Vegas Vacation

Parents: Naomi, what do you want to do to celebrate your high school graduation?

Naomi: Let's go to Las Vegas.

[Interesting. Naomi is the most unlike-Vegas person ever]

Naomi: For Meow Wolf OmegaMart! The only Meow Wolf we haven't been to yet. 

Parents: Of Course. Let's go to Las Vegas.

So yeah, we willingly took our 17 and 14 year old to "Sin City" for four days of family-friendly Vegas fun. Or, we can spin it another way: we traveled the world within a 5 miles stretch in the Nevada desert, visiting New York, Italy, Egypt, Morocco, Paris and more! (For the record, we stayed at Planet Holywood.)

Honestly, there is plenty to see and do along the Vegas strip if you are up for the trek, and these two are good sports with strong feet and legs! We covered a ton of ground taking in all the freebie tourist things. Each over-the-top themed hotel offers a different style and interesting things to look at. Naomi's favorite was the Bellagio, especially the extravagant indoor whimsical garden.  We also saw flamingos, Venetian canals and this colorful display of stained glass, which resemble parasols or jellyfish. 

Wanna see a mermaid? Vegas has that too!

How about a circus performer? Just down the street! Free parking. No charge.

And even despite the contract, last summer we binge-watched Stranger Things, so everyone appreciated the store with several cool props that brought the story to life.

The newest attraction, best seen at night: The Sphere! We stood and watched as long as our tired legs would last. (Well, Jeff was totally fine. The rest of us were getting weary.) It was quite impressive nonetheless.

Though, I think the most memorable moment was the scene at the northern end of the strip on Freemont Street. The unique old downtown is a cool place, with even more lights and action... 

...though Naomi and Danielle lost a bit of their innocence here. (Stickers qualify as clothing? They don't enforce illegal marijuana usage?) Fortunately, Vegas has set up a system where the 38 groups of street performers are required to stay inside their designated marked circle!) We intentionally avoided the handful of "advanced" circles on the way back to the car.

Thankfully, there's always another meal needing to be eaten to provide a distraction! White Castle, anyone?? (White Castle association: The home to where this jewel was originally filmed!) Naomi was excited to fill up on Chicken Ring Sliders with extra pickles and onions. (I like how EVERY business has to up their signage to meet the Vegas flashy-lights standard!) 

Thanks to youTube, Naomi discovered this hidden eatery: Secret Pizza. No flashy signage anywhere on this one -- just an unmarked dark walkway! (A couple other Naomi finds, not shown: Heart Attack Grill and Evel Pies, a la Evel Kinevel.)

You've got to stand out in Vegas to woo in customers, so why not pizza in a cone? Have some Twisted Sourdough Pizza. Marketing works. We also fell for the "famous" giant mozzarella cheese stick! (Fortunately, no heart attack here.) 

There are also plenty of unique things to experience off the strip too...