Las Vegas/Grand Canyon trip

Grand Canyon Trip May 2010
Dad trips rock!!!! I finished an early returning 3 day trip yesterday, and met Rebecca at the airport with the kids. We piled onto a flight which was supposed to e wide open, and the loads ended up pretty tight. We managed the 5 hour flight to Phoenix as Rachel made friends with all the passengers in our immediate area, while Dylan and Ryan were completely engrossed in activities involving Dylan’s iPod touch. Never heard a peep from them. All the kids did well on a 6 hour journey from Orlando to Las Vegas.
Upon arrival in Las Vegas, the excitement level grew, as the kids sensed the glitz of America’s cheesiest city starting with the 1st bells of the airport slot machines. We took a cab to the Excalibur, and Rachel was excited to be in a “mini van taxi cab.” The Excalibur was a kid pleaser as well, and after arriving there, we gave ourselves a full tour. The kids were pretty fascinated by the casino which we had to transit every time we came or left our “tower”, the Excalibur is a mideval themed casino/hotel.
For dinner, I began my “Florida kid” indoctrination to some yummy West Coast food choices, with Baja Fresh burritos, which were loved by them. Had some TV time to unwind after a long travel day, and got to bed.
The 3 hour time difference threw off our wake up cycle, and as a result, we were up and about pretty early. Spent a little while walking around the Strip, and getting a lay of the land, before a quick breakfast, and a pick up from the Grand Canyon Airlines shuttle bus.
Our original plan was to take a helicopter tour of the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. Due to lack of helo availability for our non-rev status, we opted for a fixed wing tour of the Canyon and surrounding area.
The shuttle van took us out to Boulder City, and after spending some time checking in, we paid our half price standby fares, and boarded the plane. After takeoff, we headed directly towards the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, as the narrator filled us in on the pertinent facts. The plane offered great visibility, and we passed over Lake Mead, the Mojave Desert, and onto the Grand Canyon.
The Canyon tour lasted about 30 minutes, and we took in a lot of breathtaking scenes from our airborne vantage. At about this time, Rachel started to feel a bit queasy, and as it turned out, so did Dylan. Meanwhile, Ryan smiled through any turbulent bumps, as he snapped away on his camera. For the later part of this flight, Rachel had the motion sickness bag in hand, but fortunately was not required to use it.
Once we got back to Boulder City, we again boarded a van to take us back to our hotel. On the way back, we were able to snap some photos of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign which the kids had full recognition of, even after having never been here.
We immediately made our way to the pool, and the kids played poolside while I snuck in a quick workout.
After pool time, the West Coast food indoctrination was again commenced, and we walked to the local In n Out Burger. A huge hit, and Ryan commented that if he lived here, that would be his favorite restaurant.
On the way back to Excalibur, we spent a little more time on the Strip, then in the hotel’s arcade. The claw machine was a huge hit among all the travelers, and they managed to pluck a few prizes out of the machines.
Tomorrow, we have a rental car to pick up, and will be heading to Red Rock Canyon, a local scenic natural area with spectacular vistas, cool rock formations, and ancient petroglyphs. We will get this hiking in early, then return to LV for some more bling bling activity.