We did it! We scoured travel websites for weeks looking for the cheapest hotel we could get, we stalked Southwest to find cheap flights, and we crammed 4 adults and 2 babies in car seats into a Honda Pilot to drive from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas. It took a lot of effort, but we made it.
Our first family vacation with our very good friends, Daniel and Jess, and their hunky little man! We for sure won't plan a road trip like that again- next time we'll just rent a minivan or a suburban. The two tall men got to drive and ride shotgun while Jess and I traded sitting in the middle between the two babies, and sitting in the back with the luggage and strollers. But we made it, and it was fun!
We were all trying to make this trip happen on a budget, so we stayed in the Freemont on the Old Strip. We figured since we weren't spending any money drinking or gambling, we could get away with being pretty cheap. It worked, but in terms of accommodations it is true what they say- you get what you pay for. It wasn't as bad as the Motel 8 -or whatever it was in Des Moines, Iowa that we had to stay in- but it sure wasn't Caesar's Palace either.
We spent a lot of time walking that first day. We started out at the Fashion Show Mall and meandered over to M&M world (yesssss...) On walkjogrun.net it was well over 5 miles that we pounded the pavement. The babes were fantastic. Little Miss had a great time looking at everything. She was happy in her stroller, happy to be carried- she was just happy. She even napped when she was supposed to. It was fantastic. Jess's Little Man was great too. He is still little enough that he can sleep whenever he wants to. I must say though that she and I are the most impressive ones by far. We are veteran nursing Mamas now. We fed those babies in the atrium of the shops at Caesar's Palace, in restaurants, and on a bench outside M&M world. We got a kick out of it, because while we were inside no even looked our way, but outside (we were sitting near a sidewalk) people were staring at us even though we both used nursing covers. The irony was not lost on us.
The boys in front of a fountain of Apollo
Little Miss's first movie! It was a 10 min movie at M&M world. Don't worry the 3D glasses are sanitized
We stayed for 3 nights, and decided that the second and third nights we would trade babysitting and each couple would go see a show. I wish I had a picture to commemorate it, but it was our first date with just me and Alex since Little Miss was born! We saw Cirque du Soleil's Mystere, and it was a-maze-ing. I spent the majority of the show with my mouth hanging open. It was the cheapest Cirque show, but man it was fabulous. What a fun way to start dating my husband again!
Day two was more walking, but not as far, and at a much slower pace.
Outside the Venetian
The buffet at The Paris
A major part of our trip centered around the ability to purchase a pass that would let us into buffets all over the strip for 24 hours. We planned it so we had a later dinner one evening when we purchased the pass, then we were able to eat breakfast, lunch and an early dinner the next day, all for one price. The mistake that we made was going for the closest buffet the afternoon of the second day. While it was fun to take pictures of the flamingos at The Flamingo, it was a costly mistake for me. It was a good thing we went out for our date the night before because I got si-i-i-ick. Fortunately it didn't affect Daniel and Jess's date night.
The Fateful Flamingo
By the next morning I was feeling well enough to curl up in the back of the car and go home back to SLC, and we left without much of a delay.
We had a great time -food poisoning notwithstanding- and loved being with friends and family.
