Pawn shopper

Left Cedar City, UT this morning with the sun shining brightly. All it did was accentuate the dirt on my Blazer. I did a previous internet search and found what looked like a good car wash in St. George, so that was my first stop of the day. Twenty minutes later, my ride looked great! If you want a first rate car wash, go to St. George Car Wash...they'll treat you right! A couple of hours later, I was in Vegas. After five days of eating out, I was craving healthier fare. One way to get that...a buffet! The one I picked for lunch wasn't the greatest, but at least I got my vegetables!

After lunch, I took a short drive to the most famous pawn shop in Las Vegas, the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. If you watch the History Channel television show, Pawn Stars, you know what I'm talking about. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the guys featured on the show, but they weren't around. Darn. I DID buy a T-shirt, though. I might stop by again tomorrow and maybe I'll be lucky enough to see them.

I only had a couple of museums on the agenda today. I went to the Nevada State Museum, which was pretty standard for its type. I appreciated their using artist's sculptures for most of their animal displays instead of the stuffed variety. I especially enjoyed The Atomic Testing Museum. This museum is about the development and testing of atomic weapons throughout history and around the world. While looking at the exhibits, I got to talking to one of the docents volunteering his time at the museum. He told me about his past experiences during the bomb tests in Nevada. I was especially impressed with a photo of President John F. Kennedy visiting the facility where he worked...and he pointed himself out in the photo! The gentleman was much younger back then, but it was unmistakably him!

Tomorrow is a big day for me! I'll doing the Richard Petty Ride Along Tour at Las Vegas Speedway. That means I'll be riding shotgun in a real NASCAR race car with a professional driver at the wheel. They say we'll hit 160 mph on the banked racetrack. I can't wait!