For our trip to Vegas last week we flew Allegiant for the first time. It is the only direct option out of our airport going to Las Vegas. They only have two flights a week, so we didn't have a lot of options. Most people go to Vegas for the weekend, so they have a Friday afternoon flight, and a Monday evening flight. We used those, but we did the opposite. We flew out on Monday, and came back on Friday.
I expected our flights to not be all they way full considering our odd schedule, but I was wrong. Both ways were packed. Boarding was a mess, and our plane was late in both instances. When I fly for work I usually am on American, and I've not experienced the lax scheduling. Allegiant's time seem more like a suggestion than anything else. We weren't on a tight schedule so it wasn't a problem, but it was frustrating.
As we waited to get on the plane there were a few people (a-holes) who gave us the "your baby is going to make my life horrible on this flight" look. For those people I almost wish Amelia would have screamed the entire way, but she was a perfect angel. She is a great traveler.
We made it out and back fine and so did all our bags. In the end that is all that matters. Even though the process of getting on the plane and getting in the air seemed sloppily managed, the overall experience was good. For Vegas it is by far the best option. I don't know about for anywhere else.
My wife was an amazing packer and got all three of our things in one bag. Which was awesome considering you have to pay by the bag. When we got back to Arkansas our bag almost didn't come home with us. We were waiting by baggage claim and the third bag down the conveyer looked a lot like ours. However, I was on the other side so it went past a lot of other people before me. I noticed an old man pick it up off the conveyer, pop down the handle, and wheel it towards the door. I figured it must be his by the confidence he grabbed it with.
As he wheeled it away I took another look and noticed the logo on it was exactly the same as our bag had. I decided I better check to make sure he hadn't taken the wrong one. I caught up with him and his wife just as he got to the door of the airport. I asked him to make sure the bag he was carrying was his. As soon as I said that his wife looked back at the bag and said, "Well that isn't ours at all."
I opened it up just to verify and sure enough our stuff was in there. I'm so glad I ran them down to check. I'm not sure they would have noticed until they got home to unpack. We definitely avoided a huge headache. We still had to wait for the car seat and stroller to come out so I watched the old guy as he queued back up at the conveyer. He took another bag... one that looked nothing like ours. It wasn't even totally the same color and the handle on his was totally different than ours. What the heck was he doing? I guess he was in a hurry to get home and took the first suitcase that remotely resembled the one he used. Anyway, crisis averted.
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Showing posts with label Las Vegas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Las Vegas. Show all posts
Family Trip to Vegas
We spent this past week in Las Vegas. It has become my home away from home. This was the second time I've been there in the last three months. This time it was a family vacation. We flew out last Monday night on a direct Allegiant flight. Amelia was super excited to ride on an airplane. She is a pro at spotting them flying in the sky and always makes sure to point them out. She loved seeing them up close at the airport.
Amelia has always been an awesome traveler, and this was no exception. Within 5 minutes of taking off she was asleep and she was out the entire way. She did wake up crying when we started to land. I think the pressure in her ears scared her. She cried and whined for about 5 minutes then was back asleep.
She slept all the way through the airport, then finally woke up at baggage claim. She was excited to see her stroller and carseat again. She was pretty upset when we had to check them in. We got to skip the entire taxi line and jump right in a cab and be on our way. We took our carseat just for the ride to and from the airport, and we are glad we did. It was a bit of a pain to carry through the airport, but we didn't have to go far with it. We weren't required to have it. The cab driver said most people just hold their kids in the car. We all know how risk-averse I am, so it was worth it to have the peace of mind. You never know when you could have a car accident.
Aside... I am so risk-averse that this is my second consecutive trip to Las Vegas where I didn't gamble a single cent. The closest I got to gambling was trying to win a stuffed animal for Amelia out of the claw machine at Denney's. (I didn't get it.) There is no way we were riding in a taxi without a car seat. We thought maybe there were certain taxis that had car seats in them. Then I thought about my daughter sitting in a communal taxi cab carseat and that was out of the question. We were taking our own even though we only used for about 30 minutes the entire week.
