In mid-February, Joey's sister Jenny and her husband Eric were in Las Vegas for a few days for a veterinarian conference.That's only a 4-5 hour drive for us so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see them while they were so close. We originally planned on making a little vacation out of it - by spending a few days hiking in Zion National Park before heading to Vegas - but our little run in with the 24 hour stomach flu threw a wrench in those plans. So instead, we went straight to Vegas on a Sunday morning, officially kicking off our first family road trip!
We left about an hour before Jack's morning nap, hoping to get a few hours of solid driving before he became restless. We made it about 3 hours and then took a pitstop at a Startbucks in Barstow (along with a lot of other strange people obviously heading to Vegas - there were high heels, crazy outfits, tight dresses, tutus galore!) to let Jack get some energy out. Then we hopped back on the road for the last 2 hour stretch through the dessert. I had to entertain Jack for the last hour or so but overall, he was a champ!
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| Cruising through the desert |
We arrived at the Excalibur in the mid-afternoon and Jack was definitely happy to be out of the carseat.
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| We made it! |
We checked in (avoiding the smoky casino as much as possible) and hung out in the room while Jack played and napped until we met Jenny and Eric for dinner.
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| Gotta start with a Vegas buffet! |
The next morning, Jenny went to her conference while the rest of us took a little road trip to the Hoover Dam. Jack was not eager to get back in his carseat after the 5 hour trip from the day before. It was only a 45 min drive though and he nodded off almost immediately. We stopped at an overlook to see Lake Mead just as Jack was waking up and it was beautiful.
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| Blue skies |
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| Quite the view |
Then back in the car for a short ride to the Hoover Dam.
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| Photographer daddy |
We took part of the Dam tour to get a view into the power plant but couldn't take Jack through the whole thing. Eric continued on while Joey, Jack, and I hung out in the Visitor's Center.
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| Jack is so interested to learn about how they make electricity! |
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| Finding some floor playtime where ever we can |
We met back up with Eric and took some photo ops before heading back to Vegas.
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| Family photo op! |
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| Jack LOVES his Uncy E |
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| Playing on the giant compass |
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| Here I come! |
Once again, Jack was not happy about getting back into his seat but conked out as soon as we left.
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| Plumb tuckered out |
We got back to our room just in time for a gorgeous sunset over the desert. Eric took a little nap himself and Jack got a chance to get some energy out.
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| Desert mountains in the distance |
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| Eric was plumb tuckered out too |
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| LOVING the hotel AC controls - his own little control panel |
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| A beautiful sunset and night sky |
Jenny was running a little late that night so we decided to grab a quick dinner and try to get Jack to bed at a reasonable hour. He was so overstimulated from the Vegas lights that he had a hard time sleeping most nights (at least that's my theory.)
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| A little pizza dinner in NY NY |
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| Walking the strip at night |
After Jack went to bed, we were able to hang out with Jenny and Eric in their room down the hall and catch up a bit. Then Jenny and I went to bed while the guys tried their luck in the casino. No big wins but no big losses either.
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| Finally asleep! |
The next day, Joey, Jack and I had a leisurely morning, strolling around outside and looking for a decent non-fast food breakfast (which we never found but luckily there was at least a Starbucks.)
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| Wipes are so fun! |
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| Family selfie |
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| Enjoying a warm morning on the strip |
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| Hotel naptime! |
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| Refreshed |
After Jack's morning nap, we met up with Eric and went to a nearby park to let Jack play.
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| Fake grass is better than no grass! |
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| Riding the giant catepillar |
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| Yum German food |
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| Jack loved his first German beer! It went great with cheerios. (Kidding, of course!) |
We made a quick stop in Old Las Vegas to see the light show (which was pretty cool) but couldn't stay long because Jack was getting tired and I was worried he was getting overstimulated by all the lights.
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| Checking out the old strip |
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| Just in time for the big light show |
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| Whoa...look at all those lights |
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| Ok, baby has had enough. Time to get him home! |
We put Jack to bed and then repeated the night before - chatting in Jenny and Eric's room and then the guys went down to the casino for a little craps.
The next day was our last day and Jenny was done with her conference. We started the morning with a nice breakfast and some cronuts to go (we couldn't resist the craze!) and then hit the road to go hiking in nearby red rock mountain park.
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| Can't pass up a cronut! |
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| Another beautiful drive |
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| It's hard to beat these desert mountain views |
It was a beautiful day and we spent a few hours driving and walking around soaking up the scenery. At one point, we stopped to take a short hike through the rocks.
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| Lathered and covered up and ready for the hike! |
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| Sibling pose (and Jack eating the string) |
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| Hiking through the rocks |
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| Really, this string is delicious. The hat doesn't fit so well though. |
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| Awkward backpack wearing |
Then we stopped at the Visitor Center. Jack got a chance to crawl around and play a little bit.
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| Yay for water bottles! |
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| What a great makeshift toy! |
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| Yay for getting to crawl! |
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| JACK rabbit |
We listened to a short talk by a geologist and then aimlessly explored the area some more.
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| Geology is (kind of ) interesting |
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| We have no idea where the path is |
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| Fun with Aunt Jenny and Uncle E |
We went back to the hotel to shower and pack up before heading to dinner. Jenny was eager to try a place over by Caesar's palace that was known for their frozen hot chocolate, which was pretty good.
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| Dinner (with a cranky baby) at Serendipity |
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| Frozen hot chocolate = chocolate icy shake + yummy whipcream |
After dinner, we said our goodbyes and headed back to SD.
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| It was so nice to see you guys! |
Jack slept the entire way and we made it home by midnight. We both had to work the next day so it was somewhat of a whirlwind but it was definitely a great visit and worth the trip. We were so glad we got to see Jenny and Eric on the west coast. And it was a relaxing little family vacation and good trial run road trip for us too.
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