As I mentioned earlier, we took the kids to a new vacation spot this year. We have gone to Whistler BC for six of the past eight years and after getting rained on for a week straight last summer, we were all ready for some guaranteed sunshine. We threatened taking them to Dino Town, then threw 'em a curveball and said we were renting an RV and driving around the US to see "Americana" (World's Largest Ball of Twine, anyone?). My kids know me very well and saw through that one immediately...Mama Doesn't Camp. Ever. My husband and I go to Vegas at least once a year for classes (his--I shop) and felt like we knew the places that would be kid-appropriate while enjoying some sunshine in the desert.
The day we arrived, it was 108 degrees. Yikes. We were spending the first night in Fremont because the condos we rented wouldn't be available until the following day and we wanted to show the kids the old-timey part of Vegas too. We did not anticipate that Fremont had become as "colorful" as it has. Wow. We stopped and listened to a few outdoor concerts--some were pretty good, but it was the crowd that was an eye-opener for our sheltered, suburban kids. You could easily pick out the people who were living on the streets with their demons and addictions--it was pretty sad. We never felt scared, but it wasn't a place where we would let the kids wander without a parent. We had been to a brewery with friends down there a few years before and took the kids there for dinner. The food was great, the ambiance was relaxed with lots of tv's so we could catch up on the Olympics, and we were able to feed all 6 of us for less than $100.00. Not an easy feat anywhere but especially in Vegas, so we went there for lunch the next day too. Two of the kids did the zip-line under the big "screen"/ceiling, and we had a picture drawn of the four of them by a very talented guy in a booth. Fremont was fun, but we were all ready to head to the strip the next day.
Our next location was beautiful--my husband had found the place on VRBO and it was a total score! We had 2 adjoining penthouse suites in a building near the MGM Grand with full access to all of their amenities. The MGM pools are amazing, and that was the kicker for us because our kids will spend hours in the water if we let them. The next few days were filled with eating, swimming, shopping, and seeing the sights...oh, and more eating. Wow. We literally ate our way down the strip. The kids loved looking at the different casinos, the shops in the Forum made our teen girls giddy (3-story H&M, anyone?) and it was so nice to be able to wear our summer clothes without carrying a sweatshirt along "just in case". There was no just in case--even on the 2 cloudy days, it was 90 degrees. We would be outside just long enough to get hot, then pop inside until we were cold. I can't remember the last time I went a week without sleeves. It was awesome. The kids loved the Bellagio fountains--we sat through 6 of their shows. My husband took one afternoon to do a "man-day" with our son and I took the girls to get their hair cut by a good friend of mine who works at the Christophe Salon in the MGM. It was so cool to finally introduce my friend to our kids, and we all got great haircuts and had a nice visit to boot. If you ever get the chance, you need to go here and ask for Campbell. Best haircut you will ever have in your life--worth every penny.
I remember a few years back when the powers that be in PR tried to push Vegas as a place for families. I scoffed--there was no way I was taking my kids to a place that had people handing out porn on the street corners. Well, my kids are older now and I'm going to take that back. While I probably wouldn't rush to take younger kids, it was the perfect spot to take teenagers for a week of fun and sun. We are already talking about going back in two years, but my oldest will be 21 then and something tells me that could make for a very different vacation experience. We'll see.
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