Vegas Baby!! *ahem* Vegas, with our babies !?!?

 

Hope you have a coffee, a wine or at least a good chunk of time to enjoy this one :) 

**Please note, lol, I started this on June 27th 2022.   It is now July 28th 2023. 🤷**

    Since the days when Covid first locked us all in our houses we dreamed of the vacations we'd take when we were finally allowed to travel again.  We talked about Europe, nah, too far.  We talked about NYC again, nah, I need more than 4 days there.  Vancouver?  Nope, more expensive than Vegas.   So, Vegas?

    I've been sitting on a WestJet credit since March 2020 watching it burn a hole in my pocket so we bit the bullet and booked a vacation in October 2021!  YAY!  Mike and I away for three short but well needed days away, sun shining, eating and drinking our way up and down Las Vegas Blvd!  And then we did the math.  On a dirt cheap trip, $1050 bucks to be exact, we were going to have to pay $600 for pre-travel testing.... and then still worry, what if we caught it down there and had to quarantine.  We love Nevada a hell of a lot, but not enough to stiff Grandma with ten extra days of watching our munchkins and us having to explain to work what happened and all the drama that would stem from it.  Logically we couldn't risk it.  Mentally we were devastated.  Financially we burned on a percentage of the credit I had, but it refunded back to the WestJet account to sit and wait a bit longer.  At least until one government or the other got their shit together and eliminated testing requirements.  And we waited.  Finally the announcement came out, Canada dropped the requirements, so we test to get there and don't have to stress about it on the way back.  We can work with this.   There's a bit of back and forth on what we do though, do we take a solo trip that we so desperately want?  Or maybe we bring Madison, she'll enjoy the weather and the pools and the shows...but what about Ellie?  She'll also love the weather, and the pools... maybe she should stay here, it's a lot of wrangling a two year old in a busy city.   But after much contemplation I announce loudly "we all go, or no one goes!"   Screw it, Ellie's coming: let's do this!

    I used to research a lot of things when I was first learning to travel without my parents.  A select few of you reading this will probably remember when I called the government of Canada to ask if was okay for me to bring my allergy medicine to Mexico.  Lol, I was so young and inexperienced.   But since then I've become a much more savvy traveller.  This trip was about the the craziest thing we've embarked on since we decided to have kids.   I borrowed two carry ons for them (the amount of shit they require for five days away was a bit bananas) but I didn't want to forget anything.  I always over pack and every single trip my husband reminds me that we are going to a first world country and I can buy anything I forget at home.  He's so smart.  I probably don't need every hair elastic the girls own.  Hell, neither one of them even use hair elastics currrently.  But damnit I'm gonna pack them anyway.   We told them what to expect in the airport, and the plane and in the city itself.  We booked two shows for Madison to see when Ellie will be in the room sleeping with mom or dad, a children's museum for them and two days by the pool.  A jam packed adventure and a much different trip than we would normally do but we were so excited regardless.  I did a small bit of reading on tips for travelling with kids, and asked most moms I know for their ideas.  The answers I got were: "iPad and snacks".   Okay, that we can do.   I am fairly certain I was at Walmart and Dollarama every single day a week prior to our trip stocking on things to do, eat etc.   The diaper bag only had 2 diapers, the rest was packed to the brim with Crayola and colouring and candy.   We are set! 

    The day of the trip was Easter Sunday so we had the smallest Easter egg hunt we've had and then got organized to get on the plane.  We left with plenty of time to spare, Covid was still a drama queen and we didn't want any issues.  We knew the excitement of this all would only buy us a limited time so we got into the airport and through security as quickly as we could.   In the truck on the way I realized I had forgotten my headphones at home.  Great, now how am I going to pretend I can't hear Ellie freaking out on the plane?!  After a whirlwind of lineups and luggage x-rays (to which Ellie cried thinking her stuffy was going away forever into a machine!) we got settled at the airport restaurant.  Thank God for large windows.  The kids watched planes come and go for over an hour while we ate.  YYC has a few kids playgrounds installed now so they burned off a bit of steam before the long ride.   It's time to head to the gate and we tow (yes, they are carry on suitcases on wheels with pull straps) the kids along on the borrowed Trunki's.  I am forever grateful to the mom who lent me them (love you, R!) and if Trunki ever wanted to throw one my way I'd give all the advertising I could!   These are great little suitcases.💖

