Catching Up: Vegas

Back in April, we drove to Las Vegas for my sister-in-law's bridal shower. She had been coming to visit us instead of the other way around since my daughter was born, so this was our first family trip to Vegas. We thought that it would be a good practice run for our longer road trip east the following month.

One concern about a long road trip is keeping a toddler occupied. This trip debuted two items for that: an iPad and a tray that gives kids a flat surface where they can eat or color. Both were a success, perhaps too successful, because my daughter pretty much always wanted the tray in her lap with the iPad playing one of her shows.

Another concern on this trip was bathroom breaks, namely the relative lack of places where you can take one. We handled this by taking bathroom breaks when we could and encouraging my daughter to go. Sometimes that encouragement took the form of bribing her with candy, which worked about half the time. We had no roadside emergencies, though, so I'll count that as a success.

We had some free time that weekend, so we set out to visit some attractions that would appeal to both kids and adults.

Our first stop was the Ethel M. chocolate factory. Touring the actual factory went pretty quickly because there are no staff making chocolates on the weekend. We spent more time in the two factory stores: one for M&M -themed products and one for Ethel M. goods. There is also a botanical garden there.

Then we took a play break a couple of miles away at Sunset Park.

Later that day, we went to Paris Las Vegas. My daughter recognizes the Eiffel Tower from her t-shirt, so I thought she would get a kick out of going. She still talks about how she went there. We went to the top of the tower for views of the strip...

...and to watch the fountains at the Bellagio.

We also did lots of good eating on our trip. In addition to the great spread at the bridal shower, we had some nice meals out at Babycakes, The Original Pancake House, and Society Cafe at the Wynn.

Thanks for reading! Next I'll catch up on some children's museums that we visited in the Phoenix area last spring.