For breakfast we went just out of the park’s entrance to Cafe Soleil. We ordered a breakfast sandwich, a blueberry muffin and milk. The breakfast sandwich, which we ordered on a wheat sandwich thin was just ok, and the blueberry muffin tasted straight out of Costco (which is fine, just not special). We also ordered two wraps for lunch, which they packaged to go for our hike, but more about that later.

Even though k is 5, we brought two strollers along because we knew we would be able to do way more hiking that way. By 8:30 a.m. we had taken the shuttle to the Riverside Walk (2 miles RT), which leads to The Narrows. According to the shuttle driver, this is the “cold side” of the park in the morning. It was FREEZING…I can see why there were few people that chose to do this hike in the morning. I was ill-prepared, but at least the kids had gloves (actually, we had only brought 3 out of 4) and D had his trusty headband/ear warmer. Due to the cold, these were the longest 2 miles I have ever walked, but we did make it.

This is the entrance to The Narrows, which actually requires you to hike in the water. I cannot see how this would be fun, but D would like to try someday.

The highlight was coming across a deer family. Here is a close-up of one of them.

Next was a 1.2 mile RT hike to the Emerald Pools. Since it was warmer, we had k walk parts of this one, but the problem was that n wanted to follow suit. Pushing two strollers while trying to make sure two kids don’t fall off the cliff is just not a good idea. So back in the strollers they went.

We wouldn’t have wanted the situation depicted on this sign:

Upon our return, we ate lunch picnic-style on the grand lawn in front of the Zion Lodge.

We shared a chicken caesar wrap and a turkey/bacon/avocado wrap from Cafe Soleil. These were quite substantial, and along with the chilled drinks I brought in our cooler, made quite a nice lunch.

Next, we stopped at the Human History Museum. I inquired about the little junior ranger program for kids five and under. We worked on a worksheet together and I had D take the kids to turn them in for a little pin. Little did we know that there would be an oral test, but both k and n passed. (The ranger asked n what the person in the picture was doing wrong and n answered, “picking flowers”). We also watched a short film on Zion. n fell asleep and started to snore. Loudly.

Water filling station to cut down on plastic water bottle usage.

Finally, we decided to walk the Pa’rus trail (3.5 miles RT). I had read that it was wheelchair/stroller accessible, but it turns out this is not the case when you start the trail from the Human History Museum. First of all, there are rocky steps you have to go down, and then you go under a bridge on a narrow ledge which would not even be possible with a wheelchair. However, once we made it past these obstacles, the path is nice and paved.

Not wanting to deal with the obstacles again, we just went one way and took the shuttle back to the Visitor’s Center.

We relaxed a bit at the campsite and went to The Flying Monkey for dinner.

Even though we had pizza the night before, this restaurant had a wood-fire oven and is known for its pizza, so we did pizza again. We created our own, with D choosing prosciutto and grilled zucchini.

The crust was also a bit soggy in the middle, but overall the crust was much better than the one we had at Zion Pizza & Noodle.

We also ordered a Cubano sandwich, which came with waffle fries.

Do you see that small container of pink sauce? That is fry sauce, which is Utah thing. I would highly recommend this sandwich after a long day of hiking.

For dessert, we went back to Bumbleberry Inn to try the bumbleberry ice cream.


The kids really enjoyed it. The ice cream was lighter than premium ice cream, and the “bumbleberry” was more of a jammy swirl. If you only have one chance to try bumbleberry-flavored something, I would go with the pie.

Photo op outside of a restaurant that we didn’t go to.

D insisted that we take a picture by the official park sign. This is our only shot during the trip of our entire family together.

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and drove to the Venetian. D was most impressed with this hotel and wants to stay here for our ten year anniversary. I, on the other hand, was quite satisfied just walking around and checking everything out.

Close up

Farther away

They were in the midst of decorating for Christmas, aka “Winter In Venice”

Inside:


D chose this cafe for breakfast. The small latte in the back was expensive, but good–very smooth.

The lobby is kind of ridiculous:

Before heading home, we made a stop at the Ethel M chocolate factory/cactus garden. I remember going here as a kid, mostly because I bought a small cactus.

The factory is not open for tours on the weekends, but they have windows where you can see some of the process. It was a scene straight out of one of the kids’ favorite books:

I could not help but wonder what happens to the chocolates that are deemed rejects and thrown into the plastic-lined cardboard boxes. We also noticed several chocolates on the ground. How sad.

In the store, we were each given a free chocolate disk which the kids enjoyed, of course. (Milk for the kids, Dark for the adults).

The cactus garden was decorated for Christmas:

It probably looks more impressive at night.

There is also an M&M store, which was a lot smaller, but a lot less crowded than the one in Vegas.

For lunch we stopped in Baker at the Mad Greek. It looks similar to the one in Stanton, but I am not clear on the connection. It is a lot more expensive, although the portions are somewhat bigger. I think the gyros were just under $10! The zucchini fries were not hot, and seemed like they had been sitting around. Boo. The gyros were warm, though, and two were plenty for the four of us.

Overall, we had a nice time on our weekend getaway. It is fun to break up the every day routine.