    After the jet bridge we were greeted by a flight attendant who saw dad with Ellie and me crying behind Madison.  I was so damn excited for her and this experience.  She stopped us and said "hey, do you want to meet the Pilots and see the cockpit?!"  Umm, WHAT?!   She ushered Madison to the doorway and the two nicest men in the world showed my kid the ins and outs of flying a plane.  They turned on lights, they made sounds and pressed buttons.  I have a two minute and thirty eight second video of her in front of an instrument panel and my blubbering motherly voice.  Those three WestJet employees set our vacation off on a wonderful foot :) 

    Once on board the novelty of the plane won all their attention, luckily, for at least the time it took to get us off the ground.  Lots of questions and touching... ahem, Ellie, please put the barf bag back.   We all know the rules on a plane, keep your chair in the upright position, raise and lock your tray table.  Well my kid did not get that message.   She opened all three trays and would immediately close them up, on repeat, until we told her she'd get in trouble.  At least once we were up it was a good distraction!   The following two hours and twenty minutes went amazingly smooth.  They watched their tablets, they ate their snacks, everyone was on their best behaviour.  So much so that the ladies behind us as we disembarked asked me "how many times have they been on an airplane? They're so well behaved".  And I teared up again when I said "never, this is their first flight!"  Proud, proud momma right here.  Now to get through the next four days:) 

    The Vegas heat hits differently this time, it’s hot and humid but it's windy.  There are wind warnings on the news and predicted for at least our first two days.  The sun is hot and our skin is sticky almost immediately.  I am in heaven.  Mike is already over it ;).   We line up for the cab to the hotel and Madison is excited that this is her chance (one and only) to get in a car with no car seat.  Livery laws are different in most jurisdictions than a private vehicle and kids (yes, even here in Calgary) do not require a car seat.  We snuggle them in tight in the seatbelts and I sit right close, ready with my right arm to be the backup seatbelt.  We all know the arm across the chest when mom is driving!   This is no different but luckily it's a short ride to New York New York and we are out of the car in ten minutes flat.  Maddy is watching the world go by, seeing the hotels we've showed her pictures of and looking for the neon lights of the strip.  She's not quite realizing that it’s 5 pm :)   The driver stops and we get our luggage.  Bright lights await at the brass doors and Maddy enters the lobby.  Lights and sounds and smells (can't wait til they ban smoking in all casinos there!) and you can practically see her mind being blown!  Ellie, in my arms, is screaming out all the colours she sees!  Blue!  Red!! YELLOW!!!   Haha, yes baby girl, and in 19 years you can come do this without your parents.  (But, really we want an invite, please bring us 🙏).   Now, I don't want to sound like a complainer, and I don't think I really am... but our room was terrible.  Sure we only need it to sleep, but travelling with a kid who still naps and sleeps before eight, we're in the room a bit more than normal.  So the room has to be up to snuff.   This one was not it.  Firstly it the furthest elevator from anything (pool, casino, breakfast, bathrooms) and its view was an HVAC unit and the sound was the noise part of the roller coaster.   Now, don't get all hyped in your head going "you chose a hotel with a roller coaster in it!"  I know!  We've stayed here lot and I know the sounds of the hotel...this was poopy.  And then I found a long ass black hair in the bed😲. We half unpacked because I was willing to suffer through, but I wanted to stop at the desk and see if mayyyyybe any thing else was available.  We get our willies out by jumping on the bed for a few minutes, but lets not waste any time here girls, we need dinner!   I stop by the front desk and the very nice clerk has a room ten floors up and in the tower I wanted.  Great I'll take it.  I usher Ellie to the new room and send kid and dad to fetch our shit and relocate us.   This was a good view, a clean room and would serve us well being close to the action downstairs.   By now not only is it past dinner time, but its quickly approaching bedtime.  Uhoh, they need food and they need it real quick.  Because we know the hotel well we know that the American restaurant would be perfect for everyones appetites, kids meals and a massive menu for us to chose from.  It's pretty late, six-thirty or so I'd say when we sat down.   Our server took a very long time to come over and get our drink order, so we were ready with all the decisions when he came around.   As a long time restaurant employee I can tell when things aren't going well.  And this was a classic scene.  Two servers, one bartender, one manager and at least three angry tables.  That's not including the 19 or so other tables who weren't angry (yet), or the small line up at the entrance with one over worked hostess and busboy.  We order and I pray.   I'm not a praying kind we all know, but it's 7 pm (8 actually in their brains, so definitely bed time), I need quick food and a dark hotel room.  As we chat, and decompress about the day's travel journey the clock ticks by.  It ticks and ticks, we eavesdrop on the table next door complaining about their steak dinner, and the bill; another woman alone with her kid asking what's the hold up, she just wants to pay and leave.  Ad nauseam.   I feel bad for the staff, and it starts to make us wonder about the staff shortages we'd heard about.   Finally nearly an hour after we had arrived our food came.  A steak salad, a beef dip, a Mac n' cheese and pancakes (Yes, Maddy! What ever kind of food you want to eat here you can have, any time of day!).   Dig in girls, we gotta eat as fast as we can and get up to sleep.   Fortunately for us there were no complaints really about our meals, the food was hot, edible and filled at least mine and Mike's tummies.  The girls had maybe ten bites combined.  Insert eyeroll here.  They've eaten like crap all day and need a glass of milk and a vegetable.  That's a fight for another day though.   For today we are all spent.  We get a quick brush of the teeth done and jammies on and tucked into bed.  I read a short story and they giggled to themselves for a few minutes.  If I was a betting woman, and I am, I would have bet that they'd be laughing and giggling and tickling for at least an hour.   But to my amazement it was maybe five minutes tops.  I don't remember who fell asleep first but the sweet sound of kids snoring had me over the moon.  We did it.  Travel day one is in the books!   Mike left me with them and met up with an old friend who lives in town.   We always bring a gift for him from Vulcan and this was no exception.  They catch up for a few hours and by the time he gets back to the room I'm also sound asleep.  I am under no illusion they will sleep in at all, and I'm even a bit scared that they'll wake up to their internal clock.   Because 6 am in Las Vegas has been the ending of many a night, not the start of a new day.   Fingers crossed. 

