We left San Diego at around 9:30 Monday morning to head to Las Vegas. We anticipated the drive would be about six hours including stops so we would be there by mid-afternoon. The drive through the inland part of California is so different from the other parts. Joe and I were commenting that people always think of the Southern coast of California when California is mentioned, but the vast majority of California is nothing like that! We have gone from the chilly northern Redwood Forest to the rugged northern and mid-coast and on to the Southern coast. It took a long time to get to the warm temperatures and red roofed homes that are often associated with California. On this drive it did not take long to get away from that again and into a real desert landscape! It was easy to imagine all of the snakes, scorpions and prairie dogs that likely lived among the cacti and other plants growing in that dry land. Ironically as we drove along commenting to the boys about the dryness of the land and how infrequently it must rain it started to downpour! The temperature dropped from 106 degrees to 75 degrees in a matter of about five minutes. It was also raining as we approached Las Vegas, but once we had found our hotel and checked in the sun was shining brightly once again.
We had booked a two bedroom suite at Mandalay Bay for the next two nights. After all of this camping we had figured we would be ready for a little luxury! The suite exceeded my expectations because it was much larger than I thought it would be. We had two large bedrooms with king sized beds, a living room and dining area and a wet bar. Each bedroom had a large bathroom, and the boys got a kick out of the fact the bathrooms had TVs in them! Brady fit perfectly on the chaise lounge that was in the boys bedroom, so even he had his own space. It was great to have some room to spread out a bit.
We chose Mandalay Bay because of the pool. It was voted one of the top ten pools in the country by Tripadvisor, so we figured the boys would be happy there! As soon as we got settled in our suite we headed to the pool. Steve, Pete and Ava were about two hours behind us so they hadn't arrived as yet. The reason that Mandalay Bay got a top rating for the pool is that there are three distinct pool areas for families. The standout is a wave pool just like you would find at a water park. Brady was not tall enough for it, but Nick and Ryan had a great time! Joe and I took turns hanging out with Brady in the section of the wave pool that he was allowed in. He had fun there, too, because you do get smaller waves coming in. Eventually Steve arrived at the pool, followed by Pete and Ava shortly thereafter.
At this point it was after six, so we went back to our rooms to change and headed out to eat. The front desk recommended a restaurant called Ruffles Cafe, so that is where we went. It was fine, but I think overpriced for what they offered. After dinner we decided to take the kids for a walk down the strip so they could see Las Vegas at night. We entertained the idea of taking the tram down to the Bellagio to see the fountain, but as we made our way along we decided that the kids (particularly Brady) were getting tired and needed to go to bed. We made it far enough for the kids to get a sense of what Vegas looks like all lit up. When we returned to the suite I got Brady to bed while Joe went back down to the casino for a little while with the guys. I'm not a gambler, so that didn't bother me at all!
For our full day in Las Vegas we planned to spend the morning exploring and the afternoon hanging out by the pool. We took the tram to Excalibur where we met up with Pete and Ava and started walking. The kids enjoyed the replicas of New York monuments at New York, New York. We walked through Chandeliers, Aria, The Bellagio and Paris. The garden inside the Bellagio is one of my favorite things in Las Vegas. We started back to the hotel a little after noon, but stopped off at New York, New York so that Nick, Ryan and I could ride the roller coaster. Ava and Pete were planning to as well, but Ava was about an inch too short. This is a really fun roller coaster if you like rides that corkscrew, go upside down and are fast! We all loved it! After the roller coaster we got pizza for lunch and then went back to Mandalay Bay.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. Today we hung out mostly by the regular pool, which was great for Brady. The older three went back and forth from the wave pool. Later everyone tried out the lazy river, without the tubes. We weren't willing to pay $24 to rent one for one afternoon! All in all it was a nice relaxing afternoon by the pool.
After showers we went to dinner at The Red, White and Blue Cafe in our hotel. We all enjoyed our dinners. After dinner we brought all of the kids back up to our suite and put in a movie, then the grown ups went back down to the casino for a little while. We spent about an hour at the craps table, where all three of the guys either doubled or tripled their money! That was good enough for us so we went back up to the suite and said our goodbyes. Tomorrow we head to the Grand Canyon, Steve and Ava head out on a plane back to Boston, and Pete heads back to San Diego for the first two and a half weeks he has had to himself since becoming a dad! It was so much fun spending time with friends and now we are ready to go back to camping.
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