Stop 10: Las Vegas is HOT! HOT! HOTTER!

Our intention was to stop at the spectacular Welcome to Las Vegas sign when we rolled into town but we were all hot and cranky, and the line was 40+ people deep so we kept driving. As we stated yesterday, we toured the strip and downtown Vegas before unpacking the car and dropping it off at Wally's Honda Service Center. I was a little uneasy about leaving our van where I couldn't see it but not as uneasy about the thought of driving for nearly three more weeks without air conditioning. The choice was easy. It was going to be a scorcher and driving out to town tomorrow would also prove to be a miserable experience. We were counting on Wally.

We had planned to walk the strip or visit the pool but we were all totally exhausted from the hot car trip that we hung out in our hotel room. Charlotte, Alex, Andy, and I walked downstairs and grabbed some dinner at a counter service place while Sarah stayed in the room. We all hung out in the hotel room and eventually Charlotte fell asleep watching a show on her phone. Everyone followed suit eventually and it was the best night's sleep I've had in a while. Lots of heat, strong winds, and more heat wore us all out.

Andy had a 7am PST call for work so he was up and at 'em early. He found a cozy work spot in the hotel/casino restaurant and parked himself there for most of the day. We all kept sleeping for the better part of the morning, waking at various times. Charlotte, the first to fall asleep the previous night, was the last to awaken around 10AM. We've been traveling with various food stuffs so we ate breakfast in our room: bagels & cream cheese for some, cereal for others, and yet others had Pop Tarts. Yep, we keep it healthy around here. (We have bananas and blueberries available, too. It's not all junk; but we have to keep things on hand that won't melt/wilt/spoil in a hot car and can "keep" in a cooler.)

By the time the four of us had eaten, rested, watched TV, relaxed, blogged, played on our various devices, showered, and relaxed some more, it was already 1PM and I wanted the kids to see some of the hotels and sights around town. So we headed downstairs and out into the blast furnace that is Las Vegas. 

We started at the Venetian for two reasons: 1--it's where Andy and I stayed 8 years ago for our 10th wedding anniversary and I thought the kids would like seeing the gondolas and cool skies inside. 2--it was closest to our hotel and it was SO hot outside.

Alex loved the boats. The girls thought the expensive shops were neat, but expensive. HA! They shopped for their usual souvenirs and found some good things. I showed them the gardens and fountains at Palazzo but they were getting cranky so we ate at Chipotle inside Bellagio (thanks, Aunt Amy for the gift cards--it was only $14 after that! That's a steal for Vegas!) Right as we were checking out the chocolate-covered strawberries, we happened upon a couple getting engaged in a gondola and the entire place erupted in applause. It was so sweet! I wasn't prepared with my camera for their big moment but I snapped a photo of them just after. Congrats to that happy couple!

We moseyed on over to the Mirage because it was the next to hotel in line (and because it's hard to do much more than "mosey" when it's 105 degrees outside, despite the crazy-low humidity). They have a lovely indoor garden and a gigantic aquarium behind their check-in desk. 

At this point, it was just so hot it was almost impossible to move so we stopped for ice cream at the McDonald's on our way to back to our hotel. Some days just call for ice cream. Alex ordered a cookie and an apple juice since ice cream is off limits for him. He did say, "I sure wish I could have ice cream" and a small piece of my heart broke for the poor boy who always has to find a way to enjoy a crummy substitute snack. Poor guy had to eat a hot, chocolate chip cookie. I know, I know, it's hardly a sacrifice. But the kid just wanted a cool snack on a 100+ degree day and he couldn't get what he wanted. My mama heart was sad for him.

While we were out, we got word about our van and after several different attempts, Wally's was able to repair it! We have never been so happy to spend a ton of money in our lives! Apparently the condenser had sprung a leak (maybe a rock hit it or something) and needed replacing. So Andy Ubered to Wally's to snag that cool ride and bring her back to her family. Then it was off to a show.

We booked tickets for the MJ Live show at Stratosphere (now called "The Strat" but that feels weird so we're keeping it OG with the names). We weren't sure what to expect so what we got was AWESOME! The singer as great, dancers were decent, and band was super! We were impressed. We waited in line afterward to meet the impersonator and bought their gimmicky photo. It's not here because it's in our car.  That photo we had to have is now in our car in the parking garage. Vegas.

Since we had our van and had driven to Stratosphere, we decided to check out the other end of the strip. It was muuuuch cooler at only 96 degrees (ha, ha, ha!) but because the sun wasn't directly crisping our skin, it really did feel much cooler. We first took Alex to see "the wheel" that he has talked about since before we got here. He read about it on the bus during school and has been obsessed. So he got to see the wheel at LinQ Hotel. Andy wanted to see the Bellagio fountains again (but because he was parking the car, he missed them) and we had to see Paris for Sarah. She's kinda obsessed with all things Paris so we made sure she saw it. Charlotte wanted to see New York, New York, so the girls and I hoofed it there as well. Andy and Alex went back to the van and picked us up later.

It was another scorcher of a day but our van got fixed, we saw an awesome MJ show, and the kids all got to see the things they wanted in Vegas without anyone burning to a crisp. All's well that ends well, I suppose. We're heading out for San Diego tomorrow. We might have to bring out the jeans because the high is only supposed to be in the upper 60's. America, you're beautiful!