Day 34

We got an early start this morning. We headed into the city where there was no traffic. We went and met a friend and his fiance for some Dim Sum. I haven't had Dim Sum in years, so I was pretty excited. We told the kids we were having Chinese food for breakfast, and they got pretty excited too! The place we ate at Rincon center, downtown. It wasn't what the kids were expecting, but they really loved it! Especially the duck!
By noon we were on the road again (we had two cars now, since Scott's truck was at Michi's). The traffic was worse than the evening before. And it lasted all the way to the other side of Santa Rosa. After a few potty stops, a grocery store shopping and 3 naps, we were home! We got to the house at about 6:23pm!
Over all I would say this trip really made me appreciate where we live and the climate we live in. It feels great to be home!

Day 33

We got kind of a late start leaving Bakersfield. We cut over to Interstate 5, and it was a clear path to the Bay area. We could have been to my cousin Michikos by 4ish, if there wasn't so much TRAFFIC! Michi and Scott talked about different routes, and in the end we probably saved some time. But I still considered it a real pain!
We had a great time visiting with cousins. Our kids were happy to be out of the car and playing with familiar people. We had a great dinner and a late night of giggles.

I forgot to mention that today, on my 29th birthday, I got asked if I had an AARP card while checking into the hotel. Didn't know I looked that old!

Day 32

Had kind of a late check out (9am) this morning from the hotel. It is about 150 miles from Las Vegas to Barstow, and I wanted to be there by 12noon. Since it is my birthday, I had a check list I wanted to accomplish.
1. Leave Vegas
2. Re-enter California
3. Listen to music I wanted to listen to all day (hello Michael Franti!)
4. Show up on my grandparents door to surprise them for an afternoon.

And...we accomplished everything! We showed up at my grandparents house at about 12:30. My grandma's reaction was just what I was hoping for. Shock, shrill gasping and happiness! She thought we were already home, so it was such a huge surprise! My mom suggested we maybe give them 20 minutes notice, but my grandma said she is glad we didn't. She loved being so shocked.
The kids got a chance to run around, play in the sprinkler, have Del Taco for lunch, have popsicles and strawberries w/whip cream for desert. Truly spoiled!
We left at about 5:30 and headed to Bakersfield. By 7:30 we are all tucked into bed at the Hampton Suites (yeah Hampton!). I swear it is nicer than the Aria in Las Vegas. Maybe not as fancy, but at least we have a fridge, microwave, free popcorn, free internet, free breakfast and nice big room. Can't say the same for the uber fancy Aria!
Tomorrow we are off to the bay area. Spaghetti with cousins Friday night, Dim Sum Saturday morning with friends and home Saturday evening!

Barstow!

Day 31

Another sunny morning in Vegas. This morning was about running errands as we are about to depart towards home. We had our own version of a continental breakfast (thanks to Trader Joe's) in the hotel room. Next we picked up the rest of our clean laundry at the laundromat. Then we had the oil changed and fluids checked. By this time it was 12:30 and Scott was done with his conference. We picked him and his co-worker up and headed to PF Chang's for some Chinese food. Very goood!

We had a relaxing afternoon afterwards. We cut down of list of 3 things to do, down to one. We walked over to the Bellagio to watch the dancing fountains. The kids thought it was great and it was well worth the trek over.

Back at the hotel we had a quick picnic and off to bed. Early start tomorrow as we head towards California!

Day 30

Woke up early again. Scott got a few hours asleep after going out last night to do laundry. We had no clothes clean, except some random PJ pieces. After Scott left for the conference, the kids and I went in search of some cheap breakfast. I did some research online about inexpensive breakfast buffets. I found out that Terribles Casino has a $8 adult buffet, with half price for Olivia and Nathan, and Eli was free. Now I had to only find our car.
Remember that we had to park in the RV lot. Not only that, it was the RV lot at the hotel next door. I swear these casinos are built in such a maze on purpose so you can't find your way out. The kids and I walked and walked and walked. We rode a Tram only to find out that we were already in the right spot and had to ride the Tram back. We ended up somewhere where one of my choices was a service exit. My thinking was that at least it will lead us outside. And it did. But it led us to a construction lot with lots of workers who didn't speak English. After some strange looks, confused conversations, I wasn't getting a good feeling and I retraced our steps back. 45 minutes later I found our car. Our stinky, dirty car never looked so good!
I found Terribles no problem. I thought "how bad can a breakfast buffet be?" Really, how terrible could Terribles be? The answer was worse than I could imagine. Basically I paid $17 for us all to eat canned fruit and chocolate milk. Nothing else was edible; and I am not a picky or pretentious eater. I was super TERRIBLE!
After breakfast, I had a few errands to do. Then I figured we deserved some time by the pool. That went smoothly, until even the water couldn't keep us cooled off. We headed back inside where there was an Ice Cream restaurant. They make daily different gelatos, ice creams and sherbets. I had the Mango sherbet which was excellent. The kids had standard chocolate. But the cost! 4 small cones was $30!!!!
After overpriced ice cream, we took our afternoon siesta. Usually Olivia can't fall asleep, but today we all took a 2 hour nap. We slept through the hottest part of the day, got cleaned up and went out exploring by foot.
Since I am not a seasoned Vegas traveler, I don't have a clue where stuff is located. It was suggested that New York, New York would be fun for the kids. We got some bad information about a Tram that takes you there, but we ended up down the strip at the Belligiao. About 4 miles later (no joke) we ended up at NY, NY which was really just 2 doors down, the opposite of where we went. We got some good exercise and were hungry for our dinner.
After dinner, the whole town was lit up. The kids found it pretty exciting. But they are country kids, and walking the strip with them was nerve racking. Not because of people, but because of cars. I finally got a system down where we all were connected to each other. Whew!
Our last stop was the M&M World store. 4 floors of ever imaginable M&M souvenirs. Even a whole floor devoted to Xmas decor. We left with a puzzle, name bracelets and uniquely colored M&M's.
We are all in bed again and ready to start all over again tomorrow!!!