Up up and away!

Annnnnnnd I'm off....
See you Monday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Tuesday the 23rd, 2 days before Thanksgiving, I decided to go to the spot where it all went down. Plymouth Rock...supposedly.
Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of  of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrams who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. It is an important symbol in American history. There are no contemporary references to the Pilgrims' landing on a rock at Plymouth, and it is not referred to in Bradford's journal. The first written reference to the Pilgrims landing on a rock is found 121 years after they landed. The rock is currently located on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth Massachusetts. When Col. Theophilus Cotton and the townspeople of Plymouth decided to move the rock in 1774, the rock was split into two halves, and it was decided to leave the bottom portion behind at the wharf and the top half was relocated to the town's meeting-house. The upper portion of the rock was relocated from Plymouth's meeting-house to Pilgrim Hall in 1834. In 1859 the Pilgrim Society began building a Victorian canopy, designed by Hammette Billings, at the wharf over the lower portion of the rock. Following its completion in 1867, the top of the rock was moved from Pilgrim Hall back to its original wharf location in 1880. The date "1620" was carved into the rock.
 I think I am going to stay here for the rest of the week... even though it is disputed that Plymouth Rock is not the original landing place of the pilgrims, I'm going to stay and bask in the history, eat some good Thanksgiving food, and do a little Black Friday shopping... because let's face it, that's what we've turned this holiday into right?
I would however like to say that this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for a few people... lady who procured and  named me, the little Jewish girl from DC, the one they call 'Hams,' the shoe shoppers, the preggo woman, blondie, the funny infantry guy,  and of course, how could I forget, my red headed lady. Maybe Steve Wagner too...
Ok, enough with the show of emotion... I'm on a hot pursuit to find circulars for Black Friday shopping. See you next week!
Happy Thanksgiving, Beta Fish out!

Goodness! Gracious! Great Wall of China!!

It took all weekend to swim here, but alas, I have landed... the Great Wall of China! The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...the majority of the existing wall was built during the Ming Dynasty.
The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has recently concluded that the entire Great Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 5,500.3 miles. This is made up of  3,889.5 miles sections of actual wall, 223.5 miles of trenches and  1,387.2 miles of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. There is no escaping this bitch! It's huuuuge!

While some portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even extensively renovated, in many locations the Wall is in disrepair. Those parts might serve as a village playground or a source of stones to rebuild houses and roads. Sections of the Wall are also prone to graffiti and vandalism.... Sounds likes they might need help from a certain Congressman's office... We can call it, 'Paint back the Wall,' not as catchy as 'Paint Back the Streets' but what can I say, I'm not super creative... I'm a beta fish.  

Mount Rushmore... eh!

	Did you know that there were approximately 400 workers that worked at Mount Rushmore during the carving process from October 1927 to October 1941. Also throughout this extremely dangerous work there were no lives lost. Pretty incredible! I left my red headed friend this morning... it was sad, but we will reunite again. I just had to explore some more, I had this fire in my fins that only a trip to South Dakota could cure!! Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Key stone South Dakota. It was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum but later finished by his son, Lincoln Borglum. Mount Rushmore features 60-foot sculptures of the heads of former US Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level. After securing federal funding, construction on the memorial began in 1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Upon Gutzon Borglum's death in March 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum took over construction. Though the initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in October 1941.The U.S. National Park Service took control of the memorial in 1933, while it was still under construction, and manages the memorial to the present day. It attracts approximately two million people annually... I mean, it's okay... on to my next destination! Stay tuned!	.

Vegas Baby!

Las Vegas... the entertainment capital of the world... and I am in it! How does a fish like me get so lucky you may ask? It all started back in my campaigning days... I worked hard, I didn't sleep for days, and in the process, my heart grew for a pretty lady with red hair. She took me home with her one day, and it was then that I knew it was true love. She feeds me, changes my water, talks to me in the morning during breakfast and at night before bed, and today we will watch the romantic water show at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino... together. Did you know that inside Bellagio, Dale Chihuly's Fiori di Como, composed of over 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers, covers 2,000 sq ft  of the lobby ceiling? It is beautiful.

The Bellagio opened in October 1998, with a ceremony that was reported to cost $88 million. Opening night's entertainment began with it's owner, Steve Wynn giving a 40-minute welcome speech followed by the opening of the Cirque du Soleil's production of  "O."

But one of the most beautiful parts of the Bellagio is it's fountains; choreographed with music, the dancing waters perform on the hour. That's where my picture was taken. You may also remember seeing the fountians in movies like Oceans Eleven, Oceans Thirteen, and my personal Favorite, The Hangover ("Not at the table Carlos!").

Anyways, I just wanted to share with you where I am today... I got to get back to my red headed lady!
Ciao!