Fun, Framily and Mishaps in Vegas!

We made it to fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada! How could you not love all of the lights, fun and excitement? Lindsay and I have been a few times, but this time was different as we now had local folks to hang out with, and we had Aiden with us. Vegas can be somewhat family-friendly, right?

To start our visit, we booked a 2 week stay at the Clark County Shooting Complex. This place is pretty cool, you can sign up for shooting classes, skeet shooting and so much more. The price to stay was a great deal compared to staying on the strip and the drive into town wasn’t bad. During the day, it can be loud with sounds of the firing range as well as Airforce Jets flying by, but it makes for a new and fun experience. Aiden kept running outside whenever he heard a jet fly by so he could take a picture. We especially loved that we had enough room to put our back patio down and view the amazing Las Vegas skyline when it is all lit up at night. If you’re in the North Las Vegas area and need a safe and affordable place to park your rig, make sure you check them out!

Years ago when I met Lindsay, she was right out of high school and was living with her brother-from-another-mother, Bubba. Bubba and I got along well and we all spent a lot of time hanging out, then he ended up moving to Vegas. Bubba and Lindsay were super close back then but lost touch over the years and now was a great time for them to reconnect! So, our first night in Vegas was filled with love, laughter, fun and memories as we attempted to fill in 12 years of distance. Its was comforting to know that we were able to pick up where we left off, making it feel as if we had never lost any time at all.

Vegas is an adult playground for sure but we wanted to focus on more family-friendly things to do this time around. Just so happened that the Formula 1 race was the week before we arrived so there were quite a few race stands, lights, and blockades still in place so that made getting around a little more difficult. We ended up walking the strip a good bit to visit a bunch of the stores and shops between the Luxor and the Bellagio.

Aiden had been wanting to game in the HyperX Arena at the Luxor, so we decided to make that one of the 1st stops. He spent about 2 or 3 hours in there while Lindsay and I spent a little time at some of the slot machines but the slots weren’t feeling generous. After Aiden was finished we walked North on the east side of the strip and stopped at the M&M store because, why not? Next was the Coca Cola store where you can try a few of the of the flavors from around the world. 16 International flavors to be exact! We had a blast sipping and voting amongst ourselves, as to which was the best flavor and which was the worst.

As we walked on down the strip we saw the Stranger Things store. We just had to go in there being as we are big fans of the show and it did NOT disappoint! It wasn’t just a store with cool items to purchase, but it was also an experience. We were able to sit on Joyce’s couch as the lights flickered in the living room which was cool. Each character also had a room with their theme and merchandise. Needless to say we spent a lot of time in here looking around and taking all the pictures.

The following day we visited the Arte Museum. This was an awesome museum to visit whether you’re 8 or 108! It is an all immersive art experience using projectors and other awesome tech to showcase works inspired by nature under the theme of ETERNAL NATURE. The exhibition incorporates both the natural landscapes and the cultural backdrop of the city. Each piece of artwork delivers not just a vivid visual journey, but also a multi-sensory engagement—from enveloping soundscapes to tailor-made aromas—that amounts to a completely immersive experience.

Bubba and his girlfriend had a day off of work and invited us to hang out with them on Freemont St. From our understanding the strip was for tourists and Fremont is where more of the locals would hang out. Lindsay and I had not done the Fremont Street Experience in our previous trips so off the 5 of us went! Everything in Las Vegas is so vibrant and Fremont was no different. As we wandered around we came upon the Downtown Container Park, which is an open-air shopping center filled with boutique retail shops, unique restaurants, and live entertainment. It is also home to the Mantis! The Mantis is 40 feet tall and 30 feet wide. She throws giant fire flames reaching six stories high, has a built in 4,000 watt surround sound system and can speak more than 20 different languages. Every night at sundown (weather permitting) The Mantis is awakened by a drum circle celebration, where the public is welcome to participate.

At the time of our visit, Aiden was 13 years old and very mature for his age. With that being said, we felt that Fremont Street was ok to visit during the daylight hours with kids, but once the sun goes down, Freemont St starts to shine in more ways than one. You must have an open mind for sure, just understand you’ll see everything from Vegas Show Girls to very unique talent displays to wacky acts. There are several stages where live music is going on, there are casinos everywhere, several kinds of stores, several unique merch carts, restaurants, and more…..

Something you have to do while in Vegas is eat at one of the many massive buffets. We chose the buffet at The Wynn. I’m generally not a buffet person, but this one was pretty good, they had everything from mac-n-cheese to caviar and their dessert didn’t disappoint either. There is so much food you pretty much have to go in with a gameplan to get your money’s worth. But be prepared! It’s not cheap and it aint a Western Sizzlin! After stuffing our faces and leaving all fat-n-happy; we stopped by the McLaren dealer that’s just off the casino floor to see what a multi-million dollar car looks like! Well, it looks like an expensive garage ornament! They are super nice but I can’t see myself ever spending a few million on a car. They typically don’t let you in to see the cars up close unless you look like you can purchase one, but Aiden’s drool on the storefront glass got their attention and they let us in to get an up close look. If you’re in the market, those guys can sure hook ya up!

By now, we’re winding down our stay in Vegas. Back in August 2023, I had told Lindsay that I’d buy her a new camera once we sold the house and got on the road. So we decided to stop by B&C Camera to look at a few cameras she’s had her eye on. She’s always dabbled in photography and has always had a decent camera but it was time to get a great camera. She picked out a Sony a7riii, Sony 200-600mm lens, Tamron 28-200mm lens, and some other goodies. She’s taken some pretty awesome shots with it and we plan on expanding our ventures later on with this equipment.

Things we wanted to do but ran out of time to do: