Laughlin vacation part 2

So where did I leave off? We left the Old Ghost town and found a short cut to the Avi and found ourselves there in around a half hour. We checked in about 3:30 even though check in is at 4pm, then headed up to the room. The Avi is very nice. They have a private beach to the river and a Kid's Quest that is close to the Riverside's Kid's Castle without the tickets. There is a very nice pool with a waterfall, lounge chairs in a shallow part of the pool so you can lounge in the pool, a kid's pool with sprayers and for your convenience, there are water taps by the snack bar where you can keep hydrated with fresh water in the hot temperatures all day long while you swim. This comes in handy if you don't want to buy anything since they don't allow anything brought in from outside. While we were at the Avi, it was a breathtaking 113 degrees.

The beach part is extremely handy for small boaters or jetskiiers so you can dock your small watercraft right there during the day for a fun filled water day on the beach and river. This water is considerably colder! The locals tell me it's around 60 but it felt like 40-50 degrees the way it almost burned my arms as the cold water and hot air mixed.

The buffet is pretty nice at the Avi, I have kinda a strange story of our night at dinner there. We were eating and it wasn't that busy when all of a sudden it started to get really busy! I mean people coming in from everywhere it seemed. We figured it was at least one or two bus turnover trips. But these people were crazy! They didn't wait to be seated, they just came in and sat. They had the servers and seater scratching their heads like "What's going on? What just happened?" There was even a couple that sat at a dirty booth behind us and told the waitress that there were a bunch of dirty plates at his table, and can't someone take them away? I'm talking at least 100 people! They were like "locusts" is how my husband put it. It was insane! We were afraid to go up for desert because when I went up to get my daughter some food, I got pushed out of the way twice from two different ladies! It was so bizarre! So, when you're at the buffet, look out for the locusts! ;) And happy travels!

Laughlin Vacation part 1

We took a 5 day vacation to Laughlin with our 6 year old daughter last week and it was great! We started out at the Tropicana on Saturday night where we had dinner and just kinda hit the sheets early that night getting rest after a long day of running around and driving. Sunday, we went to the pool and also explored the area. We walked across the street in 113 degree weather to the Colorado Bell to see the river and we could barely breathe it was so hot! I do not recommend this!!! We also later took our car to the Riverside where we heard there was a kid area and were pleasantly surprised to find the Kid's Castle. If you haven't heard of it, this is a Chuck-E-Cheese type setting of games with tickets and a jumper without the pizza but the kids can get snacks and drinks. Then when you pick them up, they can turn their tickets in for prizes. Yes, I said "Pick them up". This is a drop off for kids so you and your friends/ spouse can go play while your child(ren) are playing themselves! There is a 2 hour minimum and I think it's about $7-$8 but totally worth it! When we picked her up, she said she had a great time and we were very relieved we could go play slots while she was having fun as well!

If you are looking for a good buffet out there, I hear that the Harrah's has the best. I have only been out there this one time since like 10 years ago so I am just letting you know what I've been told. We ate breakfast there and it was quite good.

We checked out Monday morning and went on an adventure! We crossed over to Arizona and went to look for a modern day ghost-town. Yes, that's right, a ghost-town that people are still in today. Not only does it have people in it but burros as well. Wild donkeys walk throughout this town from person to person wanting to be fed and pet. It's crazy fun. It is like taking a step back into the wild west with a comic twist. It aslo has plenty of shops to buy souvenirs and drinks and snacks but to save money, pack your own, and just enjoy yourselves! The city is called Oatman and is located off the 95 and a street with the name cone in it. I don't exactly remember but if you just stop and ask a local in Arizona over there how to get to Oatman old Ghost-town, they will direct you. That's what I did and they were very happy to help.

Have fun in Laughlin, make sure to take in more sights than just the casino! You can go over to Arizona, just over the river or even go on the river by bringing up a boat or seadoo or renting one for the day or a few hours. Tip on this, rent from the Arizona side if you can, the prices are way cheaper! Look around, find the best deal! They are everywhere!! JUST HAVE FUN!!!

