The famed city’s public area is known for picnics, concerts, jogging, boating and other fun activities. In addition, visitors can enjoy its many statues. They include famous people, dogs, cats and fairy tale figures.

A seated figure of Danish children’s author Hans Christian Andersen reads a story to a duck standing at his feet. This reminds children of all ages of his famous ugly duckling, who matured into a beautiful swan.

Pause to view England’s Sir Walter Scott and Scotland’s Robert Burns, as well as William Shakespeare. They remind visitors of the great contributions by Great Britain’s authors to American literary heritage.

In the U.S., whether you’re visiting Reno, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or in a Native American or cruise ship casino, know that employees and longtime gamblers have a language all their own. Learning the words and phrases may not help you win, but you’ll better understand what’s going on.   

1. Action: This describes where a gambler can find a game. In the Broadway musical, Guys and Dolls, the question always is: where’s the action? Today, in all casinos, it describes the ongoing process of all live table and roulette games.

2. Bank: This is the visible pile of chips in front of the dealer on the betting tables for craps, roulette and blackjack. The phrase, breaking the bank, meant a really big winner cleared the table, as in many James Bond movies, and the song, The Man Who Broke The Bank At Monte Carlo. As for the typical senior casino gambler, the phrase is: only in your dreams.

Q: Just booked our first Caribbean cruise and need to settle an argument. We live near San Diego on the West Coast and the ship sails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. My spouse says we should fly there the same morning, because departure isn’t until 4 pm.

I disagree, because anything can happen to delay our flight, and we could get there too late. What do you think?  BLR, San Diego CA

It's nearly 400 miles by highway when you drive north from Los Angeles to San Francisco (or reverse), the two largest cities in California. The most direct way is by Highways 101 or 5, inland routes that require about eight hours, including a gas/potty/dining stop on a good clear, no-delay day.

The most scenic way is via the Pacific Coast Highway, U.S. l. The intercity route starts in LA neighbor Santa Monica, and follows the Pacific shore north. It offers many interesting places and beautiful ocean front scenery along the way. The distance, because of beach and cliffside twists and turns, goes about 30 miles longer than the inland route.