The Grand Tour...Day 17 Grand Canyon to Vegas

charly77 · 4 Apr 17, 03:10 PM

The alarm woke us up at 5.30am. We (and the rest of the lodge) were outside for sunrise, I will say it was absolutely freezing! The car windscreen was frozen over, that is how cold it was! Sunrise was beautiful and were glad we got up to see it.

We checked out around 6.30 and left for Vegas…going via Route 66! DH almost hit this beast, how he didn't see it I will never know...

We headed towards Seligman, birthplace of the Historic Route 66 and is located in Northern Arizona. It was lovely and bright, so very quiet though. Saw this great diner, didn't fancy it though

We stopped off in a little shop and bought some souvenirs, snacks and drinks.

And onto the 66 we go…

We went through Kingman which I believe Radiator Springs from Cars is based on. The route was just a bit dull and very dusty! We wanted to stop for breakfast and found a great diner called Mr D’z so stopped here, it was excellent, the staff were great and it was full of locals so we knew it was a good one.

We looked so out of place, it was hilarious. We all had a random choice of breakfasts, DH had some Mexican burrito and nachos, kids both had fried chicken, waffles and maple syrup! Personally I don’t get those sorts of breakfasts, a bit random for me so I just had pancakes (boring I know!).

Once we had settled the bill and taken many photos we jumped in the car and went to Hoover Dam, this time the kids stayed awake! We drove through a town called Santa Claus which made us all chuckle.
We struggled to find a parking space by the Hoover Dam and ended up parking quite a way off in a free car park. Last time we were here the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge wasn’t yet finished so it was nice that this time we got to drive over it on our way down and get to see the finished product.

We walked down to towards Hoover Dam, man it was so hot, our feet were on fire! There was limited shade here which made it tricky to stay out of the sun but luckily we all had hats and our cooling towels. The kids loved it, we almost did the tour but then the kids decided they’d rather head to Vegas…

We arrived in Vegas around 3.15, we were staying at the MGM and the satnav confused us and itself with finding the car park! We eventually made it.

We unpacked the car and proceeded to check in, we fell in love with the hotel and the kids were gob smacked with the sheer size of everything.

We waited about 20 mins in the queue and headed to our room. We had a great view over the strip so the kids spotted the NYNY rollercoaster, guess where we were heading first?!

We showered and changed before heading over to NYNY, first thing first we needed to get our Mlife cards so we could redeem our rewards from the slotomania games. We had secured two scream passes for the NYNY coaster, $50 freeplay @ MGM, BOGOF breakfast buffet @MGM and $50 credit for the Bar at Times Square in NYNY.

First things first, Rollercoaster! I had really got these passes for the kids but DS sunburnt legs refrained him from actually partaking. So DH and DD went instead, whilst they enjoyed themselves DS purchased himself some credits for the kid friendly casino (fab idea!).

The coaster riders eventually returned, they had been upgraded to a VIP pass as it wasn’t at all busy. They had experienced the ride a few times, they said it was a real bone shaker so glad I gave it a miss.

We left the kids in the kid friendly zone which some credits whilst we went off to redeem our bar credit! We all had our phones (with three payg sims) and planned a meeting place and time.

At last some adult time! As much as I adore spending time with my family sometimes you just need a bit of breathing space! So we hit the bar! We grab some stools at the bar, there’s a mad sax player who was absolutely brilliant, he really had the crowd going. We hand over our voucher and the barman was quite off with us but we placed an order, I oddly enough ended up with two cocktails for the price of one

and DH had a rum and coke. Then we accidently ordered two honey bourbon shooters (at least a triple shot in each!)

By this point we had been chatting to barman and had tipped well as technically our drinks were free and his attitude soon changed towards us. Not sure what happened next but I’m sure it had nothing to do with the alcohol consumed but DH fell of his stall as the back had given way! The barman was mortified and couldn’t apologise enough and he gave us another drink each on the house, though I’m not sure this was a good idea…

We eventually leave and meet the kids, we were a little tipsy so had a go on the slots, put in $1 and won $21. Result!

We leave NYNY to go and find Shakeshack, one of our faves!

What is it with alcohol and fresh air…? Apparently I was quite merry, oops! From what I remember the burger was delicious.

I think we had a frozen yoghurt too as the next morning I noticed my clothes were covered in chocolate!

We finished our evening by watching the Bellagio fountains…

Steps today; 7947

Floors climbed; 16

*Tip of the day * Buy a double USB charger for the car, especially if you have teenagers!*

Melbatb · 4 Apr 17, 07:33 PM

Another fab sunrise photo!

I never fancied the NYNY rollercoaster - too old

Hope your DH's back was ok! And your headache the next morning

charly77 · 4 Apr 17, 09:57 PM

Originally Posted by Melbatb

Another fab sunrise photo!

I never fancied the NYNY rollercoaster - too old

Hope your DH's back was ok! And your headache the next morning

Haha! Yes everyone was fine

skinnybaby · 6 Apr 17, 11:14 AM

no picture of your hubby falling off the chair then

charly77 · 6 Apr 17, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by skinnybaby

no picture of your hubby falling off the chair then

Sorry! I was too busy laughing

k4ti3-x · 20 Apr 17, 09:22 PM

Woohoo arrived in Vegas! What did you think of the MGM? Haha had a little chuckle at DH falling off his chair - nice of the grumpy bar tender to offer a free drink though.

