Saturday, December 1, 2012

The Atomic Testing Museum


An interesting museum, just blocks from the Las Vegas strip, is the Atomic Testing Museum.  This museum focuses on the history of Atomic weaponry in Nevada, which went on from the 1930's all the up into the 1990's.  We found many interesting exhibits showing the progression of Atomic technology along with how popular culture progressed over time.  For anyone with an interest in this type of history, it's definitely a great place to visit and can give you something else to do in Vegas besides the typical Strip tourist items.  However, this doesn't have anything related to the standard Vegas drinking and gambling, so if that's your focus, it isn't worth the visit.

Also, temporarily, they have an exhibit called Area 51, which concentrates on the possibility of if aliens have visited Earth before.  You'll get to see various "evidence" and it's definitely interesting, and amusing if nothing else.

Friday, November 30, 2012

War Horse

War Horse, which finishes its run at the Kimmel Center's Academy of Music in Philadelphia on Dec. 2, is on its first national tour.  Running at about 2 and a half hours, this play keeps the audience deeply involved in the emotions of the actors, as well as the horses.

The horses are done through a type of puppeteering that really allows the audience to get the feeling that a living horse is on the stage.  It takes 3 men to operate each horse, and they do a marvelous job.  The life-like feel they bring to the horse is what really sets this play apart and makes it so worthwhile to see.

The overall story follows the same path as the recent movie, but I found the play to be much more moving and interesting. There is a very minimal amount of props used in the show and minimal scenery, but the cast is still able to bring everything including a battlefield to life.

I'd definitely recommend this show to all fans of Broadway plays around the country as it continues to tour.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Bear Fever in Boyertown, PA


There are bears, of all shapes and sizes, all over Boyertown, PA, as well as in neighboring towns. Many of the bears are in or on private property, a number of them you will drive past unsuspecting. However, there is a map and addresses for all the bears available on the Bear Fever website.

The largest grouping of public bears is along Philadelphia Ave., which is Boyertown's main strip, and also has parking.

At Fairview Cemetery in Boyertown, just past the intersection of Philadelphia Ave. and Reading Ave., is G.I. Joe Bear, a memorial for servicemen and definitely worth seeing.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Hofbrauhaus, Las Vegas



Built to look identical to the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany, Hofbrauhaus in Las Vegas, just a few blocks from the strip (it's across the street from the Hard Rock Hotel), serves up traditional German food, Hofbrauhaus beers, and the boisterous atmosphere you'll find at the original.

You can make reservations online, which we highly recommend, as the night we were there the dining room filled up quickly, which left a large number of people in the lobby waiting for a table.

Hofbrauhaus doesn't bring bread to the table, but you can order one piece of bread for your meal. Our best recommendation is to order the "Jumbo Complete" which is a huge soft pretzel served with two types of mustard and cheese - and is big enough for at least four people. For dinner, we ordered the Schnitzel Wiener Art, which was a huge platter, but still crispy and delicious; Oktoberfest Bratenteller, which was Bavarian pot roast with red cabbage; and Bierkutscher Steak, a 10 oz. steak that was tender and served in gravy. Service is also quick and friendly. The only issue we had is that there were no substitutions allowed, including side dishes.

We also ordered a 1 liter of the original beer and a 1 liter of a Radler (it's not on the menu, but they will make it for you). A Radler is part lemon lime soda and part original Hofbrauhaus beer for a very tasty dinner drink.