Against the Odds

We tried to get the most out of our remaining time in Vegas. We really did. But it would seem that much like gambling, the odds were against us. While we were correct in our notion that there is plenty to do as a family in Vegas, Sin City is not necessarily designed to allow you to get a lot accomplished in a short amount of time. Crowds, traffic and walking distance all impeded our efforts.

Ever since our trip to Vegas in February when we missed seeing the pirate show at Treasure Island, I have been explaining to Jake that not only would we be back to Vegas in June, but we would be staying at the hotel that has the pirate ships. As guests of the hotel, we are even allowed VIP access for the show. So,after dinner Sunday, it was 8pm. The next show was at 10pm. We figured we had PLENTY of time to head over to M&M World next to the MGM Grand. Well let me just say that by the time we got over there, parked and walked across to where it was, we were rushing to see all the unique colored M&Ms and horrifically overpriced M&M souvenirs. The kids still enjoyed it and somehow we managed to leave without purchasing a single M&M. How is that for irony?

We then jetted back over to TI, parked, walked through the maze that is the casino AGAIN (which by the way Jake thought every slot machine was a video game he should be playing) and found our way to the VIP bridge. We then waited, waited and waited until they finally had to cancel the show due to high winds. Disappointed but not down, we headed over to the arcade to let Jake play a few kid-friendly games, only to find it closed at 10pm. And here I thought Vegas never slept.

After going back up to the room and getting Jadyn to sleep for the night, I attempted to salvage the evening by taking Jake BACK downstairs 1) to retrieve his race cars from our vehicle in the parking garage and 2) to see if there was even the slightest chance that the 11:30pm pirate show would be kicking off but this was all in vain. When they announced that the last show was also being canceled due to winds, Jake said "All done pirate show". Apparently after going down there and staring at the ships amidst the crowds of people, Jake had mistakenly come to assume that looking at the ships was the show itself. While cruelly funny, at least he did not understand what he was missing. I think I was more disappointed then he was. At that point he was just tired from walking around so much.

Monday morning, we had breakfast with the family before heading over to Circus Circus. While they did have plenty of kid-oriented rides and games, it was fairly overpriced, so we kept it to a minimum and then went on to the Sahara Casino, home of the NASCAR Cafe, something we had promised Jake the entire trip. I have to admit that the race track table tops and race car displays were pretty cool and the food was not bad either.

With nap time for Jadyn looming, we started to make our way out of Vegas, but decided to make one last stop at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, a huge 2 story department store that carries every imaginable necessity for outdoor hobbies and sports. I am pretty sure Joe wanted to stop to see all the boats and dirt toys, but he claimed it was because he heard they had an nice aquarium.



And I realize that there is a disproportionate pictures of Jake compared to Jadyn. Let's just be polite and say she was not being very photogenic that day instead of going in to the details of how overtired she was and how we are now convinced she is vying for the crown of Miss Drama Queen. (and yes I will be immediately making a deposit into her therapy fund after finishing this post).

Overall, we really enjoyed Vegas, especially getting to see all my family. But I do not suspect we will be planning a return visit with the kids anytime soon. However, at some point I would really like the kids to see the pirate show at Treasure Island. Someday.