Jackson Hole, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Las Veags 2012 - Day 8

The Hoover Dam and Us

Waking up this morning in our hotel room was a luxury that we had forgotten about, since we’ve been sleeping in an RV with 7 people and 2 dogs for 8 days.  For breakfast, we walked over to Golden Gate Hotel & Casino which opened in 1906 and is the oldest hotel on the Fremont Street Experience.  We wanted to eat pancakes at Du-par’s, because Esquire Magazine rated them the “best pancakes in the U.S.A.”  We sat at the bar, which is our favorite place to sit in diners, and when we saw the server ladle melted butter on top of our pancakes, we knew we were in for a treat.  They were delicious, but Chad maintained his position that Cracker Barrel has the best pancakes he’s ever tasted.

Du'pars at Golden Gate Hotel & Casino.  Loved this place!

While we were walking to meet Leah, Kenny, and the kids, we saw a restaurant called, “The Heart Attack Grill.”  Upon closer inspection, saw a giant scale at the entrance with a sign that read: “Weigh Yourself Here” and in big neon lights above it: “Over 350 lbs Eats Free.”  Other signs in the windows said: “Cash Only - because you might die before the check clears.”  “Send Hate Mail to: Heart Attack Grill…”  They serve a burger called “The Quadruple Bypass” (8,000 calories), butter fat shakes, fries cooked in pure lard, and unfiltered cigarettes.  At first I laughed at the outrageous gimmick, but as the day progressed, and I saw people walking around Vegas with gallon size margaritas, and pure indulgence and excess everywhere I looked, an unsettling feeling filled my stomach. 

We met Leah, Kenny and the kids at 10:00 AM and made the kid/car swap.  The two of them were planning to spend the day downtown, while we took the kids on a tour of The Hoover Dam in Boulder City.  Leah and Kenny were terrified I was going to make them come with us; they had secret conversations about how they were going to get out of going, afraid to tell me.    

We drove to Boulder City, which is the town where Chad was born.  His mom had given me the address to the house they lived in, in case we wanted to visit, and Chad had said he had no interest in seeing it.  But as we entered Boulder City, and I told him his house was only 3 minutes from where we were, he gave in and drove to Date Street.  I made him get out of the car and pose in front of the house.  He is such a good sport, and we got some funny pictures.

Let me ask you a question:  what is the biggest mistake you have ever made?  One that you still pay for to this very day?  Well, Chad and I made ours today, and I’m not sure we will ever be forgiven.  I’ll share it with you, in case you want to avoid making the same mistake in your lifetime.  We had the audacity to take our children to The Hoover Dam when it was 106 degrees outside.  This is our mistake, which, according to our kids, is a crime worthy of CPS intervention. 

The eye-rolling and third degree interrogations began the moment we purchased the tour tickets: 

“How long is this going to last?”

“Can’t we just look at it and leave?”

“It’s so hot I think my shoes are melting!”

“AAAAAHHHH, this is so boring!”

“Why do you hate us?”

Needless to say, the tour was amazing, and I highly recommend it to anyone that comes to Las Vegas. The dam is a national historic landmark, the tour is super informative, and I think everyone should see it.  Especially children, because they get a chance to see what hard work can accomplish.

On the tour, I learned that Chad is not only a genius about most things, he is a genius about EVERYTHING.  Dams, too.  He knew every answer the tour guide asked, but not in that annoying, “pick me! Pick me!” way that you see on some tours, where the guy in the black socks and sandals, with the sunscreen on his nose and a big straw hat on his head stands as close to the tour guide as possible and bugs everyone else in the group by shouting out all the answers.  No, Chad just quietly whispered the answers in my ear.  And then, when we made our way to the dam exhibit, Chad was so excited to teach me about electricity.  Unfortunately, when I heard Chad start talking about electrons detaching from their parent atoms, why copper makes a good conductor, and how turbines work, my mind went to my happy place, and I started thinking about the time Ricky Stratton got a black eye from Ox, so he hired Mr. T to come to class with him as his bodyguard.  Man, that was funny.

