Spring Break 2021

This spring break came together in a hurry. A bit of a bonus from Lori's work, and we had a place booked. We stayed at the Polo Towers, right off the strip. We were on the south end, close to MGM, Aria, etc. Polo Towers is a vacation club / timeshare place, so Lori had to endure a sales pitch when we arrived. Parking consisted of a limited number of underground spots, each with no turnaround space. That's right, just 3 dead end lanes. And if you didn't score one of those spots, you had to share with the outdoor lot of the Travelodge. That place looks like a crime scene, and in fact, on our last day there, a heavy police presence was there for hours. 

Traven loved the setup. He basically had his own private suite, complete with a small kitchen area, bathroom, TV, etc. We had plenty of room, since it was just the 3 of us. And our suite was bigger, so we had a kitchen table, sofa, recliner, etc. It was quiet for Vegas, and we slept well.

The pool was lame. It was on the rooftop, which is cool, but it was only 3 feet deep. We didn't do much swimming.

For road trips, I either drive vacation truck (Showgren's F150) or I rent something a bit bigger. Since it was just the 3 of us, I opted to rent a slightly bigger car. Well, Enterprise in Spanish Fork was hopping, the size of car we rented wasn't there, so we ended up getting upgraded to a Nissan Armada. That's right, 8 seats for just us! It was great. It came equipped with a cruise control that auto slowed for traffic. That through me for a loop at first. And it had this cool aerial view when backing up. I'm not quite sure how they pull that off, but it was like having a drone monitoring my parking job.

After over a year of isolation, the VA started allowing limited visits this month. I called, they had just had a cancellation, and we were able to stop in and see my Dad on the way down. He has lost quite a bit of weight. He refuses to wear his hearing aids, so it's a struggle to visit with him. And he usually answers questions with more than off topic answers. We were limited to a half hour, but it was still a wonderful experience.

We decided to buy a few items at the Walmart before heading down to Vegas. One item was hand sanitizer, of course. We got in the car, and Lori gave each of our hands a generous portion. As I began to rub it in, I realized she had actually bought hand soap. Yeah, that was fun to try and rub in with no water!

We arrived in Las Vegas and went to dinner at Chapalas Mexican restaurant. Good food. I'd go there again. Las Vegas is a bit behind Utah on Covid recovery, so it still felt weird at times to be out. Lots of people wearing masks, even outdoors. And I think the kids just barely went back to in-person learning this last week.

Tuesday, we walked. And we found out that a lot of places have adjusted dates and times due to Covid, but those aren't shown online. We went with the 7 experience GoCity pass, which is a great deal. Anyway, we walked to the High Roller, just to find out it didn't open until 4 pm. We then walked to Madame Tussuads. Lori decided she needed a bathroom. Like a fool, I told her to just step into the Venetian, find a bathroom, and we would get a place in line. Nearly an hour later, we found her! She was on the wrong floor, and about as far into that casino shopping area as you can get. I told her to stay put, and we'd find her. She said she was by a waterfall. I didn't even know there was one in there!

At any rate, we finally made it into the museum. I've done it several times, but it is always entertaining!

Lori was feeling a bit off, so we opted to go see The Unholy that night, rather than walk anymore. Solid movie, but not as scary as I would have hoped.

Wednesday, we started off at Pole Position raceway. The carts didn't look Mike sized, so I sat this one out. It was more fun for me to watch Lori and T race! It was an indoor track, and they were moving pretty quickly. Lori was a bit more conservative in her racing strategy, but they both had fun.

Located at the same place is a virtual reality outfit. We chose to slaughter zombies as a family. Not to brag, but I had the highest kill count. I'd definitely do this again.

Wednesday afternoon was Meow Wolf. It is located in Area 15, and I don't really know how to describe it. It's a weird looking "store", with hidden entries into back rooms. Those rooms have slides, activities, hidden items related to the experience, etc. It was fun, but for the price, I would have hoped for more. Area 15 actually has other activities, but each is very pricey.

After this, we went on the High Roller. It takes that boy 30 minutes to make a full rotation. If you haven't been on it, it's the giant structure that looks like a Ferris wheel. Each "car" actually can easily seat a dozen people, but thanks to Covid, we had one all to ourselves. The views were great. There are screens telling you how long you have been on, how high you are, and all sort of facts about Vegas. Definitely worth doing.

Thursday, we did the Hunger Games exhibition. It left me with a desire to rewatch the movies. And we got to test our archery skills. That was way cool.

We then went to the Big Apple coaster at New York New York. I wasn't feeling it, so Lori and T went, then T went again. Traven has come a long way in overcoming his fear of coasters. This one is high speed, has a loop and some corkscrews.

We ended this day with the 4D shows at the Excalibur. Not nearly as cool as I remember the "magic motion" machines being, but still, worth trying.

And Friday, we were on our way home. This is pretty much what I got out of Traven for HOURS. With having his own room, I think he might have stayed up a bit late each night!

No buffets, weird hours and the usual Vegas issues of half naked people walking the Strip (kind of gives it a new meaning), but all in all, it was great to be back!