We made it to our condo about 11:00pm Vegas time. My Mom, Dad, Sister, Niece, and Nephew had come in the day before, so they were waiting for us. Amelia had been pretty sleepy, but when we got into the condo she was wired. She ran around with her cousins for an hour or so, but then we made her go to sleep.
We had a busy week of playing at the pool and going all over Vegas. We went to see Mystére, visited the shark reef at Mandalay Bay, made a trip to Fremont Street, and ate out several times. There was lots of riding in shuttle busses and waiting around, and Amelia did great through all of it. I am always amazed at how good she does when we are carting her around all over the place and getting her out of her routine.
We flew back Friday afternoon. We left Vegas at 4pm, and got back to Arkansas around 9. That time difference is killer. It is nice to have a weekend to recover from our trip. I was able to get all the yard work done yesterday and today we'll catch up on laundry. Yesterday was hot, but not miserable. Perfect day to go get a snow cone.
Amelia has always been an awesome traveler, and this was no exception. Within 5 minutes of taking off she was asleep and she was out the entire way. She did wake up crying when we started to land. I think the pressure in her ears scared her. She cried and whined for about 5 minutes then was back asleep.
She slept all the way through the airport, then finally woke up at baggage claim. She was excited to see her stroller and carseat again. She was pretty upset when we had to check them in. We got to skip the entire taxi line and jump right in a cab and be on our way. We took our carseat just for the ride to and from the airport, and we are glad we did. It was a bit of a pain to carry through the airport, but we didn't have to go far with it. We weren't required to have it. The cab driver said most people just hold their kids in the car. We all know how risk-averse I am, so it was worth it to have the peace of mind. You never know when you could have a car accident.
Aside... I am so risk-averse that this is my second consecutive trip to Las Vegas where I didn't gamble a single cent. The closest I got to gambling was trying to win a stuffed animal for Amelia out of the claw machine at Denney's. (I didn't get it.) There is no way we were riding in a taxi without a car seat. We thought maybe there were certain taxis that had car seats in them. Then I thought about my daughter sitting in a communal taxi cab carseat and that was out of the question. We were taking our own even though we only used for about 30 minutes the entire week.
We made it to our condo about 11:00pm Vegas time. My Mom, Dad, Sister, Niece, and Nephew had come in the day before, so they were waiting for us. Amelia had been pretty sleepy, but when we got into the condo she was wired. She ran around with her cousins for an hour or so, but then we made her go to sleep.
We had a busy week of playing at the pool and going all over Vegas. We went to see Mystére, visited the shark reef at Mandalay Bay, made a trip to Fremont Street, and ate out several times. There was lots of riding in shuttle busses and waiting around, and Amelia did great through all of it. I am always amazed at how good she does when we are carting her around all over the place and getting her out of her routine.
We flew back Friday afternoon. We left Vegas at 4pm, and got back to Arkansas around 9. That time difference is killer. It is nice to have a weekend to recover from our trip. I was able to get all the yard work done yesterday and today we'll catch up on laundry. Yesterday was hot, but not miserable. Perfect day to go get a snow cone.
I haven't gone through our pictures from Vegas yet, but here are a few Instagram shots from my phone.
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| New York New York on our way back from the shark reef at Mandalay Bay. |
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| The iconic cowboy down from the Golden Nugget on Fremont street |
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| The cowboy's girlfriend. |
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| I won't smile, but I will point at you daddy. |
Good to be home
Over the past couple weeks the Bidwell family has been traveling all over the place. A couple weeks ago we all headed to the airport together. I was getting on a flight to Las Vegas and the girls were flying up to Indiana. I had a quick business trip then I was back home for a couple days. I re-packed and made the 12 hour drive to Indiana solo to be reunited with my family. I spent a few days back on the farm. We had a wedding on Saturday, then we were headed back south on Sunday.