The dam was huge.  We walked across it and I put one food in Nevada and one foot in Arizona and I was all, “look kids!  I’m in two states at the same time!” and surprisingly, they couldn’t have cared less.  They were busy dying of heat exhaustion.  But Chad took a picture of it, so one day when I’m dead, my kids can look at it and say, “See?  My mom did something great with her life.”

It was only 111 degrees in the car because we were lucky enough to park in a completely shaded parking garage.  Part of me wished we’d parked in the sun so we could’ve seen how hot the car got.  I’m sure the kids would’ve loved that. 


Frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3

We made it back to Vegas around 2:30 and picked up Leah and Kenny.  We came back to the RV, dropped off Kenny so he could have some quality time with the dogs (and probably a nap), and the rest of us drove to the strip.  We parked at the Flamingo and walked over to Serendipity 3 for some frozen hot chocolate and a late lunch.  There is one in New York City that we went to in February, but the line was 2 hours long, so I thought my dreams of eating there were shattered.  Thank you, Las Vegas, for making one of my dreams come true.  The lunch was delicious, I had a BLT, Leah had a chicken ceasar salad and Chad had a lettuce wrap.  The portions were enormous, just like everything else in this town and we needed to walk some of it off.
We took the kids into Ceasar’s Palace and their reaction was priceless.  They were blown away by the vastness, the beauty, and the design.  It was neat to see them so impressed, because up until then, they didn’t really like Vegas that much.  I’ve already been warned by Ali to never bring them back here.  We went to the Forum Shops, watched the “Fall of Atlantis” fountain show (I still have no idea what the heck it was about).  I’m thinking it’s time to update, Ceasar’s – God knows you can afford it! 

We then went to the Venetian, which hadn’t been built the last time Chad and I were here (it’s been THAT long.)  I wanted to go on a gondola ride with Chad, but when I saw the line, I was like, “nope, I’m good.  I can wait til the real Venice.”  We did some shopping and then walked down the street toward Treasure Island.  I didn’t want the kids to see the pirate show up-close because it’s basically a bunch of hookers dancing around in lingerie.  So we watched from across the street.  My kids aren’t dumb, and asked a lot of questions about why women do what they do in Vegas.  I gave them the only answer I could come up with, “because their daddy’s don’t love them,” but then we had a serious conversation about it.  We had the kids keep their eyes up on the beautiful buildings, and told them to avoid looking at the ground because people pass out cards with pictures exploiting women and they litter the ground up and down the strip.  Jackson and Chad had a long talk about it while we made our way back to the car later that night, and as we buckled up I heard Jackson say, “all of it just makes me want to cry.” A wise adult couldn’t have put it better.  Ladies, your daughters will be lucky to marry this boy when he grows up.

Anyway, after the volcano show at the Mirage, we went back to the RV.  The kids stayed with Kenny and Leah, Chad and I walked back to Circus Circus to see if I could take down that casino as well.  Nope, we lost the little bit we set aside to play with.  But we had fun with Leah.  We went to Slots-Of-Fun to see if we could find the machine Chad won 2,500 nickels on 15 years ago.  We were sure that by now it would be ready to pay out big time.  It wasn’t there.  It probably broke when it was faced with dumping out all those nickels for Chad, making him rich beyond his wildest dreams.

At midnight we walked across the street to the Riviera and I actually ate a plate of Indian food.  At midnight.  What was I thinking?  I don’t eat after 6 or 7 anymore.  But boy was it delicious.  I had yellow daal, rice and naan.  Chad and Leah had cheese pizza.  I forgot how fun late night eating can be.  Uh oh.

It was a long day, and a late night.  We have one more day here before we head home, and I think we’ll all be glad to get there. 

"They call you lady luck
But there is room for doubt
At times you have a very un-lady-like way
Of running out...

Luck be a lady tonight"

- Frank Sinatra

- The Niemeyers