Traveling with older kids is infinitely easier and every time it gets better and better. We discovered that our 7 AM flight was pushed back two hours, so we had plenty of time to eat and settle in at the airport. (I was so happy to have smuggled breakfast through security since we sat there for so long.) We made it to Vegas just before lunch and went straight to In-n-Out as they boys wanted to order off the secret menu.
Walker had a double double animal style, mustard instead; I had two hamburgers, animal style, protein style (lettuce wrapped), mustard instead; and Mason had a Flying Dutchman (meat and cheese only).
We ordered three varieties of French Fries—one well done, one as cheese fries and one animal style. Animal style, by the way, means to add pickle, extra spread and grilled onions. Walker opted for mustard on his fries rather than spread which is his usual dipping sauce anyway.
After lunch we headed straight to The AdventureDome Theme Park at Circus Circus. The indoor amusement park has pay-as-you-go rides, arcade games, a 4-D movie ride, rock climbing and bungee jumping among other things to spend your money on.
The boys tried their hands at a couple of the video arcade games and a few rounds at the darts. Then Walker chose to ride both of the premier roller coasters. Since we had a limited amount of time, we chose single tickets rather than the wristband. That would have been a good deal IF both boys wanted to ride and IF we had had more time.
This was high speed fun. Walker’s hair was completely restyled by the rush of air in his face.
Mason opted for the bungee jumping and had a blast attempting to do a somersault. It turns out, that is much harder than it looks.
After a few hours at the theme park, we all needed a short break. We read about a chocolate factory with tours located near a botanical garden and an M&M store. Off we drove to Henderson to see Ethel.
It turned out that the factory was pretty much shutting down for the day so there was not a lot of activity going on. The “tour” was a glass-walled walkway facing the factory that took the kids a maximum of one minute to walk. They raced to the end for the free sample of chocolate and we exited right into the gift shop.
If that wasn’t disappointing enough, we didn’t end up in the M&M store that everyone talks about. This was just a small annex and there was nothing special about it.
The botanical gardens were interesting to me but the boys all but said, “If you’ve seen one cacti, you’ve seen them all.” Alas, all was not lost as the trip did give us a chance to rest our legs before our dinner adventures.
After checking into the New York, New York Hotel, we drove to The Linq Hotel to Guy Fieri’s Restaurant. As we have done in the past, most of our food choices were driven by what we had seen on The Food Network.
Mason and Walker both ordered the bacon mac-and-cheese burger which came with the house blend of sidewinder, waffle, julienne and crinkle cut French fries.
I ordered the ’68 Cajun Sandwich which was blackened chicken, Andouille sausage, cheddar cheese, the creole trinity and Louisiana hot sauce packed in a warm hoagie and a salad instead of fries.
The big decision came down to an appetizer or dessert. After much deliberation, the boys finally agreed upon the Fried Ice Cream Boulder Sundae—a build-your-own sundae of fried ice cream, bourbon-maple syrup, peanut butter bananas, pineapple, raspberry and chocolate sauces.
Do these faces look happy or what?
By the end of dinner, we were all zapped so we drove back to the hotel for a good night sleep. Tomorrow is our only full day in town and we have a lot of ground to cover.
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