15.04 - Day 91 - Las Vegas
Monday 15th April - Las Vegas, Nevada (Day 91)
Unsurprisingly after a tiring day yesterday we didn't wake until 10am. That leaves us with 24 hours in Vegas, plus the small matter of sorting out our car for the five week drive to the East Coast.
We liked the idea of Teslas and for their network of superchargers. At the exchange of care last night Hertz had offered some decent EVs including Mercedes, but the added confusion of multiple owners of chargers and higher prominence of slow overnight charging is not something we have the time or inclination to be tied to. Tesla or petrol (or rather gaass) then.
Before returning to Hertz, we fuel up with some breakfast bits from a supermarket, and just to be sure we knew we were in Vegas there is a section in the supermarket with slot machines open 24 hours a day, with people already choosing to gamble here at 10:30am in the morning (guessing they have been banned from the other main casinos).
Back at the Hertz depot at the airport, the guy checking in the cars is confused why we’re returning after just 8 hours, but once again the folk in Hertz are helpful and understanding - even if they’re surprised we’re gambling on another Tesla. They only have three in their local fleet and luckily there is one left so we drive away in our third car in under 24 hours, the kids still content with the colour, this time racing red.
Now we can start our Vegas visit. On the way to the strip is the Welcome to Fabulous Vegas sign, our lack of need to impress our instagram followers meaning we’re happy for a quick snap to the side, rather than those standing in a long queue for a photo front and centre.
Vegas might not scream kid friendly, but there’s a number of things to do outside the casino floor. The Flamingo Casino has a small garden with flamingos, ducks, pelicans and koi fish. Kate and the kids pop into M&M World, filled with walls of colourful chocolates.
Kate and I trade places and I walk into the Venetian Casino with the kids, its painted vaulted ceilings and indoor and out canals and gondolas plying their way up and down. Children obviously can’t gamble in the casinos but they are allowed to walk through so long as they don’t loiter. It takes some continued persuasion going through the Venetian’s vast collection of many spinners to prevent Sienna and Seb from stopping to look at the spinning this, or flashing this, or ringing. But it is good to show them, driving slowly up the strip, the different themed casinos and hotels and why they exist.
Despite the lay-in, some quiet time in the room at our Ahern Hotel (no attached Casino) is understandably on the cards, especially if we want to see some of the lights a little later after sunset. I take the opportunity to take the car to a charging station, where with the same ease as when using Daniel and Maggie’s car, it just works. Relief indeed.
For dinner we visit another In and Out Burger joint which goes down well with all, even if Sienna is now a bit homesick; the homely experience with Daniel and Maggie for over a week, plus the extra late night from the car troubles means she’s asking to go and see Dexter and Pickles. We get a batch of photos and videos from our house sitters Jarod and Amy overnight and that goes a long way to appease her.
After the burgers I drop Kate and the kids near the Bellagio to watch the fountain show which, with the transient nature of the Vegas crowd, continues to draw a crowd every 15 minutes every night. I meet them, having parked, by the Mirage Casino for a volcano eruption where each hour the rocky waterfall is transformed by flames and red lit spraying water. It’s brief but very impressive.
We opt for another viewing of the Bellagio fountains, only two casinos down, but a healthy 15 minute walk past the street performers, ladies in burlesque outfits (Sienna commenting they didn’t look overly comfortable outfits), snake handlers and an eclectic collection of fancy dressed people each trying to a tip for a photo.
After the impressive fountain show - even if this “show” is to Celine Dion and Kate is singing full blown Karaoke style (each 15 minutes is to different music) we step inside the Bellagio through the casino floor and past the high end shops to the lobby with its vast array of coloured glass petals in the roof and next door a conservatorium filled with flowers on the theme of Tea and Lilys. Huge teapots pouring water are cross sectioned to contain figurines, and plenty of fauna made from and surrounded by flowers such as a giant sized hummingbird. The floral smell isn’t amiss either.
By now, the children, and perhaps the adults are flagging so we walk back up the strip to the car past more casinos like Treasure Island and Palazzo. When Kate and I were here in 2008 I remember all the touts selling anything and everything, with their finger-clicking of the cards for ladies of the night - but there’s none of that this time.
Our brief shallow visit only really showed the silliness and showiness of excess and it’s been good to revisit for the adults and a feast for the eyes for the kids. Everything is bigger in America.