    Seven am.  Win some, you lose some.   The excitement of the hotel was still fresh so we spend the first hour farting around in the room and getting ourselves ready for the day.   We don't really have an agenda at all, other than this is our first pool day and we have to be there by ten thirty or so to check into our cabana.  We needed a bite to eat before we hit the deck and we wander north towards a few more hotels.  What we didn't think of was that a lot of places don't open until nine, or ten or even eleven o'clock.  (Staffing issues again, maybe?  Not open because not busy at such an early hour, likely).   We strolled along in the direction of the Paris hotel and last minute decided that there's no better time to go for breakfast so off we go.  I am distraught by the amount of homeless people and addicts we pass by and Madison is asking a few questions about why the man is sleeping on the sidewalk.  I see the articles that talk about the homeless population increase since Covid, and drug use is on the rise everywhere- Vegas is no exception.  But I can't explain to the kids why a lady in a wheelchair is yelling at her friend or why the man with no leg is sitting down with a cardboard box.  I do question where LVPD are and why are they letting them loiter on the strip.  Any past visits we see one or two, but there is an actually noticeable increase.  Historically the cops usher these guys way far away from the Strip, and for good reason, it increases crime and makes Las Vegas look bad.  Anything to not tarnish the shiny image of bright lights, big city.   I used to find it sad, but I feel a bit more intolerant of them lately so I give a few generic answers and usher her along just a bit faster.  Let's hurry to breakfast, we gotta eat so we have energy to swim!   

Mon Ami Gabi is my favourite breakfast restaurant in the world.  It has a lovely French theme and the entire patio outside faces the Bellagio.  Gorgeous views, amazing food, quaint atmosphere, the people watching is second to none.   Now if only the Bellagio would turn the fountains on before noon then I'd have the perfect meal!  Maddy poses for pictures underneath the Eiffel Tower and I have to gently explain that no, we are not in Paris.   One day baby, one day.  As we settle into our wicker seats and wait for our delicious food to arrive I am rested and happy.  We look at the birds on the ground picking up dropped pieces of food, I drink a cafe au lait and Mike enjoys a giant bowl of cappuccino.  This mug is enormous.  The girls laugh at him and I don't blame them.  It's comical.   Our meal arrives, steak and eggs, date-candied bacon, waffles, yogurt, fruit and hashbrowns.  Midway through our meal and completely out of the blue Ellie sticks both hands up in the air and screams "I LOVE POTATOES!".  I crack up laughing, as do the other tables around us.  I recall one lady yelling "don't we all?!".   Girl knows how to steal a show that's for sure.   This saying lives in our house rent free to this day.  But I most certainly agree with her. 

