2015 is Carpinteria’s 50th birthday as a city. In the week before the Avocado Festival, there were various celebrations. It culminated in a ‘locals only’ day of the Avo Fest on Thursday. They brought in a Ferris Wheel that took Roly and I high above Linden Avenue.
The last full day. We started off the morning with a swim. We had taken a break from swimming for the last 2 days because Roly’s lower face was really chapped. I think his swim vest was riding up and rubbing against his chin and cheeks and the heavily chlorinated pool water was irritating it. So, after a couple of day’s rest, the redness was gone, so it was back into the water. After swimming, it was over to Steak & Shake again for lunch, but Toby stopped to get some sushi from Zenshin. Everyone was happy.
Back at the hotel, Toby laid down for a nap, and I took the kids to burn off some calories. We went to Sky Zone trampoline park. This was enjoyed by all the kids. They especially loved the souvenir bootie socks.
When we got back, it was time for Mom and Dad’s date. Toby and I drove over to Craft Steaks at the MGM Grand. The walk across the casino was very funny because there were a ton of teenage girls in blue wigs and rainbow dresses. Then we saw the sign for the Katy Perry concert that night. Toby and I had been to the steakhouse a few years ago, and it was better than we remembered. We avoided ordering a potato dish so that we had a tiny bit of room left for dessert. It was very tasty.
To finish the evening we headed over to get a foot massage. As we were waiting for our car, both of our phones started vibrating with emergency alert flash flood warnings. When we pulled out of the parking structure, the deluge started, hard. It was crazy for about 15 minutes and then stopped. There were a lot of flooded streets from that very short cloudburst. The massage was a great ending to a great date. So sad to go home tomorrow.
Thursday was a jam packed day. It started at about 7a when the kids and I went to The Cracked Egg for breakfast while Toby enjoyed a morning to herself. After delicious chocolate chip pancakes and a great Monte Cristo sandwich, we headed to Silverado Park. We played SpikeBall on the grass, flew high on the swings and wore each other out playing tag on the 2 different play structures. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Walgreen’s, and when I say ‘stopped’, I mean ‘stopped’. We couldn’t leave because the van wouldn’t start. Turning the key produced a bit of grinding, but nothing more. AAA to the rescue. Within an hour a battery service truck had arrived and two guys ran a bunch of tests and replaced the battery. Back in business.
After lunch, we went to M & M World, World of Coca-Cola and Hershey’s Chocolate World on The Strip. Roly was in heaven until he realized he couldn’t eat everything in sight. Then I had to carry him for the rest of the time. :/ 
My favorite part of these stores was the Coke sampler tray. Coke sells over 500 beverage brands are sold in more than 200 countries and at the Vegas store you can buy a tray of 16 different Coke products from different countries. Everyone in the family tried a few sips of each, even Lucy who doesn’t like soda. We all had different favorites, but we all agreed that the worst was the grapefruit flavored nastiness that is popular in Italy.
And finally, because the day had not been busy enough, Toby took Max and Lucy to see the Blue Man Group. The came back with giant smiles on their faces and really enjoyed the show.
Unlike other vacations we have taken, this trip only had 2 activities that we really wanted to do: the open air bus tour and a tour of the Hoover Dam. Wednesday was the day for the trip to Hoover Dam.
The drive was uneventful, and we loaded up the stroller with snacks and water. We walked right up to go through security and we found out that we couldn’t bring the cooler of snacks into the visitor’s center. Since Toby, Max and Roly had already been through screening, Lucy and I walked the cooler back to the car. The round trip was about 20 minutes, and in that time, the line for security had significantly queued up. Fortunately, the initial security guard that sent us back recognized us and sent us through.
The tour was very informative and our guide seemed very interested in what he was presenting. Roly was not very interested, though, and I am glad it was only a 30 minute tour. We skipped the displays in favor of getting our lunch from the van. I would have liked to stay longer. Maybe next time.
After naps back at the hotel, we all went bowling. Toby won with a huge score of 97, but Max was right behind with 96. Roly beat Lucy and I was right in the middle.
For dinner, we went to a place in old Las Vegas that is called Container Park. This is a group of vendors that are located inside of refitted shipping containers. The containers surround a fun kid’s area and small concert venue. Roly had a great time playing with the foam tinker-toys and Lucy said that the 30 foot slide was fun, but made too much static. Max coordinated everyone into making a tower from Lego-esque foam blocks.
Tuesday was a relaxing day. We went to Bass Pro Shop’s Outdoor World. The décor of the store is awesome, and I think Roly got a crick in his neck looking at all the fish and other animals hanging from the ceiling.
The store in Las Vegas is huge at 165,000 sq. ft., but I was surprised to learn that there are multiple stores that are bigger, the largest being 300,000 sq. feet.
They have a free indoor shooting and archery range. We didn’t take advantage of this, but there was a shooting gallery that Lucy did very well at.
Max was impressed by the anatomy of the big horn ram out in front of the store.
