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I'm thinking of taking a vacation through Vegas and California this spring or summer, and I need a bit of help from the board's residents who may be familiar with the area. What's a good time to go through? Are there special sites which I should try to make room for?

What kind of two-week itinerary would be good for such a vacation?

Try visiting Vegas from April to late May before the summer heat kicks in. As for special sites, besides the Strip, flight tours to the Grand Canyon, Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, there really isn't anything else that would probably be of interest to you unless you were planning on moving here. Perhaps if you could specify more about 'special sites' that you want to visit I could be more helpful, as in are you looking for places to visit that's more family oriented, certain strip bars you might have heard about, etc etc.

Darth Wong wrote:I'm thinking of taking a vacation through Vegas and California this spring or summer, and I need a bit of help from the board's residents who may be familiar with the area. What's a good time to go through? Are there special sites which I should try to make room for?

after the end of June, whenI'm free to fly out there.

What kind of two-week itinerary would be good for such a vacation?

The offical greatest-of-all SDNet meetups in Vegas.

The hoover damn is boring as fuck. you drive for 3 hours to see a lake, a concrete and steel reinforced wall and some generators.

EDIT: I still think that if the sd.net crew rolled into the Star Trek Experience 30 deep led by Darth Wong himself..... nah, we'd all end up arrested.

Col. Crackpot wrote:The hoover damn is boring as fuck. you drive for 3 hours to see a lake, a concrete and steel reinforced wall and some generators.

EDIT: I still think that if the sd.net crew rolled into the Star Trek Experience 30 deep led by Darth Wong himself..... nah, we'd all end up arrested.

I agree about Hoover Dam but you're an engineer so you might find some things there interesting although you're kids would be bored as hell.

If you guys are thinking of doing an sd.net meetup at the ST Experience ya'll better hurry up. There's been talks, some serious and some not so for the last year or so about shutting it down due to low attendance.

Hoover is pretty cool, but honestly it pales compared to the monstrosities that exist in the Pacific Northwest.

After seeing that last episode of Seven Wonders Of The Industrial World, I'd certainly like to see that dam too.

Of course, I know someone at my Dad's workplace who's been but he mainly goes for a week or two of pure gambling and piss-ups in Vegas. What a sinner.

I went in late April/early May, and I think that that's the best time to go. Places like Death Valley and good ol' Lost Wages are still hot (It was routinely 90+ fahrenheit in Vegas, and in Death Valley it was 94 F at 10 AM, but if you want to go for a trip in the mountains, it gets cold in a hurry. Yosemite still had snow in the high passes, and Rachel, Nevada (the town near Area 51) was about 70 degrees.

As day trips, the Hoover Dam and Area 51 are doable, and I recommend Rachel/Area 51 highly. Some of the merchandise is absolutely hilarious, and the desolation of the area will take your breath away. A few things to keep in mind, however:

A) These people are very wary of the government. Almost all of them own a lot of guns, and are almost always packing. There are no police, and these people don't care about bad press. Tourism's all but dried up there anyway.

B) When driving, you have to watch out for beef. Serious beef. The Nevada Bureau of Land Management leases land on both sides of the road to ranchers, and cattle graze freely. And don't count on them getting out of the way. These animals are dumb. They will stand (or lie) in the road, chewing their cud, calming watching you barrel towards them. And if you wreck your car on one of them, not only are you on the hook for that, but you have to pay the rancher for his cow! In this respect, buy a collision waiver on your rental car.


Now, for trips that are a bit longer (2+ days), you've got the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and Yeosemite. The Grand Canyon and Death Valley should present no problems as far as reaching them, but for Yeosemite, you have to pay attention to which passes are open. IIRC, there are only three roads into Yeosemite: two on the western side of the Sierra Nevadas, and one on the east side. The pass on the eastern road is just shy of 10,000 feet above sea level and is usually snowed in until late May, but not always.

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask.