Fun Water Day at California Adventure

For all you passholder parents who want to do something fun for the kids in the hot summer that includes water, I have an idea for you. This weekend we had a yard sale and we were hot afterward, my husband wanted to go to California Adventure in the evening for The Glow Fest, my daughter really enjoys the music and the dancing. This was my idea...I remembered that Bug's Land has a water area and then of course there is the Grizzly rapid ride that you can potentially get soaked on! So we put on our bathing suits, packed an extra pair of clothes and headed out. We checked the wait time on the rapids and it was an hour so we got a fast pass for 2 hours later and headed over to Bug's Land to play in the water while the waiting time went by. We got soaked there. But we were finished early with nothing to do so we went through the tortilla factory and then realized the parade was going to go by soon, so we waited for that and watched it as well before we headed to the rapids. By the way, the current California Adventure parade sprays water, this kept with our water fun day theme. ;) Finally we headed to the rapids where, yes, we did get a bit of water but not the soaking we were anticipating, thank goodness. That ended our water fun play.

We then headed back to the car, got changed into our dry clothes, headed to Downtown Disney for dinner at Tortilla Jo's outside diner. Tip here is, it is less expensive and faster so you can save money and head back to your next destination more quickly. Make sure to show your pass for an extra discount off your meal, you will be pleasantly surprised how much you can save!

Lastly, we made our way back to California Adventure just in time for Glow Fest, it starts at 8:15. We stumbled upon a fake tattoo stand where they do really great face painting and tattoos made of glitter that last for up to 7 days. The tattoos range in price from $10 to $17 depending on design and how many colors, and there are 60 different art pieces to choose from. We had Tisha do one for our daughter, she was great and it turned out beautifully! It was a shooting star!!!

One more thing we did for the evening that we have never experienced before is the Muppets 3d show. It was fantastic! I can't believe in all my years of patronage to the park that I have never seen it! It was hysterical to see my daughter jumping out of her chair trying to grab stuff, it was that realistic. I had to keep telling her it wasn't real. It was so funny!

I hope this helps you enjoy a fun-filled, relaxing, water day at Disneyland's California Adventure! :)

World of Color in California Adventure Disneyland

So recently we took my husband to Disneyland for Father's Day. We actually went to California Adventure to see the World of Color, he is a tech finatic. Anyway, we made reservations at Ariel's Grotto with the Disney Dining phone line and had our reservations for dinner at 6:30. When we got seated, they handed us a special menu. There were 2 appetizers to choose from, they are mostly cheeses and grilled veggies with a salad. Then I believe there are 4 entrees to choose from, and my daughter had a few meals of her own to choose. It was delicious, if you go, I highly recommend the tri tip. At the end you get a very decadent dessert. Then we got our bill and it was $103. Wow, I was in shock. You see, when I made the reservations, they said it came with preferred seating at the World of Color show but said it was included in the dinner, they did not say, the prices were way more than usual. Even if you want to sit in the bar at Ariel's Grotto, there is a $10 per person cover charge now, Yikes! Use your pass though to get a discount on your dinner, we did and it saved us about $14. Which was about the tip. It's scary when kid's mac and cheese ends up being $21. I also suggest to get your reservation before 6:00 so you can get done and over to the preffered diner area for the show a little before or right at 7:30 if you want front row. It was already filling up fast when we got there about 7:45 for the 9:00 show. Also, you won't be waiting there the whole time, they do a cute little pre-show so the crowd doesn't get restless. A good tip is bring a blanket and maybe a deck of cards to keep you and the kiddos busy playing go-fish or any game you'd like :).

After that, we headed over to the Hollywood Blvd Backlot where there is a great GLOW PARTY going on where we danced the rest of the night away in the florescent streets! There are even a few bars up and down the street that sell cosmos and even a nonalcoholic drink in glow glasses! It was a blast, you should definately check it out!!! Enjoy your night of lights in California Adventure!

Dance Studio

My daughter is part of the Dance Studio... Tracy Dee Academy. They are a great studio. i have dance training myself and they are one of the best studios around. They teach the basics CORRECTLY to our children to set them up for a chance at a future if the parents and children decide to do so. One of the owners, Tracy, is an actual professional ballet dancer and her daughter as well teaches there and she currently dances professionally for the Nevada Ballet Company. Brenda, the teacher for the younger children is acceptional with them! She has so much patience to have a classroom of 10-15 little ones at a time, it's amazing. And then there's the shows that they put on twice a year. The only word I can find to describe them is "GORGEOUS". They have themed performances every year and they surprise all the parents with such beautiful costumes and sets and dance performances that it would bring a tear to your eye. It has braught quite a few to mine... If you are looking for a dance studio, look no further, this is the one!