(Conclusion)
LAS VEGAS —Did you know that it gets hot in Las Vegas?
I mean really, really hot.
My wife Cris Evert and I made the near fatal mistake of crossing the Nevada desert with our five-person SUV and luggage to the brink but sans air conditioning.
Not wise.
This was the final leg of our 2,000-kilometer drive from Northern Montana to Los Angeles International Airport and a 14-hour, non-stop flight to Cebu.
Next up at the horizon is “Sin City.”
My, my! Has Las Vegas changed over the years. My first trip was in the early 1980s and the headliners were still Frank Sinatra at Caesars Palace and Kenny Rogers at the Aladdin Hotel. The past has been swept away and the world-famed Las Vegas Strip today dwarfs the four- lane street with 40-story high-rise condominiums and even higher casino hotels like Trump Tower.
Las Vegas has also changed for families and is less kind for parents with toddlers, but we found some diamonds in the rough:
Circus Circus Hotel – A throwback to the 1960’s, this hotel is still offering free aerial circus attractions over their Blackjack tables. This could only happen in Vegas, baby!
High Speed Action – The New York New York Hotel Casino still has an outdoor roller coaster which would be too much for our two-year-old twins but my wife Cris is more than ready.
The M & M Factory – Located right on the Strip near the MGM Hotel, it’s more candy store than a “factory” but is a quick diversion from the desert heat.
Brunch, Anyone? – A relief for the pocketbook and a great selection for the family is any of the breakfast, lunch or dinner buffets served up hot and fresh by any of the major casino hotels.
For the Ruffolo Family, Las Vegas was a four-day desert oasis. Time to recharge for the final six hours of Los Angeles and then gearing up for the seemingly never-ending, 14-hour nonstop flight to Cebu.
My wife is a brilliant woman and when we finally got into the airplane, she equipped us with the necessary armory to survive the journey to the next promise land.
For the long-haul passenger with toddlers, here’s what we recommend:
Entertainment bag – We had two full backpacks: the baby bag (for diapers, change of clothes and other what-nots) and the entertainment bag (with coloring books, art materials, tablets, and reward stickers). It is better to over prepare than be caught off-guard by the screams of your bored children
inside a plane.
Disney download – We were ready with six, never before seen Disney movies for our twins. An iPad also filled with Disney video treats also came in handy.
Cookies, anyone? – Kids love cookies and we were all ready with chocolate chip cookies to tide them over to one of the next three on-board meals.
It’s not an easy trek by any means from Montana to Cebu with three little kids and no family help. But we moved to be tougher stuff than one year ago and made it with flying colors.
Questions, comments or travel suggestions, write me at [email protected].
