DAY 9 - JULY 1, 2010 - HOOVER DAM, NEVADA/ARIZONA

Today we slept in until 8:00 am and then ate a continental breakfast before departing for Hoover Dam. We arrived in Boulder City at 12 noon and grabbed lunch at the Coffee Cup Cafe. This cafe was show cased on the Food Network, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. The food was delicious. While at the diner we were joined by Michael our interpreter and Sunny our guide. We then drove to Hoover Dam. After going through security check, we began the Hoover Dam tour. The first part of the tour was a captioned film which detailed the history of Hoover Dam and the workers who were so instrumental in constructing it. The next part of the tour we went to the lower levels of the dam and saw the pipes which divert water from Lake Mead as well 8 of the 17 turbines which generate electricity. The last part of the tour consisted of the observation deck where we could take in the enormity of the structure. We then went to the gift shop and then got on the bus for a quick trip to Planet Hollywood for dinner. After a delicious dinner, it was time to catch our plane to San Francisco. The plane leaves at 9:30 Pacific time. Tomorrow we head to Monterey, California to visit one of the world's best aquariums.