Vegas Attractions

Even though we are starting to feel spring in the air, I still feel a little jealous when I read friends posts on Facebook about Las Vegas. Yesterday I took my children to our local zoo for a birthday party for two of their otters. It was so nice to be outside and not freezing, but when I read the paper and look at the weather and temperature in Las Vegas I remember how much more we were able to do outside at this time of year when we lived there. The Vegas Attractions offer a lot of options for both indoor and outdoor activities.

There were a lot of mornings when we first relocated to the east coast where I would wake up considering taking my children to one of the local attractions that were no longer local to us. One of our favorites was Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. It was so great to go to the pools where you could reach in and touch some sea animals, but my favorite part was the large exhibit at the end where it looked like you were in a sunken ship and through the windows to the sides, above and below you could watch sharks and other ocean animals swimming around. At times it felt like they were a bit too close it was so realistic!

Some other vegas_attractions that we enjoyed were the dancing fountains at the Bellagio. The way the water is choreographed to music is so neat to see. I love that so many movies set in Las Vegas that feature the Las Vegas Strip show the water moving. The one deceptive thing about the Las Vegas Strip is how big all the hotels and casinos look. I recall walking between hotels and thinking that it looked like they were so much closer than they actually were, the size of them added to the optical illusion that they look closer than they are!

While I was looking around on the web I found a video on youtube.com with tips for making your trip enjoyable and fun. The one thing that people often don't consider is that Las Vegas can be a trip for not just adults, but for children too. Obviously children are not allowed to be part of the gambling, but there are plenty of attractions that are exciting for both parents and children. There are roller coasters at the New York, New York, the Stratosphere and the Sahara. I think the MGM Grand has an amusement park, although that we never got around to trying it out. The dolphins and animals at the Mirage's Secret Garden are fun. Then there are loads of things outside of the casinos, from museums to factories that kids enjoy like the Lied Children's Discovery Museum and the Las Vegas Zoo.

It has been almost five years since we moved from the area and I would like to go back again to visit friends and to show my older children where they were born. I keep considering planning a trip back for our annual family vacation, but want to wait until our youngest is a bit older so he can get more out of it. For now we love our regular trip to the beach. I am already looking forward to it and it is still months away. So, for now I will remember the fun things in Las Vegas by reading friends post of Facebook!