Las Vegas – Escape from the Rain

November 2021 started with an escape from the rain and gloom of Seattle to the warmth of Las Vegas. Even though we have been to Las Vegas 6+ times (2004, 2006, 2007, 2011) this was a new adventure for our family. We skipped the hotels and rented a house for the week. It was only a few minutes from the strip and old Vegas, with a pool and hot tub. As an added bonus there was some private space for Miss Emilia so she could join us and keep up with her school work. Chris was still working during the day, which was key since he is out of vacation days, but then mom and dad could get out in the evenings.

Our home for the week. Dom spent most of the time at the house in the hot tub.

As soon as he was awake Dom wanted to check out the hot tub. With Dad trying to get some work done, Mom and Dom left the house and went to the strip. Dom insisted he wasn’t going to have any fun but quickly was doing just that. We went to the M&M store at MGM Grand, got cake at the Hello Kitty Cafe, ran around The Park by T-Mobile arena, visited the Hershey Store, walked around the “streets” inside New York-New York Casino, and best of all … we went on the moving walkways into Excalibur Hotel.

That night after Dom had more hot tub time, it was the parents turn to explore. We checked out Circa casino and 8 East for dinner. So much of the Fremont street area has changed over the year, and Circa is a perfect example, I remember it as Mermaids Casino.

: Cake from Hello Kitty Cafe

Day two was what Dom had been waiting for, the Discovery Children’s Museum. He had seen Blippi visit it and play with in the water world exhibit. So we spent the morning exploring every area of the museum. Dom left drenched from the water activities, which was fine because he spent the rest of the day floating about in the hot tub. Mom and Dad then had a evening out with dinner at a show at the Cosmopolitan. We went to see Opium, since we had loved the show Absinthe by the same company, but we will not be recommending this particular show.

: This counted as the best part of the trip for Dom.

Our third day in Las Vegas was Saturday, which meant we all got out of the house in the morning. We started the day with a trip to Avengers Station at Treasure Island. Dom had mixed reviews; he loved some of the costumes and the ants that were projected on the floor, but did not like some of the interactive elements. Unfortunately he was not up for participating in a group photo, but that could be in part to his empty stomach. After a quick lunch we went to Fremont street. It was a complete sensory overload for Dom, we did one walk up and back and then went to the playground at the container park. That was a complete success, Dom found a bunch of older boys to play a battle game with and would have been happy playing the rest of the day.

Dom attempting to “prove worthy to wield mjolnir”

On Sunday Dom and Miss Emilia took a drive out to the Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead, and the Hoover Dam. With time on their own, Mom and Dad then were able to watch some football, visit a few casinos, and explore Fremont Street a bit more. While Dom got to have this hands in two states at once, Mom and Dad listened to some live music and even ran into someone we knew in the street. It was a successful day for everyone.

: Exploring Lake Mead

Hoover Dam

If you want a crazy flash back, we had taken a motorcycle out to the Valley of Fire back in 2006.

Monday had Dad returning to work, so Mom and Dom got out of the house in the morning and went to Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden. At first Dom was not interested in any of it, but he does like trails, garden’s and Cacti so he quickly changed his mind. The cactus garden was all decorated for the holidays, which I will say was a bit weird. After following the path through the whole garden we went inside to see the factory. It was a slow day, they were only packaging chocolate hearts so we did not get to see much of the process. We did taste test some before going to a playground. After that we drove by the Vegas sign on the way back the house for more Hot Tub time.

: Inside the Ethel M factory

For our last day Dom and Mom went to Mandalay Bay in the morning to see the Shark Reef. Dom loved that it was designed like a ancient temple and a sunken ship, plus he like touching the stingrays. After we had our fill of sea creatures we walked over to Luxor to eat before going home for … more Hot Tub time. Mom and Dad had tickets for the Kraken versus the Las Vegas Golden Knights at the arena. We all went together to the strip to check out the fountains at Bellagio before the game. The Kraken unfortunately did not win, but we had some great seats behind the net and enjoyed the game anyway.

: Dragons, fish and turtles

And then it was over. This was our first time staying off strip, and the first time bringing a kid alone and it went really well. Chris even said they he preferred it to Palm Springs for a warm weather trip with a short flight from Seattle. Dom wants to go back to several of the places we had visited, never wanted to leave the hot tub, and loved all the “feather girls” he saw walking around the casinos. So I guess it just a matter of time before we are back in Vegas.

