July 10th (Day 30) - Vegas (with our) Babies

We left Williams, AZ early so that we could have as much time as possible in Vegas since this was going to be another one night stay. The ride was 220 miles. We arrived at the RV park that is part of the Circus, Circus Hotel around 1:30pm. Thankfully we were able to stay hitched here so tomorrow would be an easier departure.

As we were changing our clothes and getting ready to hit the strip it started to rain. We called an Uber and got an incredible driver. He gave the kids candy and we had a lot of fun chatting with him. It was about 2:30 and we were all starving. Ella has a huge affinity for buffets so we decided we would show her a buffet of all buffets and eat our lunner at the Bellagio buffet. Our luck began right away as we arrived and paid at 2:58pm receiving the (already pricey) lunch price. The fee went up and it was considered dinner starting at 3:00pm. The girls were mesmerized by all the choices and they had a great time walking through and making their selections. Lily who loves her sweets could not believe her eyes when she saw all of the desserts.

When we finally finished up our meal we headed to the lobby. As we were walking the girls got very excited to see the huge Willy Wonka slot machine. I took $20 over to play while the girls waited with Adam on the walkway. The screen was so big they were able to watch. I ended up getting the Grandpa Joe bonus game and cashed out at $45.90.

When we got to the lobby the girls thought the Chihuly ceiling was very cool and we all stood there looking up admiring the blown glass spectacle. Next we walked over to the gorgeous atrium and marveled at the huge floral art display.

From there we made our way outside to watch the amazing fountain show.

It has been about 10 years since Adam and I were last in Vegas. We were excited to get to check out Cosmopolitan next since that was built since our last visit. We all thought it was beautiful inside here and loved the multi story crystal chandelier. The girls loved climbing in the giant shoes that were displayed. They were fascinated by the circular glass elevators here too.

The next thing we came to was the City Center Shopping Area which was beautiful. There was a section with clear glass cylinders filled with spinning water and lights that continued to change colors. The girls had a blast running back and forth through this area.

We continued through Aria and made our way to New York, New York. The pebble water walls just outside were a huge hit and they loved the feel of it.

We sat outside for a little while showing them how this one structure was made to look like several buildings in the NYC skyline and had a replica of the Brooklyn bridge in front too. Adam pointed out the rollercoaster and they wanted to keep watching as it went around the track.

We walked around inside here for a bit since it is just as detailed inside and had a good time finding all the different design elements. When we came out the other side we got to see the replica of the Statue of Liberty and another view of the rollercoaster.

Our next stop was the Excalibur. The girls were so happy to see they had a game room inside. We tried our hand at a game where you had to get a ping pong ball into little bowls that were amongst colored balls that went round and round in front of you. Even though they tried very hard they never had success (which Adam and I were fine with since the prize was yet another plush toy).

Luxor was our next stop. When we got there the girls enjoyed being welcomed by the Egyptian dog statues with their ears standing straight up. The triangular shape of the building boggled their mind. Adam had stayed here in the past and was telling them how the elevators went on a diagonal. They wanted to ride and were disappointed to learn that was not a possibility since we were not currently guests.

We decided to give our tired legs somewhat of a break and we take the monorail back to the Excalibur. The monorail left from the back and as we got outside we turned around to get a great view of the giant sphinx and the very bright light shining into the night sky from atop the pyramid.

When we exited the monorail we got to cross the street over the glass walled bridge which gave us a perfect view of the lights of the strip.

It was starting to get really late so we decided to skip Planet Hollywood (which was Aladdin our last visit) and go straight to Paris. The girls loved the Eiffel Tower replica from the outside. Once inside they were amazed by the details and loved the way the ceiling was painted like the sky. They really liked seeing the legs of the Eiffel Tower inside too. As we were strolling the "Paris streets" the girls noticed a sign for La Creperie and decided they wanted to share one. I was just happy for a chance to rest after all of this walking. While we were sitting we checked Adam's phone to see how much we had walked so far...it was over 7 miles. This was the most we had "hiked" this trip yet.

(picture outside Paris from earlier in the day)

We were getting very tired and it was almost 11pm but we still wanted to show the girls the Venetian. We decided to also skip Caesars, Mirage and Treasure Island. Since it was 1.5 miles further down we took a taxi over. As we got inside it was just turning 11pm and the gondola operators were singing goodbye for the night. The water flowing through the middle and the detailed walkways kept our eyes very busy as we observed it all. We got to quickly look inside an art shop here which had several works of one of our family's favorite artists, Daniel Merriam (we discovered him in Sausalito on a previous vacation to San Francisco area). It was easy to get through here quickly as all the stores were closing, there were no boats floating and no street performers.

We took another taxi ride to our RV and arrived just after midnight. After this very fun and extremely long day we were all more than ready to hit the sack.