TL;DR

Las Vegas

• Stay
  • Westgate Flamingo Bay Resort, 5625 W Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89103
    • Booked this hotel through AAdvantageHotels.com and was pleasantly surrpised by the amount of space we had. Also if we’d come at a different time of year, we might have tried the pools out.
• Eat/Drink
  • McDonalds
    • Dude we have kids. Don’t judge me.
  • Chinglish
    • Sadly closed now, but loved the name and the food was quite good.
  • Zippy’s (Arroyo Crossing) – 7095 Badura Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89113
    • I don’t remember how I found out that Zippy’s had opened its first location outside of the Hawaiian Islands, but as soon as I found out, I was committed to visiting it. Online ordering made the process even easier.
  • Sunright Tea Studio, 4545 Spring Mountain Rd #104, Las Vegas, NV 89103
    • Hella good boba!
  • Carl’s Donuts, 3170 E Sunset Rd. Las Vegas, NV, 89120
    • I’d been following them on Instagram (they have well over 500k followers now) and decided we needed to try some of these delicious looking donuts. We did not regret our decision. Get a baker’s dozen and go hogwild. And the ube cruffin, if they have it.
• See/Do
  • Red Rock Canyon, Mountain Springs, NV 89161
    • A beautiful natural escape from the lights and energy of the strip, Red Rock Canyon is well worth a drive (and if your family has the right footwear), could be an incredible hike. We had the dog and not the right shoes for the kids but still managed to get in a light hike in between stops on a beautiful drive. Check out the Visitor’s Guide (may be outdated!) and fees and pass information websites.
  • Springs Preserve, 333 S Valley View Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89107
    • Another lovely jaunt into nature in a place that I don’t often associate with nature. Great for families (you can rent a stroller for a reasonable price) and there’s lots for the kids to be entertained by!

Trip Background

This was one of those trips I had to make for family – and while I won’t divulge anything more than that, it was both refreshing and heartening to see family and have my kids hang out with my cousins’ kids for the first time in several years.

Las Vegas has always been a place I’ve gone for entertainment, good food, and time with my extended family – and this experience would wind up being the last time my (now) ex-wife, kids and I would travel together as a family of four.

That said, it stands out as being a happy and positive trip for so many reasons. Read on.

Day 1 (February 21, 2024)

I hadn’t flown Southwest in awhile and 2024 would see me start the year with four straight Southwest flights (two to New York in January and these two to Las Vegas). The kids had a lovely flight as Cooper was fascinated by the clear blue skies and the distance down to the earth. We even brought Annie, Cooper’s service dog – and both kids and doggo were a delight to travel with (I don’t always say this).

But the trip also began on a sour note, as we attempted to enter the Swissport Lounge at O’Hare Airport and were immediately stopped by the front desk clerk who insisted we could not bring Annie in. Annie is not an emotional support animal, she is a service dog – and I legally don’t have to *prove* anything, but this protracted fight lasted a good fifteen minutes while I showed the staff the city of Chicago website to them, and they continued to fight us. After escalating it to a manager, they finally let us in – but it only reminded me of the poor training staff receive in many customer-facing locations. As a general reminder – you CANNOT FORBID THE ENTRANCE OF A SERVICE ANIMAL in Chicago (and in a lot of other places). Also, we were just looking for a place to set down our gear and have a soda. The fight for accessibility never ends, it seems.

The flight was easy and we landed at McCarrran Airport, went to see my cousin Liane, her son Benny, and my aunt Glenda, and then we headed to our hotel to settle in.

The Westgate Flamingo Bay Resort was actually ideal for a small family, as the space was good for all four of us (using the fold out couch bed). The kitchen was well appointed and had most of what we needed (minus some kitchen accessories that we knew we’d need to pack), and we had more than enough space to spread out, dine, and relax (plus parking was easy).

Day 2 (February 22, 2024)

We began the morning at a leisurely time, setting off for Red Rock Canyon around 9:30 AM and getting there about 10 AM. I have come to love time in nature and really understand how much better I feel when I go visit National Parks or Monuments. This is a really easy place for a family to visit, and if you just want to drive the gently winding, 13-mile loop, you can do that! There will be more than a few views to take your breath away. I recommend bringing some snacks (sandwiches or packed lunches are ideal) and if you can physically handle it, try getting out of the car a few times for a light hike.

The Visitor’s Guide (may be outdated!) and fees and pass information websites were useful prep for this drive, and I would recommend wearing the right kind of footwear (Allbirds or Olukais feel comfortable and are great for cities but NOT the right fit for the rougher terrain you’d find here).

Around 1 PM, we left Red Rock Canyon and headed for Chinglish, a place I admittedly picked based solely on the name. I am sad to report the place has closed, but the Cantonese comfort food was spot on and we got beef chow fun, the char siu lollipops, dumplings, and the most unique dish – the Portuguese fried rice (wok-fried), which is described as “Coconut milk custard with chicken and vegetables over a bed of egg fried rice. Brûléed under the broiler.” It was damned good. All of it was.

That night, we spent time with my cousins and their respective families, which was really nice as it was the first time my kids and their kids had all been in the same place (we had brought my son in 2019 for a meet-the-fam trip but it was Clementine’s first time!).

Day 3 (February 23, 2024)

Our next adventure took us to Springs Preserve, another lovely escape into nature. I’ve been coming to Vegas for decades, as my cousins grew up between Reno and Vegas, and most of my previous trips have not been associated with the great outdoors. This place is great for families (you can rent a stroller for a reasonable price) and there’s lots for the kids to be entertained by! I especially loved the train ride, which Cooper did as well.

I don’t remember how I found out that Zippy’s (Arroyo Crossing) had opened its first location outside of the Hawaiian Islands, but as soon as I found out, I was committed to visiting it. For those who are unaware, Zippy’s is the Hawaiian Denny’s, and though this would not normally be a selling point, it is for me because it takes me back to Hawaii. The dishes are not Michelin-star quality food, but the nostalgia and fondness for the islands it evokes are worth more than Le Bernardin or Eleven Madison Park could ever evoke. We got fried chicken, a loco moco (my favorite), and a few other plates which we all happily devoured.

That afternoon I met up with my friend Luna for a boba at Sunright Tea Studio and I was again reminded how developed the Asian food/snack scene is in Las Vegas. I remember being in Sin City in 2010 thinking there was one or two good Vietnamese pho restaurants, and some decent Chinese – but now it seems you can get virtually everything you want from a food perspective.

Day 4 (February 24, 2024)

For our last day, we stopped at Carl’s Donuts, a place I’d been following (and drooling over) on Instagram and picked up a baker’s dozen for the broader family (uncle, aunt, cousins, and their kids) to enjoy. That turned out to be an excellent move as ALL of the items we bought were delicious – most notably the ube cruffin. Lordy!

An uneventful flight back to O’Hare later and we were home sleeping in our beds that night.

Final Thoughts

Las Vegas is more than an entertainment city for me – though I certainly enjoy going there for conferences, concerts, and good meals. It’s a place to fill the heart with family time, and this trip did exactly that. By not going in the blazing oven of summertime, we got a chance to actually discover the outdoors/natural side of Vegas, and I thought that was pretty cool. Hiking, animals, and greenery are all part of the Vegas experience, but you have to struggle through a lot more to see it in July or August!