Kauaʻi – End of Summer Escape

We’d planned to spend two weeks in Germany during the fall of 2020. That didn’t happen.

We’d planned to spend two weeks in Germany during the fall of 2021. That didn’t happen.

We decided on somewhere “nearby” that we’d probably not visit after we left Seattle in the next few years. That did happen.

Dom had never been to Hawai’i and we’d never been to Kauaʻi, so we made it happen with a direct flight on Alaska Airlines. We used a $100 companion fare for Dom and Melissa flew on miles, so we got to the island for much cheaper than is typical. I think it came to like $250 per person. For reference, weekend flights are usually in the $500-600 range. The island is fairly spaced out and remote (thankfully), so we rented a car (with miles!) and a two bedroom VRBO condo in the Princeville area, on the north side of the island. We booked this trip as soon as Alaska switched to no change fees and before vaccines were available; figuring we could cancel/move it if COVID prevented us from traveling. Good news is the trip went off without a hitch.

This trip was an odd intersection of life. Dom was not vaccinated, Hawai’i was on the backside of its travel crunch, and I’d just gotten another team reporting to me at work the week prior. Our plan was to keep mostly to ourselves, which we did for the most part. I didn’t take my computer, but I was coming off of a crazy summer at work, and I did stay connected to via work email on my phone. That’s against my better judgment, however I was in the final days of hiring two folks for a severely understaffed team. Keeping watch was going to make my fall that much easier. I know… it’s work and I’m making excuses. Trust me when I say I am well aware I made this decision after having a heart attack on the last vacation. I will be making healthier choices in 2022 and beyond.

We didn’t make a ton of plans going into this trip. Melissa marked things on the island, and I did a little research on activities, but it was mostly a play by ear kinda thing. We did the normal grocery shopping and cooking at “home” thing, with several carry out, and maybe 2-3 outdoor meals. It’s kinda a blur, to be honest. We went to the condo community pool a couple days, we drove to some remote beaches a few days, and we traveled to the south of the island for tourist stuff one day. The pace of life on Kauaʻi is a wee bit different than, say, Honolulu, and lends itself to waking up each morning without a set plan.

The beaches on the island are different than most other places we’ve been, as you end up driving down some work out dirt road to a beautiful beach with calm waters and very few people. We always loaded up and went in the morning, as it’s easier to get Dom out of the house and the beaches were nigh barren when we got there. I think it was the first time either Melissa or Dom had really swam in an ocean. I was too exhausted to do much swimming, but I grew up swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and am glad they had that experience. PNW waters are anything but forgiving.

Total non-sequitur… we also grabbed lots of fruits at a local farmer’s market.

Other fun things included lots of drone flights (I brought mine), an adults-only walking food tour in Hanalei, and a family outing in a Polaris 1000 cc 4 Seater UTV. That last activity was Dom’s first real outing of that type and certainly the first time doing off-road stuff. He had a lot of fun getting dirty, but the helmet did end up hurting him by the end. No surprise there – he’ll need to be fitted if ever really gets into motorsports. I ate so much dirt and dust, even with a mask on, but there were enough “oh crap” moments to keep you on your toes and heart rate elevated. Especially when you’re driving an almost-five-year-old in a three point belt. The minimum age was five – he was only eight days shy! Nothing bad happened.

I think Kauaʻi if my favorite island of the four Melissa and I have been to. We’re not really beach people or big on hot weather, but I can see the appeal.

Drone view of Princeville

: The lychee were delish

An epic battle of the fallen tree leaves takes place while out on our evening walk.

Hanalei

: Someone is almost five

Beach day – followed the road out to Anini Beach and a perfectly calm ocean.

Rain over in Hanalei

The river flowing into Hanalei Bay.

Family photo, before we got too muddy or tired.

Mahaulepu Beach

Second trip out to Anini Beach, this time to some tide pool areas.

Snuggled up watching shows in his bedroom.

: Stop at Pineapple in Paradise

: Playing with the shy plants

Kubota Garden Adventure

With many of our favorite parks and playgrounds closed this year Dom and I searched for new places to explore. In late summer we discovered Kubota Garden in Rainer Beach, and it has quickly become a favorite outside adventure spot. Taking advantage of non-rainy weekdays, we visited twice in October. Most of the time we are able to explore the paths alone. Last week we both took our cameras to capture the early stages of fall colors. Elliott came with us in the hope of seeing the Koi, and the senior groups wandering the paths loved Dom’s interest in photography.