Jake71 · 21 Apr 17, 02:21 PM

Fab sunrise photo. We are staying in the NYNY so I hope the grumpy barman is less grumpy by then. I must look into the Mlife card. I'm sure DH signed up for it when we made our booking as it got us a better price for the room. Your drinks do look delightful.

dozy · 27 Nov 17, 01:08 PM

looks amazing we are staying in the NYNY in march

4 Apr 17, 03:10 PM	#1
	4 Apr 17, 03:10 PM charly77 Very Serious Dibber
charly77 Very Serious Dibber Join Date: Feb 08	The Grand Tour...Day 17 Grand Canyon to Vegas The alarm woke us up at 5.30am. We (and the rest of the lodge) were outside for sunrise, I will say it was absolutely freezing! The car windscreen was frozen over, that is how cold it was! Sunrise was beautiful and were glad we got up to see it. We checked out around 6.30 and left for Vegas…going via Route 66! DH almost hit this beast, how he didn't see it I will never know... We headed towards Seligman, birthplace of the Historic Route 66 and is located in Northern Arizona. It was lovely and bright, so very quiet though. Saw this great diner, didn't fancy it though We stopped off in a little shop and bought some souvenirs, snacks and drinks. And onto the 66 we go… We went through Kingman which I believe Radiator Springs from Cars is based on. The route was just a bit dull and very dusty! We wanted to stop for breakfast and found a great diner called Mr D’z so stopped here, it was excellent, the staff were great and it was full of locals so we knew it was a good one. We looked so out of place, it was hilarious. We all had a random choice of breakfasts, DH had some Mexican burrito and nachos, kids both had fried chicken, waffles and maple syrup! Personally I don’t get those sorts of breakfasts, a bit random for me so I just had pancakes (boring I know!). Once we had settled the bill and taken many photos we jumped in the car and went to Hoover Dam, this time the kids stayed awake! We drove through a town called Santa Claus which made us all chuckle. We struggled to find a parking space by the Hoover Dam and ended up parking quite a way off in a free car park. Last time we were here the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge wasn’t yet finished so it was nice that this time we got to drive over it on our way down and get to see the finished product. We walked down to towards Hoover Dam, man it was so hot, our feet were on fire! There was limited shade here which made it tricky to stay out of the sun but luckily we all had hats and our cooling towels. The kids loved it, we almost did the tour but then the kids decided they’d rather head to Vegas… We arrived in Vegas around 3.15, we were staying at the MGM and the satnav confused us and itself with finding the car park! We eventually made it. We unpacked the car and proceeded to check in, we fell in love with the hotel and the kids were gob smacked with the sheer size of everything. We waited about 20 mins in the queue and headed to our room. We had a great view over the strip so the kids spotted the NYNY rollercoaster, guess where we were heading first?! We showered and changed before heading over to NYNY, first thing first we needed to get our Mlife cards so we could redeem our rewards from the slotomania games. We had secured two scream passes for the NYNY coaster, $50 freeplay @ MGM, BOGOF breakfast buffet @MGM and $50 credit for the Bar at Times Square in NYNY. First things first, Rollercoaster! I had really got these passes for the kids but DS sunburnt legs refrained him from actually partaking. So DH and DD went instead, whilst they enjoyed themselves DS purchased himself some credits for the kid friendly casino (fab idea!). The coaster riders eventually returned, they had been upgraded to a VIP pass as it wasn’t at all busy. They had experienced the ride a few times, they said it was a real bone shaker so glad I gave it a miss. We left the kids in the kid friendly zone which some credits whilst we went off to redeem our bar credit! We all had our phones (with three payg sims) and planned a meeting place and time. At last some adult time! As much as I adore spending time with my family sometimes you just need a bit of breathing space! So we hit the bar! We grab some stools at the bar, there’s a mad sax player who was absolutely brilliant, he really had the crowd going. We hand over our voucher and the barman was quite off with us but we placed an order, I oddly enough ended up with two cocktails for the price of one and DH had a rum and coke. Then we accidently ordered two honey bourbon shooters (at least a triple shot in each!) By this point we had been chatting to barman and had tipped well as technically our drinks were free and his attitude soon changed towards us. Not sure what happened next but I’m sure it had nothing to do with the alcohol consumed but DH fell of his stall as the back had given way! The barman was mortified and couldn’t apologise enough and he gave us another drink each on the house, though I’m not sure this was a good idea… We eventually leave and meet the kids, we were a little tipsy so had a go on the slots, put in $1 and won $21. Result! We leave NYNY to go and find Shakeshack, one of our faves! What is it with alcohol and fresh air…? Apparently I was quite merry, oops! From what I remember the burger was delicious. I think we had a frozen yoghurt too as the next morning I noticed my clothes were covered in chocolate! We finished our evening by watching the Bellagio fountains… Steps today; 7947 Floors climbed; 16 *Tip of the day * Buy a double USB charger for the car, especially if you have teenagers!* __________________ Whistle-stop Tour Of Copenhagen Feb 2017 The Grand Tour (West to East trip) 2016 The 'Bombshell' Trip to NYC @ Christmas 2014 Trip report, Our first time to WDW Sept/Oct '08;