Vegas, family style!

I started visiting Las Vegas in 1992, after my grandmother bought a house there. My aunt and her husband had already purchased a house there, and I and my siblings were invited for the holidays. My father moved there for good in 2003, to help take care of my Grandmother.  Frank and I spent our honeymoon there in 1995 (his first time). There have been 6 or 7 Vivas we've attended, 2 Rockabilly Raves I've attended and a few weddings. Basically, I've visited Las Vegas over a dozen times, with kids, without kids, with Frank, alone...you get the idea.

Frank and I were trying to think of a budget vacation for the kids this summer, and kicked around the idea of Reno and Virginia City with stops at Sutter's Mill and Sutter's Fort on the way up. Then I came up with the idea of Vegas. This would be the first time we took the kids without subjecting them to a Rockabilly Weekender. Frank and I hadn't gone without Viva or a Weekender since a wedding in 2000, so we decided to do it!

We got a deal on a room at the Sun Coast in Summerlin, near my father's house, packed up the car and headed out Monday morning about 7:30.

This was a vacation of gluttony...I don't even want to say how much I ate, but I will show a few pictures of the orgy of forbidden foods:

At the Claim Jumper with dessert....closest Claim Jumper is 30 miles from us at home, so we took advantage of it being a block from the hotel:

This is the aftermath:

We went to my Father's favorite BBQ place...

When we took the kids to see the Fremont Street Experience, I had to get a fried twinkie!

There were 3 buffet meals on our trip, as well as Sonic on the road.

In the over dozen times I've visited Las Vegas, I have NEVER gone to see the Hoover Dam! We thought it would be an interesting and educational thing for the kids, so we woke up early and drove out there with my Dad.

With Dad and with Frank. The new bridge and the Dam behind us:

Everything built in the 20s and 30s, during the "heyday" of the Art Deco style of architecture, had such style. Even functional public works projects, like the Hoover Dam. I had to snap some photos of the details I found beautiful.

These sculptures sit on the Nevada side of the Dam

Even the restroom signs had style

I very much liked the message on this plaque!

View of Lake Mead on one side and the Colorado River on the other:

We took a tour of inside the Dam and the Power Plant:

 This bit of artwork was hot!

Lots of  interesting artifacts from the construction of the Dam:

Mason found the only video game there!

This sign was posted at a Casino near Hoover Dam. My kids did not like the heat...

On our drive home, we stopped in Baker so the kids could see the Aliens:

The kids with the Alien Space Trooper

I wanted this bottle of hot sauce!

All in all, it was a good family Vacation and my kids got to see my 93 year old grandmother.

All of us out to dinner

I had an afternoon of vintage and thrift store shopping while I was there...I will take pictures of my scores and post them later.