It was tough to enjoy my time in Vegas because I knew my daughter was spending quality time with Grandma and Grandpa, and I wasn't there with them. It was also tough when my wife called or texted that Amelia was saying daddy when she was trying to put her to sleep. It also didn't help that it was 40 degrees in Vegas and we were out playing golf. Overall it was a fun trip, but I was ready for it to be over so I could head up north.
This was the first time Amelia has been to Indiana since Christmas. She has grown a ton since then and is showing way more of her personality. I'm so glad my parents got to spend some time with her and see what a smart and fun kid she is. I think she had a great time seeing her cousins too.
On the trip back we decided to break up the drive over 2 days for the first time ever. We usually just knock the 12 hours out at once, but that isn't feasible with a 15 month-old. The break was nice. It worked well. Amelia fell asleep in the car a couple hours before we stopped at the hotel. She woke up when we went up to the room and she was wired. She was squealing and going crazy for a good hour before we could get her to calm down. The crib they gave us looked like a cage and she thought it was so funny to stand in there and shake the bars like a little monkey. She is insane. I hope there wasn't anybody in the room next door. After she settled down she did great for her first stay in a hotel.
Anytime we plan to travel with Amelia I always get worried. I think she is going to be uncomfortable, or she is going to get sick. I worry that she will get out of her routine and be grumpy the entire time. I worried that on the flight she would get scared, or throw a fit on the plane. I worried on the drive back that she would scream in her car seat the entire way. The truth is, we have an amazing little baby girl. She is so good. She did great in the planes, she slept great on the trip (it helped that my mom set her up with a super comfy Winnie The Pooh crib in her room). She was so good in the car on the way home. I need to learn I can stop worrying about her. She is amazing. She got carted around all over the place while we were in Indiana and Amelia just went with the flow and loved meeting and hanging out with everybody.
This week so far has been non-stop. I've been trying to play catch up at work so my days have been busy. Amanda is trying to catch up too, so she has been working in the evenings, which means I get to come home and play with baby. Amelia didn't feel good at all on Tuesday. I think she has allergies, and they hit her when we got back to Arkansas. She also is getting more teeth. She slept a ton and had a 101 degree fever most of the afternoon. She was as good as new the next day and we had fun playing outside. I'm ready for a relaxing weekend. I think we all are.
It was tough to enjoy my time in Vegas because I knew my daughter was spending quality time with Grandma and Grandpa, and I wasn't there with them. It was also tough when my wife called or texted that Amelia was saying daddy when she was trying to put her to sleep. It also didn't help that it was 40 degrees in Vegas and we were out playing golf. Overall it was a fun trip, but I was ready for it to be over so I could head up north.
This was the first time Amelia has been to Indiana since Christmas. She has grown a ton since then and is showing way more of her personality. I'm so glad my parents got to spend some time with her and see what a smart and fun kid she is. I think she had a great time seeing her cousins too.
On the trip back we decided to break up the drive over 2 days for the first time ever. We usually just knock the 12 hours out at once, but that isn't feasible with a 15 month-old. The break was nice. It worked well. Amelia fell asleep in the car a couple hours before we stopped at the hotel. She woke up when we went up to the room and she was wired. She was squealing and going crazy for a good hour before we could get her to calm down. The crib they gave us looked like a cage and she thought it was so funny to stand in there and shake the bars like a little monkey. She is insane. I hope there wasn't anybody in the room next door. After she settled down she did great for her first stay in a hotel.
Anytime we plan to travel with Amelia I always get worried. I think she is going to be uncomfortable, or she is going to get sick. I worry that she will get out of her routine and be grumpy the entire time. I worried that on the flight she would get scared, or throw a fit on the plane. I worried on the drive back that she would scream in her car seat the entire way. The truth is, we have an amazing little baby girl. She is so good. She did great in the planes, she slept great on the trip (it helped that my mom set her up with a super comfy Winnie The Pooh crib in her room). She was so good in the car on the way home. I need to learn I can stop worrying about her. She is amazing. She got carted around all over the place while we were in Indiana and Amelia just went with the flow and loved meeting and hanging out with everybody.
