Vegas Baby

---

Weather: sunny and 88 and gorgeous

States: Nevada

Cities: New York New York

Miles: 0 miles

Hours: 24/7

Sites: Fremont Street, The Strip, Shark Reef

Restaurant: Public Us, Excalibur, Mercato Della Pescheria

Hotel/Home: Fairfield

Movies:

Audible:

Rested and ready to...Vegas Baby. At least a kid friendly version. We met up with Stone (Paul’s brother) for breakfast. He took us to Public Us restaurant. It was sooo good. Stone always has good restaurants. It was a cool little local restaurant with yummy food. I had the best homemade gluten free bread with an avocado spread, tomatoes and smoked salmon. The boys got some beautiful french toast and waffles. Elizabeth got some kind of breakfast burrito. Paul got a lovely oatmeal with fruit and nuts. He loves his oatmeal. Stone got some delicious looking egg skillet. It was all good and the atmosphere was nice.

After breakfast, we took the kids to “seedy” Fremont Street. I think they were hoping this wasn’t the “real Vegas” after seeing two 90 year old men wearing nothing but a fig leaf. Eww. A sight to never unsee. Oh and a 250 pound, leg less “retired stripper down on her luck” (that’s what her sign said) wearing a full mask and pasties. Hmmm. Sight to never unsee. Why do these people humiliate themselves? It gets worse at night so we will be avoiding later today. It really is pretty tame in the AM. Family friendly? We were in and out like the burger joint.

We dropped Stone off at home because he has a dog, Jack, now that needs attention and Stone hurt his ankle a week ago and can’t walk as far as we can. We are going to tackle the strip. We stayed at a Fairfield Inn just off the strip because it was three times as much money and not enough room for all of us to stay on the strip. We are only here for one full day and two nights and it didn’t make sense with the way we are traveling. We are planning to be out of the room most of the time anyway. We have a suite and a shuttle to the strip so it works great. We also have a place to park our van which tends to be a problem at bigger hotels.

We hopped the shuttle to Mandalay Bay. We took the kids to see the shark encounter which they enjoyed. We worked our way from one casino to the next. The kids liked it here better. Much cleaner and more kid friendly. We had lunch in Excalibur which we expected to be a greaseball lunch but it ended up being really good. The hardest thing about these trips, and I say it every time, is the food and eating out. We start to feel unhealthy even though we try to eat at decent restaurants. After lunch, we went to New York New York so Paul and Ben could ride the rollercoaster. Paul said it took some time off his life. It was a little rough and jerky. But fun. We worked our way through Park MGM to Aria to catch a shuttle back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner.

We shuttled back to Aria and Ubered to the other end of the strip to the Venetian to meet Stone for dinner. I love the Venetian. Why? Because I love Italy. My homeland. Not really but I pretend. I love the Piazza in the middle with shops and restaurants and a sky that looks like you are outside.. We had dinner there at Mercato Della Pescheria. We had a delicious meal. We filled the table, again, with crispy calamari in Calabrian chili aioli, sautéed mussels in white wine pomodoro sauce, Italian meatballs, Tuscany board of meats and cheeses, Fettuccine Bolonese, a Mediterranean Seabass and a Mediterranean Seafood Risotto. We all shared everything. I also got my favorite, an Aeperol Spritz. Delicious meal, great ambiance and family time. Great to spend time with Uncle Stone, too. Stone had to get back to his dog and rest his foot. We set off to explore some more places. The kids liked the Bellagio Fountains. Everyone was exhausted and had enough of the late night crowds. Now we are all in bed. Easter mass in the AM. This will be the second Easter mass Paul and I have done here in Vegas. The first one was terrible. It was the dullest priest. We are going to a different church, I think. Then we are having brunch with Stone again at one of his recommended restaurants. Such a great day.

goodnight.

---