A Gold Medal Shot With the Eiffel Tower

I love the Olympics, and while I may not currently be at the games in Paris, France, I had just enough time to get the gold medal shot with the Eiffel Tower on my most recent visit.

Universal Monster Murals by Tristan Eaton

You can find these giant monster murals by Tristan Eaton featuring the Creature, Dracula, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and the Wolfman on the backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood in California. I love the combination of old posters, fonts, and references from the original source material to create these masterful collages of these iconic characters. The placement of the artwork is also fitting as these classic monster movies were filmed on the Universal lot nearly a century ago.

The Final Days of the Mirage Las Vegas

After 34 years in operation, the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada closed its doors this week. The former home of Siegfried and Roy, Beatles Love, and the iconic erupting volcano is now set to become another "remember when" on the Vegas Strip as Hard Rock completely transforms the property through 2027.

Over the last few years, following the sale and eventual closure announcement, I've made a point of coming back here a handful of times to explore. It really was a unique place. Even through the cigarette smoke, the Polynesian theme made the Mirage one of the best smelling casinos.

The construction of the Mirage in 1989 would forever change Las Vegas and inspire a lot of future construction through the 1990s. It was touted as the first mega-resort on the Strip and was the brainchild of Steve Wynn. It kicked off an era of spectacular free street shows - which themselves have been largely disappearing.

For me, the Mirage was cemented in my brain because of all the Vegas Vacation reruns on TBS back in the day. What a time to grow up! At least I've now got a lot of embarrassing pictures of myself here as an adult to remember it all. Farewell to the Mirage.