We only had a few days in Vegas and there is really no shortage of things to do, so we had a pretty jam-packed (for us anyway) itinerary. It worked out just fine because the house we were staying in was not our favourite. It certainly wasn’t homey and it wasn’t really set up to be useful. We had specifically picked it because it had a hot tub and we though that would be a nice thing to do in the evening, turns out we couldn’t get it heated above 80 and sitting in only slightly warmer than body temperature water isn’t awesome.
I had seen a bunch of articles and posts about Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart – especially when looking at non-gambling non-drinking activities in Las Vegas. Apparently, Meow Wolf has a few of these ‘interactive and immersive art installations’ around the US but Omega Mart seems to be getting the most attention. It’s a pretty trippy afternoon – you start off in a grocery store, but nothing is really as it seems. None of the products are real, but they are for purchase. The labels are all look like real products until you take a closer look and then realise they’ve all been slightly altered. Not only that, but there are at least 4 secret passages that lead you out of the grocery store into other passages and spaces – like through what appears to be a cooler, or behind a rack of clothes there’s a hidden staircase. You crawl through tunnels and up inside caves. You never really know where you are going to end up.
We did eventually figure out that there was a game to be played and so we opted in to that and solved the mystery by taking down the powerful corporation that was stealing everyone’s energy (or something like that). After a few hours of wandering around what I can only assume an acid trip is like we wandered around Area 51 before heading back down the strip and home to check out the local Korean BBQ place. It was amazing.
This is my third time in Vegas and I was determined to see the Hoover Dam. I don’t remember exactly why we didn’t go the first time, I know the second time we couldn’t go because bus had caught on fire on the road leading to the dam. Seems like third time really is a charm though and we successfully got to the dam tour.
For our last night in Vegas we stayed at Caesar’s Palace, right in the middle of the strip. We wanted to give the kids the experience of actually staying there, without absolutely bankrupting ourselves. We dropped the dog off for a sleepover at another Rover and checked in. We walked pretty much the whole thing, from Venice to Alice in Wonderland to Paris to New York and even the creepy castle Excalibur. The kids had an absolutely miserable time once they realized they couldn’t actually ride the NY roller coaster – they were all too short and we basically called our afternoon quits. It was time to head back for a rest anyway.
We got back to the hotel after a quick lunch in time for an hour rest before we headed next door to the mirage for Shin Lim. We knew we wanted to see a show when we were on the strip and landed on a magic act. The kids (and our) minds were completely blown away by Colin Cloud and Shin Lim. It was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. We ended the night with some free souvenir t-shirts from Shin Lim after we waited around long enough to become obvious. We grabbed a bedtime snack ($80 for a few muffins!) and wrapped up our time in sin city.
Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids 
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