I should have clarified: good family events. I'm going with my wife and kids. I would like to visit the Hoover Dam for myself, but not for the wife and kids.

Darth Wong wrote:I should have clarified: good family events. I'm going with my wife and kids. I would like to visit the Hoover Dam for myself, but not for the wife and kids.

Oh well, Paramount Great America whips the ass off DisneyLand.

Darth Wong wrote:I should have clarified: good family events. I'm going with my wife and kids. I would like to visit the Hoover Dam for myself, but not for the wife and kids.

Kids and wife like the country and wildlife? Yosemite National Park would be a good place to stay for a few nights or visit for a day. Not too far from Vegas to some good spots.

Knott's Berry Farm! The theme park! It has a tower of terror ride that's AWESOME!!

Linky.

Knott's Berry Farm
8039 Beach Boulevard
Buena Park, CA 90620
(714) 220-5200





And it's cool if you don't want to go out there when IB will be there. I'll just have to fly out to Denver, pick up my friend John, and do a road trip to her. Never will a trip of mine have such a lovely destination!

Mike: For Vegas the kids would LOVE the dinner show at the Excalibur. You get to sit and eat roast chicken with your hands while you are served by wenches. Then each section is assigned a knight that you root for and you sit right there and see knights jousting and dueling, and there's evena story to follow with a black knight commanded by mordred terrorizing the ROund table. Magic and fire effects abound. They will love it.

The New York casino has a real roller coaster in it. Treasure Island at night has boat battles in an artificial lake. There are always the Belagio's dancing fountains. Many of the casinos have family entertainment centers for the kids. The Mandalay Bay has a very impressive walk through zoo and reef exhibit. The Luxor has video game arcades and an exhibit of teh tomb of King Tut as well as an IMAX theater.

There's plenty to do with the family in Vegas and ecommend it. But at night just be wary of the HORDES of homeless handing out porn pamphlets if you have the kids with you walking on the strip.

Stravo wrote:Mike: For Vegas the kids would LOVE the dinner show at the Excalibur. You get to sit and eat roast chicken with your hands while you are served by wenches. Then each section is assigned a knight that you root for and you sit right there and see knights jousting and dueling, and there's evena story to follow with a black knight commanded by mordred terrorizing the ROund table. Magic and fire effects abound. They will love it.

I can vouch for that. There's a place just like this in Majorca only it's with pirates and not knights. It's like having one big family feast whilst a play is on as entertainment and all sorts of typical pirate related stuff. If this thing is half as much fun as the pirate night I went to when I was 7 or so, it'll be great.

Lake Tahoe is beutiful. If you're up around there, I'd highly suggest that, and Yosemite. But be sure to stay away from the crowds in the Yosemite Valley, they'll ruin the experience. Death Valley is also a great experience.

Darth Wong wrote:I should have clarified: good family events. I'm going with my wife and kids. I would like to visit the Hoover Dam for myself, but not for the wife and kids.

In that case, the Adventuredome Theme Park at the Circus Circus is pretty good, lots of entertainment for all ages. The Grand Adventure Theme Park at the MGM is also another choice although most of their main rides like the Sky Screamer and bungee swinging and others might be too much for small kids. The Wet N' Wild Water Park is fun but they shutdown for the winter and I forget when they re-open. It's around May I think. So going to that would depend on when you decide to go.

The rides on top of the Stratosphere Tower are cool but there's an age and height limit so you're kids probably wouldn't be able to go on them. The Cirque d' Soleil show at the Bellagio is fun for the family but the prices are pretty steep starting from 200 bucks on up. Also, like others mentioned, Mt. Charleston and Red Rock Canyon are good places for hiking. The Ski Resort at Charleston closes sometime in April as far as I remember. It's been years.