This week so far has been non-stop. I've been trying to play catch up at work so my days have been busy. Amanda is trying to catch up too, so she has been working in the evenings, which means I get to come home and play with baby. Amelia didn't feel good at all on Tuesday. I think she has allergies, and they hit her when we got back to Arkansas. She also is getting more teeth. She slept a ton and had a 101 degree fever most of the afternoon. She was as good as new the next day and we had fun playing outside. I'm ready for a relaxing weekend. I think we all are.
Vegas has jumped the shark
This past weekend I had the opportunity to be in Las Vegas for work. Most of my time was spent in meetings and playing golf, but I did get out on the strip a little bit. I haven't been to Vegas for several years. I guess I did go last year for work as well, but I was only there for a couple days and I don't think I left the hotel. I didn't actually get the full Vegas experience.
Parts of Las Vegas are cool. Even the miniature Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty have their place in the spectacle of it all. However, a lot of Vegas is lame. Just walk down the strip, you will see. There are parents wrangling kids whilst trying to drink an alcoholic beverage out of a 3 foot tall dog bone shaped cup. This time I saw three quarter sized plastic guitars with straws coming out the top, complete with guitar straps. Sugar and alcohol. It goes down like Kool-Aid. Just like every other vacation spot in the world, Vegas is an over-commercialized tourist trap. But we all still love it.
We stayed at Planet Hollywood. Like most casinos, they have girls up on tables dancing in the pits. Of course overweight drunk men are standing with smart phones recording the action. He probably goes home and saves the video on his computer and it shows up in iTunes right next to his daughters tap recital. Foreshadowing.
There was a slot machine in the casino called "Vampire's Embrace" with Twilight-esque artwork. Are they marketing slots to pre-teen girls now? The second night we were there I saw a dude sitting at the Vampire's Embrace machine and as I got closer I realized he was passed out up against it. I guess he took the "embrace" business literally.
In my short walk down the strip there was a family in front of us with a little boy of maybe 7 years old. As we walked (in the middle of the afternoon) there were dudes every 15 yards trying to hand out the escort cards to everybody. The little boy asked his mother what were on the pieces of paper. She told him they were "pictures of girls without daddies." I'm not sure if that is going to confuse him or not. He'll be back.
Parts of Las Vegas are cool. Even the miniature Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty have their place in the spectacle of it all. However, a lot of Vegas is lame. Just walk down the strip, you will see. There are parents wrangling kids whilst trying to drink an alcoholic beverage out of a 3 foot tall dog bone shaped cup. This time I saw three quarter sized plastic guitars with straws coming out the top, complete with guitar straps. Sugar and alcohol. It goes down like Kool-Aid. Just like every other vacation spot in the world, Vegas is an over-commercialized tourist trap. But we all still love it.
We stayed at Planet Hollywood. Like most casinos, they have girls up on tables dancing in the pits. Of course overweight drunk men are standing with smart phones recording the action. He probably goes home and saves the video on his computer and it shows up in iTunes right next to his daughters tap recital. Foreshadowing.
There was a slot machine in the casino called "Vampire's Embrace" with Twilight-esque artwork. Are they marketing slots to pre-teen girls now? The second night we were there I saw a dude sitting at the Vampire's Embrace machine and as I got closer I realized he was passed out up against it. I guess he took the "embrace" business literally.
In my short walk down the strip there was a family in front of us with a little boy of maybe 7 years old. As we walked (in the middle of the afternoon) there were dudes every 15 yards trying to hand out the escort cards to everybody. The little boy asked his mother what were on the pieces of paper. She told him they were "pictures of girls without daddies." I'm not sure if that is going to confuse him or not. He'll be back.
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