Almost Grown-Up Vegas Visitors

Recently we played host for 8 days to three under-twenty-one “kids” – I guess our grandchildren will always be “kids” to us even when they are much older!   Kaitlynn is almost 19, and grandson Zachary and his new bride, Taylor, are both 20.  We had never had trouble keeping the kids busy on their Vegas visits for all these last 20 years, but now would there be enough almost-grown-up things to keep them entertained?

I shouldn’t have worried – we never had a problem with finding fun things to do.  The problem was finding enough time to do all the things that interested them.  Here are some of the highlights:

1.  Riding the gondolas at the Venetian.  We don’t play at that casino anymore so didn’t have comps, but Zachary was proud to inform me that he found a frugal discount.  Since he is in the National Guard he was eligible for a reduced military rate.
2. Walking up and down the Strip and hitting the usual freebie attractions:  The Conservatory, chocolate fountain, and the dancing waters at the Bellagio; the Mirage volcano; the Flamingo Wildlife Habitat.   A stop at M+M’s World.  The CSI Experience, for which I had found half –price tickets on Groupon.  The girls spent time at the Forum Shops and Fashion Show Mall, mostly window shopping but they did find some bargains within their budget at H+M and Forever 21.
3. Enjoying a 5-hour tour to the Valley of Fire where they hiked and rode ATV’s to view the rugged but beautiful scenery.   (This was another half-off find on Groupon – a very good place for many Vegas bargains, including for activities, food, and shows.)
4. Visiting a local parkour gym.   This was a high point for Zachary who has a passion for this sport.  I call it the Grandma Nightmare – a  climb-every-wall- jump-every-fence I-know- you-are-going-to-break-every-bone-in-your- body thing!
5.  Staying in luxurious digs, again at no expense for us because they were comped.  The first 3 nights we all stayed in a deluxe Caesars suite that had an adjoining extra bedroom.  The next three nights the Gold Coast gave us a suite for the newly-weds.  (Kaitlynn enjoyed staying with Grandma and Poppy in their condo.)  But the last two nights had the ultimate wow impact.  We had a “Rain Man” suite at Caesars Palace.  We don’t know if it was the exact one where the movie was shot since there are 5 of them with the same 2-story floor plan – but it was an exciting perk, something that came about because of a long-time play history with this gaming company.  (I can’t get my pictures of this to load but I’ll try again in my next blog entry.)
6.  Swimming in the blazing Vegas heat, at the luxurious Caesars pools and in the convenient pool at our condo complex.
7. Seeing shows, something we could provide at no expense for us since we had comps.

• We were able to maximize our Caesars 7* benefit of 2 free shows a month each, turning it into 8 free tickets because the visit dates went over two months –   4 tickets for “Jubilee” and 4 for “Penn and Teller.”
• We used MGM Express Comps (from past play – we no longer play at any of those properties) for tickets to “O” and the “Gospel Brunch” at the House of Blues.  This last one provided a wonderful event for all 5 of us to share.  One of the best breakfasts we have even had in Vegas and uplifting and inspiring entertainment that is rare – maybe non-existent? – on the Strip.  I must say I was a little…shall I say a lot… shocked by being urged to do the “Holy Ghost Rock.”  I was raised a bit conservative!  However, these Southern Baptist kids were into this hand-clapping, white-napkin-waving, jiving music – and it didn’t take Brad and me long to get in the joyful spirit with this enthusiastic audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.  And last, but not least, eating their way up and down the street and all around town.  Thank goodness for plenty of food comps – these kids eat constantly – they needed plenty of fuel to power their nonstop activity.  High point in the eating category was our 7* Celebration Dinner at Caesars Bacchanal Buffet with my sister Starr and her partner, David.  We almost had to break the 2-hour-limit buffet rule posted on the tables!

All in all, it was a wonderful visit – and it took Brad and me only three days to recover!