We spent American Thanksgiving in the Las Vegas area. Yes, I know Vegas is a bizarre choice for the traditionally family-oriented holiday. However, all of our family living locally left the state for the holiday break. We were on our own, and we decided to take advantage of the school break to leave town ourselves.
We started our six-hour drive on Tuesday afternoon. The only event on the drive was stopping at Arctic Circle for dinner. Madeleine cried when she found out they didn’t have salad on the menu. We had to run across the street to Arby’s to get the salad she craved. Yes, I'm serious.
We arrived at Russ’s grandmother’s house (now empty) in Boulder City around 10:00 p.m. Camille went right to bed, but Elodie and Madeleine started exploring right away. They just loved all of the knickknacks in the house. They especially loved the laundry chute that goes from the second floor all the way to the basement. Luckily, the chute was too small for them to fit into. Still, they managed to fit all of the contents of their suitcases, some stuffed animals, a few cups, and some books down the chute.
Wednesday was a slow, leisurely morning. In the afternoon, we took the girls to Circus Circus. We walked past the roller coaster and other rides to find the arcade-style games. Oops, big mistake. Madeleine was very upset that we were playing games rather than going on rides, so she didn’t have any fun. (Or at least she said she didn't.) Still, we dragged her around and managed to win three stuffed animals while only spending a small fortune.
After we got our three stuffed animals, we relented and returned to the rides. Madeleine and Elodie rode on a ferris wheel while Camille rode a horse on the carousel.
We had another relaxed morning on Thursday. I turned on the Macy’s parade, but the kids weren’t very interested. They were too busy redecorating the house I guess. We FINALLY forced them to get dressed and headed to nearby Lake Mead. Russ bought popcorn earlier in the day, and we fed the huge carp, ducks, and seagulls at the Lake Mead marina. (Please don't report us to the Humane Society.)
After Madeleine managed to get soaked and muddy, we got back in the car and drove to a nearby casino for Thanksgiving dinner. Ah, Thanksgiving at a casino! It was very nontraditional, but I didn’t miss cooking and cleaning all day. In fact, the food wasn’t too bad. Besides, Madeleine only ate salad and mashed potatoes, and Elodie only ate mashed potatoes and an apple. It would have been a big waste for me to cook a huge meal for only Russ and myself. It was also nice not to have tempting leftovers the next day.
After cleaning the house and packing the car on Friday morning, we headed to Las Vegas to see the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Shark Reef is no Sea World, but I think the girls still enjoyed it. (I’m probably the only one of us remembers Sea World anyway.) We saw lots of cool fish, including sharks swimming above our heads, and we got to touch some manta rays.
We had a fairly uneventful drive home and arrived late Friday night. Overall, it was a very strange but relaxing way to spend our Thanksgiving break.
We started our six-hour drive on Tuesday afternoon. The only event on the drive was stopping at Arctic Circle for dinner. Madeleine cried when she found out they didn’t have salad on the menu. We had to run across the street to Arby’s to get the salad she craved. Yes, I'm serious.
We arrived at Russ’s grandmother’s house (now empty) in Boulder City around 10:00 p.m. Camille went right to bed, but Elodie and Madeleine started exploring right away. They just loved all of the knickknacks in the house. They especially loved the laundry chute that goes from the second floor all the way to the basement. Luckily, the chute was too small for them to fit into. Still, they managed to fit all of the contents of their suitcases, some stuffed animals, a few cups, and some books down the chute.
Wednesday was a slow, leisurely morning. In the afternoon, we took the girls to Circus Circus. We walked past the roller coaster and other rides to find the arcade-style games. Oops, big mistake. Madeleine was very upset that we were playing games rather than going on rides, so she didn’t have any fun. (Or at least she said she didn't.) Still, we dragged her around and managed to win three stuffed animals while only spending a small fortune.
After we got our three stuffed animals, we relented and returned to the rides. Madeleine and Elodie rode on a ferris wheel while Camille rode a horse on the carousel.
We had another relaxed morning on Thursday. I turned on the Macy’s parade, but the kids weren’t very interested. They were too busy redecorating the house I guess. We FINALLY forced them to get dressed and headed to nearby Lake Mead. Russ bought popcorn earlier in the day, and we fed the huge carp, ducks, and seagulls at the Lake Mead marina. (Please don't report us to the Humane Society.)
After Madeleine managed to get soaked and muddy, we got back in the car and drove to a nearby casino for Thanksgiving dinner. Ah, Thanksgiving at a casino! It was very nontraditional, but I didn’t miss cooking and cleaning all day. In fact, the food wasn’t too bad. Besides, Madeleine only ate salad and mashed potatoes, and Elodie only ate mashed potatoes and an apple. It would have been a big waste for me to cook a huge meal for only Russ and myself. It was also nice not to have tempting leftovers the next day.
After cleaning the house and packing the car on Friday morning, we headed to Las Vegas to see the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Shark Reef is no Sea World, but I think the girls still enjoyed it. (I’m probably the only one of us remembers Sea World anyway.) We saw lots of cool fish, including sharks swimming above our heads, and we got to touch some manta rays.
We had a fairly uneventful drive home and arrived late Friday night. Overall, it was a very strange but relaxing way to spend our Thanksgiving break.
1 comment:
Hey, you gotta do whatever works! It sounds like you had a good, although untraditional holiday. I liked reading about your adventure because Kevin and I were just in Vegas in October! :)
Post a Comment