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Family Vacation 6/26-6/29/15 (3 Nights at Wyndham Grand Desert)

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Richard Alpert, Aug 4, 2015.

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  1. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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    My Trip Report

    8th trip to Vegas, first with the 3 kiddos (ages 8-12). The trip was a surprise for them. They thought we were spending 3 nights near Minneapolis (Mall of America, etc.), but as we sat down for supper at a restaurant near MSP airport we broke the news to them that we would be leaving that night for Vegas! The look on their faces was priceless!

    This was our first big family vacay of any type. Why not Disney? Vegas was a place we could fly and stay within our modest budget. We’ve been bringing seven trips worth of souvenirs home to our kiddos. Now they could come and buy their own!

    No gambling for me this trip. I’ve already hit the jackpot with my wonderful family! The spotlight of this trip is family fun. Leaving my loved ones to loiter on the sidelines while I’m gaming is not the way I roll.

    Sunday, July 26
    Flew Spirit (and survived). I’ve thankful my legs aren’t any longer, though!
    Landed at LAS at 11:00 P.M.
    Taxi to Wyndham Grand Desert (E. Harmon & Koval). We were in a two bedroom in Tower III.

    Monday, July 27
    Had Pizza Hut delivered for lunch.
    Swimming. The pool in our Tower was open 24 hours.
    Took complimentary shuttle to Harrah’s.
    Walked through Forum Shops. Ate at Cheesecake Factory.
    Back to hotel. Bought a few items at the hotel’s “mini-market.”

    Tuesday, July 28
    Breakfast at “Oasis Café” in the hotel.
    Went to Activity Room. Played ping pong, “cornhole” (beanbags may be the better name for this), super-size Connect 4, X-box. Checked out a few DVDs for the kiddos to enjoy in the room.
    Swimming.
    Shuttle to Harrah’s.
    Ate at Outback at Casino Royale. Great service by our friendly server Joshua.
    Walgreen’s.
    Back to hotel. Wife and kids watched DVD of movie “Home,” I channel-surfed on another TV. I love to watch a little local TV when traveling.
    Some more swimming to end the day!

    Wednesday, July 29
    I began our last day in Vegas by doing my two main household chores from home: dishes and trash.
    Fun with the dishwasher and took a large load of trash to the trash chute at the end of the hall.

    The kiddos and I enjoy watching the DVD of “The Sandlot.” This is the first time I’ve seen this movie in its entirety.
    After drying my tears at the end of “The Sandlot” we set to packing, AKA cramming stuff into the suitcase.

    We checked out and hitched a ride in a hotel Suburban to MGM Grand.
    It was a two-minute ride and on the way there I got to thinking we probably could’ve just walked it, but it gave us an excuse to hand out another tip.
    We checked our bags at MGM Grand and set out to have a lot of fun on our long last day (flight was at midnight).
    Escaped MGM Grand via the West Wing bar doors—my favorite way to the strip.

    Of course, all 4 floors of the M&M store. Saw the movie again!

    Showcase Mall Food Court. Panda Express and Sbarro for my family. Had my first ever Del Taco. Pretty good, but Taco John is still my taco wife.
    Tix-4-Tonight. Patience test for the kids as my wife watches everything scroll by. Twice. Decide on Murray the Celebrity Magician at PH, add on Eiffel Tower tickets.
    Coke Store, cute pic with the polar bear.

    Another Walgreens! And another!

    At 4:00 we attended the Murray the Magician show. Finding Sin City Theatre was the toughest part. I asked one of the security guards where it was and he said it was also known as the V Theatre (wrong!) so we were out wandering Miracle Mile Shops. I asked three other people where the thing was before they pointed out that you had to go up the escalator in the casino itself. At least we got some good exercise out of the experience. We handed in our Tix-4-Tonight vouchers to get our tickets at 3:00 and chilled in line until the 4:00 show. The show was pretty entertaining. Good for the kids. My wife found out afterwards that we could’ve gotten the tickets a lot cheaper (with a popcorn voucher) on Groupon.

    We left PH to find a cloudy sky above the strip. We went to Paris to go up the Tower. Two of my kids opted to grab the iPads to learn about Paris, etc. By the time the elevator doors opened on the observation deck my kids had lost interest and I was holding onto both of the iPads until a guide collected them from me. I’m normally not good with heights, but I was comfortable being “caged-in” and I really enjoyed it. (Next time, rides atop The STRAT ? Maybe, maybe not…)

    We were thinking Shake Shack for supper, but the line was out the door and didn’t seem to be moving too fast. So we hopped over to Hard Rock Café (first time for me). It was a good meal. They had really cool activity packs that kept the kids engaged as we waited for our entrees. A lot of my favorite songs popped up on the screens as we waited. We settled the check to the tune of The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?,” quite a song to hear as we made our way out and down to MGM to get our bags, hail a taxi, and catch our midnight flight back to MSP.

    Final Thoughts
    Since our trip my kids have been so excited to talk about our trip, look at the pictures, etc. I will never regret sharing these precious days with the loves of my life in my favorite city. Time to continue seeding my bankroll for our next couples trip, hopefully this coming December or January.

    I will be adding some pics from the trip shortly.

    Thank you for taking the time to read my TR.
     
  2. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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    Make that 7/26-7/29/15. First TR and I messed up the title! :nono:
     
  3. Charlie8

    Charlie8 Tourist

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    Nice report and good family time.

    Ps.. Love the Lost reference in your name
     
  4. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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    Thanks, Charlie8. I've been where I've been for a very long time so I relate to the Richard character very well. Hoping to get off "the island" and get back to Vegas soon!

    Sorry for the late post/reply, but I've been busy attending to my list of outside projects to complete before the snow starts flying in a few months...:faint:
     
  5. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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    Found the pics!
    v10.jpg
     
  6. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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  7. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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  8. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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  9. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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    And the rest...
    v162.jpg v175.jpg v192.jpg v215.jpg v232.jpg v248.jpg v254.jpg v259.jpg

    All apologies for reviving this dead TR--and the resulting "bumping"--but I wanted to get the pics put on! Thanks and Happy Vegas to all!
     
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