; floor, ceiling, walls, and fixtures. I didn't notice if the TP was black too. I don't know what the lighting is like after dark, but you would end up sitting in a completely black room with floor to ceiling windows in front of you looking at the lights fifty stories below and the lighted airplanes taking off as well. Dramatic.
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