Anyways, there's more but basically don't believe people that say Vegas is a great family oriented destination. True, it's gotten way better in the past years but it's still the Disneyland equivalent for adults with family entertainment taking the far backseat and it's IMO probably not the best place for a family vacation. It's far more fun if it's just you and your wife or if your going with a bunch of friends without having to worry about keeping the kids entertained. Arcades and a limited selction of roller coasters and theme parks tend to get old pretty fast although it depends how long you're planning to stay in Vegas.

Stravo wrote: Treasure Island at night has boat battles in an artificial lake.

It's recently been cancelled due to safety issues and the actors going on strike and burning out. No word yet on when it re-opens.

And that Excalibur show is awesome. I first went to that show when I was 8 and I ended up going back there for my 9th b-day and and friends b-days and numerous other times. I still have the wooden sword and sheild that my parents bought me the first time I went.

Admiral Valdemar wrote:

Darth Wong wrote:I should have clarified: good family events. I'm going with my wife and kids. I would like to visit the Hoover Dam for myself, but not for the wife and kids.

Kids and wife like the country and wildlife? Yosemite National Park would be a good place to stay for a few nights or visit for a day. Not too far from Vegas to some good spots.

Bolded mine, also not just for the tour. Traveling on a open bus looking at trees without signs of wildlife was not exciting.~Jason

I've always gone on company business, which is a convention and that's always in February. Had some nice Canadian spring-like weather. I even wore shorts on some days and the residents were looking at me funny...

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I highly recommend the Cirque de Soleil "O" production at the Belagio, if you don't mind the $125 US ticket price (that's the price this year, it was $100 a few years back last time I saw it). Its a $10 million dollar stage that's both a swimming pool and a stage. Different parts sink to create different areas of water, and with the lighting it truly amazing when you see them dive into the stage.

I left with my mouth open not just from the amazing performance, but because of the novel engineering of the stage. In fact, you could separate the technical and marketing sections of the company in two by what part they were talking about after the production.

Hey Mike, I'm most likely going to be out there sometime in late June or early July. Even though its in the desert, its not really all that hot. Stuffy as hell during the middle of the day, but once the sun goes down, it feels absolutely perfect. I'd definitely go for Vegas. If you're interesting in gambling, MGM Grand is where you really need to go. I plopped down a single quarter in a slot machine and won $75 right off the bat. I just hope Sigfreid and Roy are going to continue doing their shows because I'd absolutely LOVE to see their act. The $100 something price tag per person is a big ass hit on the wallet, but from what I hear its well worth it.

And you simply MUST visit the Grand Canyon. Let me tell you one thing, the pictures don't do it justice. It will absolutely take your breath away when you first see it. Next time I go, I'm going to actually visit the bottom.

The New York casino has a real roller coaster in it.

That coaster's quite a rough ride, my ears got a real bruising when I rode it.

i'd highly recommend avoid visiting vegas during the summer. i went there on vacation with my family a long time ago once and the heat, plus humidity, plus smog makes for a hellish visit. best to visit it in the cooler months. although california is good for summer time visits.

Darth_Zod wrote:i'd highly recommend avoid visiting vegas during the summer. i went there on vacation with my family a long time ago once and the heat, plus humidity, plus smog makes for a hellish visit. best to visit it in the cooler months. although california is good for summer time visits.

I was there last July and it wasn't all that bad....though I had the added benefit of being there at night. Got set up in a camping site at 11pm and didn't get back from the casino till around 1am (though you have to keep in mind that I had been on the road all day long so I was wired for sound. ). That, and I'm used to warmer climates living in the south so it didn't bother me all that much.

oh, vegas is nice during the evening. but when you're used to colder climates visiting in the daytime in full summer heat is hellish.

If your schedule and budget allow, I recommend you forget about Disneyland, and even forget Knott's Berry Farm.
If you love your family, you'll take them to Magic Mountain.
Cheaper than Disney's unamusement park, and it has much better rides than every Southern California amusement park put together.

As for Vegas, I also recommend Circus Circus.
It's one of the last of the old-school casinos still in business, they have great deals, and they're family friendly.