Once we finish our meal we find the taxi stand and get back to the hotel quickly, our pool check-in time is soon and we've got to get organized.  

    I've got to give you a little backstory here before we get to the pool.  When COVID first happened Maddy was one class away from finishing her swimming lessons.  She was fairly advanced in her program and was going to be bumped forward at the next session, which never happened.  It all closed and when it reopened the classes were smaller, less frequent and just didn't work for our family.  We do take the kids swimiming on weekends - monthly, or every six weeks ish.  So she never lost what she had learned, but ddidn't get much further with mom and dad.   When we planned this trip we considered what pool we wanted to hang out at, the fun factor, the requirements of watching two kids in deep water.  With Ellie we knew someone would just have to swim with her the whole time.  She has a puddle-jumper, which are floaty armbands with a chest piece, but she is still a little bit water shy.  Madison was so close to not needing help I knew that neither her or I wanted to be tied to each other.  The Excalibur pool is super family friendly, with three main pools and slide perfect for kids to be left on their own to go down the slide, swim to the edge and get out, repeat all day!  But in order to do that she needed to be a stronger swimmer.  I convinced Mike to hear me out on this plan... if I put her in private swim lessons the month before we go then she'll have built up enough skills and confidence that we don't have to be attached to her and can have some freedom.  He was onboard, phew!   We took her for six weeks of one on one instruction and she came out the other side a more confident swimmer.  I had explained to the coach our goals for the hotel pool and although she chuckled, she reassured me that Maddy would be fine.  Great, my plan paid off.

    Arriving at the check in desk we gave our name and wait patiently for the Pool Host to walk us to the cabana.  We wait and wait and wait.  Having to corral two excited kids is hard enough, but it's hot and windy, and they don't know why we can't just go in the water.  We notice one pool is empty, and they other is getting awfully full, even though it's only 10:30 in the morning.  The white sandwich board signs are glaring at us POOL CLOSED.  

"Hey um, excuse me, is this pool here closed?"

Yes

"oh, but the backside with the slide is open?"

No, It's closed too.  The only pool open is this one over here.

WHAT. 

"Yeah, staffing issues.  Most of our lifeguards are students, and so they are still in school for a month, they only are open on the weekends."

I'm livid.  We had booked this pool specifically so we could use that slide and pool.  Nowhere on the Excalibur website or booking the cabana did it warn us that there would still be closures from understaffing.  I am getting irrationally angry and Mike tells me to relax, it will be fine.  I look at the pool that is open, darn thing is packed and it's not even 11am.   Ugh.   We paid for private swim lessons for this!  I am so mad.  I get more irritated that we've been waiting to be taken to our cabana for probably thirty minutes.   Other people are checked in and settled and we're forgotten about.   There are reasons why we never stay at this hotel and this experience has solidified that.  Once I get settled on our beach chairs the kids go to swim and the water is freezing.  The wind in the air is making us cold when we are out of the water, but the water is making us cold in the pool.  It's a good thing they have buckets of beers and slushy drinks.   Ellie realizes there is a hot pool (she's called a hot tub that since she could talk, and now we all say it).   She plops her butt in there and there's no getting her out.   The warm sun and warm pool are helping turn this adventure around.  We spend more of the day there than we thought we would and leave in time to have dinner at Señor Frogs.  It's very family friendly and has a fun atmosphere, a mostly Mexican menu, but a simple kids menu with quesadillas and mac & cheese.  Perfect.  Everyone is tired and sunned out, let's get these kids to bed.  The pyjamas and story-time go over without any fights and the giggles turn on as soon as the lights are out.   They laugh and play for a bit longer this time, maybe 20 minutes, but honestly if they are not fighting I don't care how long it takes.  

