Day # 37 - Las Vegas

We got up and ready relatively quickly given our late night out. We were headed for the Lied Childrens' Museum and wanted to get there shortly after it opened to avoid a weekend crowd. We arrived around 10:30 and were disappointed to discover that their hours had changed and they didn’t open until 12:00. Bummer! This was our second major disappointment in as many days!
The fortunate thing is that the museum is connected to a fabulous public library and the kids enjoyed playing and reading in the children’s section (there were numerous puzzles and other things to keep them occupied). There were several other families that we met who had also been surprised by the opening time! The children’s librarian was very sweet. She let the kids all record the books that they were reading in their local “summer readers” program and then collect some small prizes for their efforts.
We made it down stairs to the museum as it was opening. Since we are Cincinnati Museum Center members, we were admitted free here as well (you know how much I love free!). While it was a really nice facility (I know I will sound jaded when I say this) and it is rated as one of the best Childrens museums in the country, it didn’t hold a candle to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. But the kids enjoyed themselves at the museum anyway and there was plenty of hands-on excitement to keep them busy. The highlight of the day was the” grossology” exhibit. We played a life-sized version of the game operation using salad tongs and rubber bones and organs. AJ loved making it buzz! The girls were thrilled to learn about snot and how to make a person barf. Tony couldn’t resist making the display robot burp over and over and over again- who doesn’t like a good burp or fart joke? In the nature section the girls thought the wind tunnel was cool and they stood in the tube and felt hurricane force winds. They had some really nice hair afterwards! There were several interactive craft stations the kids liked along the way and they all had their faces painted before we left.

We went back to the camper for lunch and to put the kids down for a nap. Nana graciously offered to hang out at the camper during naps so that Tony and I could enjoy a little break at the casino. We had planned to go out to dinner one night instead, but decided we would rather spend the evenings showing the kids the sights. So we headed out with my birthday money in tow to play the slots and enjoy an adult beverage or two. I am too cheap to gamble real money and I prefer to not have to really think about my gambling, so that is why I stick to the slots. So after, Tony and I enjoyed a couple of $2 hot dogs and several beers, we hit the gaming floor of Circus Circus. We were surprised that you could no longer actually feed quarters into the machines. They now conveniently take bills and accept credit cards – yikes! We were still able to actually pull the levers of the slot machines though. When you cash out now, you receive a ticket that you can swipe into another machine or take to the cashier. How sad is it that you cannot hear the sounds of your winnings being dispensed in little clang clangs anymore? Anyway we amused ourselves for a couple of hours and when I won $50 we stopped and cashed out. We didn’t really come out that far ahead after what we put in, but we had a little fun for a few hours.

We headed back to the camper to collect Alice and the kids. We decided to take in the pirate show at Treasure Island (or TI as it is now called). In the interest of time, we decided to take a taxi there. Since there are 6 of us and standard taxis can only take 5 passengers by Nevada law, we have to take 2 cabs. One of the things about Vegas is there are always limo companies and guys with 15 passenger vans that will shuttle you betwen casinos for a few bucks a person. A gentleman in a very nice tricked out Escalade offered to take us to TI us so we jumped at the chance. The girls thought this was huge fun. As Nellie (?) played in the background, Sarah was jammin’ out and acting like she could rap along. She said she was “rollin’ with her homies” (she has been watching entirely too many Disney “Buddies” movies and has started talking like B Dog.)

We arrived at TI in no time and in style. Tony had wanted to go to a nice buffet while we were in Vegas and the one at Treasure Island is excellent. The Prime Rib, Crab Legs, and made-to-order pasta; was all excellent. I enjoyed some very good peel-and-eat shrimp and Tony ventured to the asian and mexian areas for some good pad thai and tamales. It was a fair bit more expensive than the one at Circus Circus, but the quality was also much higher. The highlight of the meal though had to be the desert station. In addition to many yummy looking choices they were spinning fresh cotton candy! The kids were beside themselves.

After our sugar buzz, we headed out to grab a spot for the show. It gets very crowded for the shows (that run every 90 minutes) and the sidewalks are actually impassible while the performances are going on. We found a good spot on one of the viewing platforms and waited while the "powers that be" decided whether or not the show could go on as it had gotten a bit windy. They gave the go ahead for the performance and the show was excellent. A little risqué maybe, but hey this is Vegas. The pyrotechnics we incredible and the kids couldn’t believe they actually sunk a ship. Sarah thought it was way cool that the girls (sirens) won the battle with the boys (pirates). We waited for the crowd to disperse a little and decided since we were so close that we would walk up the strip to the Mirage and watch the volcano erupt. We arrived and caught the tail end of the show so we waited 45 minutes for the next one. As we were waiting yet again for another Vegas attraction it occurred to us that we were tired of waiting. So much of our trip thus far has been about us going out and experiencing things that are there. In Vegas, we had to hurry up and wait for the next attraction. We were looking forward to getting back to the attractions being the wonder of nature. The volcano is a fun experience with Polynesian music and more pyrotechnics, so the kids really liked it too. We grabbed a few additional bottles of water and headed over to the taxi stand to get a ride home. We decided since it was getting late to divide up and take 2 taxis back. We once again arrived back to the camper after 10:30. We are planning on staying close to home tomorrow so we can hopefully get a little extra rest.