After resting up at the hotel, we went back to the Strip. We stopped at M&M World (so crowded!) There was also an ABC store like they have in Hawaii. We bought a Hello Kitty-Las Vegas keychain for k and a poker chip keychain for n. While waiting in line to make my purchases, I was behind a Gene Simmons impersonator. Only in Vegas. We also stopped in at the Coca Cola store. I tried to order a cherry icee, but it was still mixing, so I settled for Coke flavor, even though we don’t really allow the kids to drink soda. I think the guy who rang me up gave me a free souvenir cup since my first choice wasn’t available. Anyway, this trip will be known as the first time k and n tasted Coke.

Despite their faces, they liked it. Who knows when we’ll let them have it again!

Next we headed to the Planet Hollywood hotel to eat dinner at the Earl of Sandwich. This was a Yelp! find…1527 reviews, 4.5 stars! Unheard of, but I now understand.

These pictures do not do the sandwiches justice. We ordered a Montague and a Club sandwich. The Montague was more filling, but the kids liked the flavor of the Club better. We shared, and it was enough, partly because of our big brunch. The bread was so good! I can’t really describe it, as I have never had anything quite like it. Also, the sandwiches were a reasonable $5.99 each. If one of these restaurants opened in Southern California, I think they would do quite well. Please come to Orange County!

Back to the Bellagio to see the water show.

k’s new Skechers (early birthday present) put on a show of their own!

Afterward, we walked back to the hotel, and D was able to watch the Big Game (not that it was a good game for us).

Two hotels that D wanted to visit were Bellagio and Paris (yes, it has been a long time since D has been to Vegas).

D was impressed by the conservatory. It was still decorated for Autumn, which I have never seen before.

k was surprised by the talking tree.

k liked this window display.

Afterward we went across the street to the Paris hotel.

As you may have noticed, we hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. We were trying to save our appetites for the Wicked Spoon buffet at the Cosmopolitan. (We did feed k and n granola bars and juice beforehand, however). I think we arrived around 10:15 a.m., and the line was short. (It was pretty long by the time we left).

Swanky

It was definitely a splurge for us, at $29 per person. However, I chose it in part because both k and n were free (kids 4 and under are free). Also, I had read about how much of the food is served tapas style, or “small bites”. The presentation was so cute, and the selection of food was overwhelming. D filled up on breakfast food (pecan french toast and an omelet) so he was not able to enjoy the prime rib and lamb to their full potential. k liked the chicken and the lemon gelato (there was a wide variety of flavors). I liked the shrimp cocktail, fish, fried rice and chocolate covered strawberries (with crushed oreo). n’s favorite was probably the chocolate gelato, along with the bacon. The kalbi, which I had read good reviews of, was too tough/fatty for my taste. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, especially since I am sure it will be a while before we return.

Unfortunately, by this time, D had developed a headache, so on the way back to our hotel we made a quick stop at CVS for some advil (forgot to bring some along). We tried to rest so we could gear up for our night on the town.

D woke up at 5 a.m. on Saturday and tried to work out at the Luxor gym. However, it didn’t open until 6 a.m.–doh. After he returned, n had a bloody nose, I think from the dry air/altitude. It was a bad one…the worst I’ve ever dealt with, and a bit scary. Thankfully, we were still in the hotel room, with ready access to tissue.

At around 8:30 a.m., we walked down the Strip. We brought along two strollers, even though k usually walks. I knew there would just be way too much walking for her, and I was right. We also found out that there are many intersections that do not allow pedestrians, so we had to take a countless number of elevators to go over various pedestrian bridges.

The air was crisp, and the sidewalks were pretty empty, except for joggers.

k was confused when we said this was New York.

I think this is part of City Center.

Mastro’s Ocean Club Restaurant

MGM

OK, not really with a baby, but with two young children. This past weekend we went to Vegas as a family getaway. This was the third state k and n have been to (California, obviously, and Hawaii are the other two). It has been a long time since either D or I had been there, so we thought it would be fun to check out some of the more recent developments. We realize that Vegas is not necessarily thought of as a place suitable for children, but it’s not like we were out clubbing. I felt like people were giving us weird looks when we were pushing k and n in strollers down the strip, but maybe I was just being self-conscious. Or maybe they were really giving us weird looks, but that’s ok. Pushing a kid in a stroller is a sure-fire way of people not trying to pass out club fliers at every street corner.

We left around 12:15 and arrived around 4:15. We stayed at the Luxor, in the pyramid. The inclinator elevators are strange…would’ve been cooler if they were glass, and you could see where you were going.

It is kind of weird how you cannot tell what time it is inside of a casino.

After check-in and dropping off our stuff, we made our way to Mandalay Place, which is connected to the Luxor. D wanted to eat at Burger Bar, started by Top Chef fave Hubert Keller.

Angus Burger with cheddar

Salmon Burger

We also shared a side of skinny fries and zucchini fries. This was enough for all of us. Since we arrived early, around 5 p.m., we had a booth with its own t.v. screen (football was on). The burger and salmon were good, but nothing out of the ordinary. Paul’s Place still has the best zucchini fries, IMHO. However, I think D did end up putting the burger on his list. I think it was more for the experience.

After that, we walked around Mandalay Bay. The high-end restaurants were very impressive-looking. Unfortunately, I dropped n’s argyle sweater that he was supposed to wear for Christmas somewhere along the way and we were unable to find it when we back-tracked. I even called lost and found the next day, to no avail. It wasn’t expensive (it was from Target, last year), but it was so cute, and I just hate losing things. Oh well, as my mom likes to say.