The next day we don't have anything planned until night time so we take our time exploring the city.  The Las Vegas Monorail runs almost the whole length of the strip, behind the big hotels,  but stops frequently.  It's a driverless train (which freaks me out) but it's the fastest way to get around off the strip.  We jump on and head to Westgate.  Home to the now defunct Star Trek: The Experience, we go to look at the old images and listen to Mike tells us stories of when this was a restaurant and ride destination.   Characters in Star Trek costumes, food and drinks with Trekkie names, merchandise to purchase  the whole nine-yards.  But it closed down Sept 1st 2008, very much to my husbands dismay.   It meant a lot to him and he has great memories from time he spent there and so every trip there we go take a look at the former shell.   We notice the main entrance door has a line up and his interest is piqued.   I take the girls and he goes to scope out what is happening.  His head would explode if it was reopening in some manner.   But alas, it's just a space now for timeshare presentations.  Sad husband.   We wander the hotel a bit more reminiscing on our very first trip to Vegas together, and then head back to the train.  

Lunch is at one of our favourite "dive bars" in Vegas, just off the main entrance to Excalibur (shudder.  man I wish they would move this location so I never have to set foot in this hotel again.  Dick's Last Resort is a loud, obnoxious kind of restaurant where the staff are purposely rude, you can be rude right back, and it's all fun and games.  Some people CLEARLY don't know that is its gimmick based on the internet reviews.  Karen's are MAD when they come to this place.  But we love it.  They make silly paper hats for you to wear, and if you're dining with grown ups they are vulgar and crass.  With kids they tone it down a bit, for example Madison's hat said 'Princess Poopy Pants'.   I'll leave it to your google skills to see what they write on an adult hat.  We've had a lot of funny ones, but this isn't the place to share those pics.  A snack of wings and some beers and we head to the room for Ellie to have a nap.

    Tonight is a big night for Madison!  Her first Vegas show! Dad and Maddy are going to watch Blue Man Group at Luxor!  We bought the seats long ago and have watched a few YouTube clips of what to expect.  I still don't think she has any idea what an act like this will do on a stage so big but she's very excited.  We part ways at the restaurant that Ellie and I are going to eat at while they are going to eat in the other hotel.   Ellie and I sit down at an Italian restaurant and I order a Chicken Parmesan for myself and some fettuccini Alfredo for her.  I had a very rare glass of red wine, seemed fitting you know, "when in Rome" and all that. We are full to the brim of noodles so I settle our tab.  Eighty damn dollars.  Ugh, we absolutely should have shared my meal, but I was mesmerized by the gorgeous Italian server waiving his hands in the air describing how the chef will prepare Ellie's white sauce.  Worth it, we had a lovely Mommy Daughter date night.  Back to the hotel room where Ellie falls asleep right away and I wait anxiously for the reviews from Madison.   She comes in the room, tired as all get out and falls asleep almost immediately.  She told me she had a good time and it was cool.  That's about all the reviews I received.  Mike filled in the gaps of how their evening went, and had sent some pics along the way, the balloons floating around the audience blew her mind.  And then he had to carry her back most of the way.  These girls are doing Vegas right. 

    The next day we take our time getting ready, girls sleeping in a smidge so we get breakfast in the hotel and bring it up to the room.   Once we are downstairs we jump in a Uber and head to Discovery Children's Museum.   In any given week in our house Blippi is on our tv frequently ever since Madison discovered him four years ago.  He's a goofy guy in blue and orange, dancing, singing and teaching our young kids minds.  He travels around the country going to indoor play-places and talks about all the features each spot has.  And the DCM in Las Vegas was an episode we had seen a handful of times.  We knew that if we ever took the kids with us to Vegas we would make a stop there.  So when the doors open at 10am, we are in line.  Let's go explore!   We investigate the first room, a water station with balls that pull through conveyors and pulleys, drop and splash and create a huge mess.  Super glad they provide rain coats for the kids or this would end up being a very short visit, no one wants to walk around wet from waist to toes for two more hours.   The next room is a baby style room with wall puzzles and floor mazes to crawl through.  Both girls are a too big for this but we want to make sure we get our monies worth.  We move to the pirate ship where we spend a lot of time being pirates, damsels and boat captains.  The girls loved this, and even Madison remembers this to this day.  There's a princess theme where we can dress up and play pretned.  And the final event is the money piece.   A three story jungle gym/climbing structure/interactive musical instrument thing.  It's massive!  So big that at least twice we lost each kid.  (Man is it different now, a year and a half later...we go to a play-place and I can sit on the sidelines, not even a clue where they are).  But it was so cool that Mike and I played right along side, climbing, sliding all of it.   We do spend a few minutes at the end in a darker room with benches and colouring.  A bit of a chill out before we leave.  My only criticism is that there is only a tiny gift shop at the end to get a very limited selection of snacks.  It would be awesome and we would have stayed all day if there was a cafeteria to get a proper lunch.  But a few hours in, everyone is hungry and we want to rest.  Back to the Uber for some lunch on the strip.  We wander through a few hotels and end up at the back of the Flamingo hotel where we hang outside for a while looking at all the flamingos and ducks in the pool area.  They seemed to love this part and spend a while trying to get their attention, to no avail. Sorry girls. 

