The day begins by introducing the kids to the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. At $17 a head, I can tell you that this is a money-losing proposition for the Mandalay Bay when entertaining the Calabria family. Kyle and Nico alone ate enough to cover the total bill. Unlike many Las Vegas buffets, this one featured really fine food and tremendous variety.
By the time we settle into our hotel rooms the water park is ready to close so we settle for a photo of the action from our room and the kids look forward to the next morning with great anticipation. Every 90 seconds, a large waves emerges from the flat section at the back of the beach shaped pool. A portion of the lazy river is seen in the upper right area of the photograph. A stong current carries swimmers around the circuit is about two minutes.
The Mandalay Bay is close to the airport and their water park features a beach with waves and a lazy river, both intense magnets for the kids.
Our itinerary includes: Zion NP, Bryce NP, Escalante Petrified Forest SP, Grand Staircase Escalante NM (Zebra slot canyon and Devil’s Garden), Capitol Reef NP, Goblin Valley SP, Dead Horse Point SP, Canyonlands NP (Islands in the Sky), Arches NP, Mesa Verde NP, Monument Valley, Glen Canyon NRA (Lake Powell), Grand Canyon NP (north rim), and Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP.
Our vacation begins in Las Vegas with a night at the Mandalay Bay and then takes us on an 1800 mile trek through the national parks and several state parks of southern Utah, northern Arizona, western Colorado and Nevada. We will return to Las Vegas and stay at the Luxor before returning home.
Today begins our two week family RV adventure. We start by flying from Boston to Las Vegas where we will pick up our 25 foot rental RV (sleeping room for 5). Between connecting flights we relaxed in the United Airline Red Carpet Club where perfect window light and time to burn created the perfect opportunity for individual portraits of the kids.
Jeanine captured some very nice photographs, and I hope to post more of them when we return in 2 weeks along with the ones from our family vacation.
After work I picked up Kyle and Jeanine from the airport as they returned from their Transylvania adventure. In less than 12 hours we will be back at the airport as we depart for our family vacation to the southwest. Despite being rather fatigued from their travel we gathered around the computer to see their photos and hear about their exploits. I am going to ask Kyle to explain the story behind this gynormous hat when he recovers from the journey.
I spotted this beauty on the way into work this morning and managed to sneak up rather close for the photo.
While Maya was at camp she spent some of her time making paper and completed this small book containing her work. I fanned out the pages to provide an idea of the variety of colors, patterns and textures she incorporated into her designs. Maya returned to the house briefly for dinner and proudly displayed her work for Nico.
Nicolai returned today from a week in Minnesota with his cousins. He had a terrific time and seemed to have grown another inch since I last saw him. We stopped for lunch at a Mexican place which has become our secret little getaway and he filled me in on his week at wrestling camp and the one spent with my brother’s family. Maya spent the day and night with her friend Lydia affording Nico and I an opportunitiy to do a little driving practice in the early evening.
When we arrived at home Maya’s first priority was to greet and play with Nala who was very happy to see her. After that joyful reunion, Maya’s next priority was to check on the garden. She returned triumphantly with the season’s first carrot which we promptly cleaned and ate. Through Jeanine’s teaching and nurturing she has passed the family’s long tradition of gardening to the next generation. Maya and I spent the afternoon doing laundry and packing for our upcoming southwest adventure. We then had a father/daughter date night which included dinner out and the latest Harry Potter movie.
I retrieved Maya from Wildwood camp this morning and was delighted to see her again. She is pictured here with new friend Amanda who, as it turns out, is a member of our church in Concord and someone I am sure we will see again. On the ride home I learned of Maya’s many exploits ranging from the invention of bumper kayaking to paper making. She has asked if she could attend for 2 weeks next year, a pretty good indicator that she had a great time. As I described my week to her she learned of my close encounter and photograph of the dragonfly from my kayak. After she heard my description of the little creature she told me that it was a damselfly rather than a dragonfly. Wikipedia confirmed her assertion and I shall have to go back and edit that blog post. Wildwood could easily be named critter camp as the kids spend a great deal of time studying nature. Maya, it appears, was paying close attention.
Here is what the baby flowers look like. Speaking of babies, I get to retrieve one of mine tomorrow, and I can’t wait to get my hands on little Miss Maya.