Spring Break Vacation, Day 1 – Going to Vegas!

We are off on our Spring Break vacation -- a few days in Las Vegas followed by a road trip to the Grand Canyon. After the brutal winter we’ve had, we have been especially anticipating this trip.

Las Vegas is known, of course, for being a place for adults. But we chose to go there because we thought there are a lot of things to see and do that Kai would enjoy.

Our journey began blissfully uneventfully. Kai did fine at the airport, and had no problems with the line at the security check or waiting for our flight to depart.

He had just a bit of anxiety during the takeoff and landing, as he grabbed onto our hands, wore his earplugs, and chewed gum. But otherwise he enjoyed the flight, mostly watching movies on the iPad while my wife knitted.

We arrived in Las Vegas and rejoiced over the sunshine and relative warmth. And then we went to the pool for a swim.

With Kai’s favorite activity done, we were able to get on with enjoying some of the sights unique to Las Vegas.

It seems as if every major hotel in Vegas has a theme. The Venetian’s is Venice, Italy. They have a giant mall with a grand canal running down its length. And though it is indoor, the “sky” and the setting almost make you feel as if you are outdoors in Venice, if Venice had expensive shops lining the canals one after another that is.

When you are at the Venetian, a ride on a gondola pretty much a given.

I explained to Kai the tradition of couples kissing every time the gondola went under a bridge. He made a face as if he thought that was yucky. But he agreed to sit by himself while my wife and I got to sit together for a change.

The gondola ride was nice. We had a great gondolier, a young man studying to become an opera singer at a nearby university. He had a great voice as he serenaded us. And Kai even took this nice picture of us:

After the gondola ride, we had dinner “outdoors” at a nearby Italian restaurant. The food was excellent and Kai was very patient (with the help of his iPad) even though the waiter mistakenly did not hear me order Kai’s pizza and he had to wait extra long for it.

After dinner, we walked outside, the real outside, to get our first look at the Vegas Strip at night.

We saw the bright lights, and walked over to see the Mirage Volcano go off.

It was a spectacular show and Kai enjoyed it.

Afterward, as we walked back to the hotel, we saw a very long stretch limo driving by. Several young ladies were standing up with sticking their heads up over the roof of the limo. They were screaming as the limo drove by. Kai laughed and commented:

“Those are crazy girls!”

Yes, they are, Kai. But in Vegas you will see many things you don’t often see elsewhere.

We are off to a good start on our vacation.

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