    The next part of the adventure is the Linq High Roller, the second tallest ferris wheel in the world!  The capsules are enclosed, air conditioned, very spacious, and if you're over 21 can have an open bar after 5pm.   It offers amazing views of the entire city, the mountains beyond the lights and the desert surroundings.   The nighttime views are incredible seeing Sin City lit up.  It would be the best view in the city for a New Years Eve, but I'm sure that would cost an arm and a leg.   For our family in the middle of April, in the middle of the day, it's just pretty.  The girls loved seeing all the sights, they pointed out our hotel, we told them stories of our times here before them.  And maybe thirteen minutes in to the thirty minute trip around they were over it.  Tough shit ladies, there's no escape route.    We spend the afternoon in the hotel pool but this Wind Warning is still in effect and is making the pool time not as enjoyable as we'd like.  The NYNY hotel pool is medium sized but has no kids area or fun slide.  There are two hot tubs which are a bit of a god send, as I've learned that the Vegas pools aren't very warm.  The hot day is awesome but the wind gusts up to 50km per hour are making us very cold when we're out of the water.   Pool afternoon is over and now Maddy and I get our Mommy Daughter date night!  

    America's Got Talent has had more seasons than I can remember and I've watched most of them.  Las Vegas has a permanent nightly show now where former winners and fan favourites preform their acts over a two hour set.  There's acrobats, magicians, dancers and singers and more.  There also is a start time of 7pm, and somehow we are late.  This show entrance is at the very back of the Luxor hotel which has a fairly big floor plan and we are hauling ass to get there before they shut the doors.  I really wanted her to see the theater in full lights and then watch her reaction when the lights went down.  The ticket takers were dealing with some sort of issue and a massive line had formed.  They had let in the majority of the theatre but BillyBob and his printed tickets were holding us all up.  I looked around at the other adults, scoped out where the doors were to enter and grabbed Maddy's hand.  Let's go baby, the show is starting!   We practically ran past the ushers and got to the doors, when chaos behind us ensued.  All the other people being delayed by BillyBob are pissed.  They also rush past the ushers, who start yelling "come back!  You can't go in!"   I giggle to myself once we are in our seats, Madison was in awe of the bright lights and big stage, the loud music and the audience clapping and cheering.  It reminded her of the night before with Blue Man Group so much so that she asked if we were at the same place.  LOL, no baby, different show.  We watch an acrobat couple, a blind singer (who won his season) a magician and a few more acts.  She's pretty tired by the end of it but on the way out we stopped for a picture with the magician so that was cool!  I also, like her dad the night before, am tasked with carrying her back to the room.  Yay me.  

    A good nights sleep and we are up packing for the plane ride home.   We are tired and missing home and our routines.  We're walked out, sunned out, broke and need a vacation from our vacation.  A long wait at the terminal gate made everyone a bit squirrelly and we were delayed a while leaving.  At this point of the trip we're all over it.  The flight was uneventful overall, Ellie had a nap and Madison sat calmly.  These girls are rockstar fliers.  So proud of them.  

    We have a saying in our house, that I've said on my food blog before: ...would you go back?  This is Mike and I's determining factor to if a pub or restaurant is good enough or fun enough to visit again.  And now, on this blog, I declare: We will go back again! 😉😃😃