Las Vegas Trips

Las Vegas holds a special place in the hearts and dreams of almost everyone. But for San Diegans I think it holds an even bigger place since it's one of the shorter road trips that we can make to get away from our everyday lives. A simple 5 hour drive northeast and we arrive in Sin City itself. Although known for the casinos, hotels, and well, being sinful, Vegas is also home to many kid friendly activities. In this post, I talk about my most memorable Vegas trips, including family vacations with my younger relatives and 'grown up' trips with our rave friends. I hope you enjoy!

Baseball Tournaments
Las Vegas is almost infamous in my family for being the place of holiday baseball tournaments. It's a great place to go in general but some people are hesitant to spend the holiday weekends with their kids in Vegas.
Alex was the coach for the Bandits during this particular trip to Vegas. As coach (and the coach's girlfriend) we had the responsibility of taking care of these teenage boys. Was it easy? No- but it also wasn't hard. Kids get excited just to be in Vegas let alone competing in a tournament with other guys from around the country. 
When they're off the field, they're eating, and when they're not eating, they're talking or sleeping. It was fun to watch their up's and down's of being super excited to dead beat tired after a long day of baseball. Vegas is such a magical place to them and it was fun to give them a memorable experience full of candied apples, midnight bowling, In-N-Out runs, and playing ball!

EDC
EDC is one of the biggest raves in the world and is on so many people's bucket lists. I know it was on mine before I even knew what a rave was. Alex and I started raving in 2016 and grew an appreciation for the atmosphere. We definitely went all out in 2016 - 2017 and went to every Insomniac rave there was. Crush, Beyond Wonderland, Countdown, Nocturnal, Escape, and EDC. I will definitely have a separate blog just for raves, but EDC is the only one that is in Vegas, and as such, deserves it's own spot in this post.
The first year we went, it was 100 degrees at 1am. It was crowded during the day, same thing during the night, and it was miserably hot. BUT it was still one of the best raves we've ever been to and the Vegas vibe made it all the more special. We stayed with our group of rave friends at the Luxor and walked the strip on our first day, exploring the Luxor and its adjacent hotels, going to the M&M and Hershey's store, and walking around Cesar's Palace.
The rest of our time in Vegas was spent at EDC, catching up on most of our sleep throughout the day, and spending time at the pool when we were awake and able to enjoy the sun. One of the best things about EDC is that you meet so many people from around the world, get to see things that the other raves don't offer, and then you wake up and do it all over again.
I definitely recommend that if you're going to Vegas for EDC, make sure to spend that first day you arrive doing whatever else you want to do in Vegas, because unless you're staying a few extra days, you will be way too exhausted to explore after an all-nighter of partying under the electric sky. 

This year when we went, EDC changed the date from June to May and as such- the weather was MUCH cooler. Almost too cold at night but still way better than being too hot. Alex and I were able to stay with his Uncle who lives a few minutes away from the strip in Sumerlin. It was so nice not having to pay for an expensive hotel and being able to come home to his Aunt's amazing homecooked meals. We didn't have a planned group to go with like last time, but we knew of friends that would be there and who we would meet up with. We went to Tao's Beach Club, of course bought a giant alcholic slushie from Fat Tuesday's, walked the strip, and explored the Venetian before spending the rest of our time dancing the night away at EDC. Seeing some of our favorite DJ's, meeting our friends, riding the carnival rides, and watching the spectacular fireworks display on the last night - EDCLV 2019 was an unforgettable experience.

Family Trips
Since Alex's Nino moved to Vegas for work, his family now has a new reason to go to Vegas whenever they want. (This is the Uncle that we stayed with when we went to EDCLV19). We just recently went to enjoy Easter with his Nino and family this past April. It's always nice to see how other people celebrate holidays and taking part in their traditions. For the Cervantes', Easter entails a full day of grocery shopping and cooking, dying Easter eggs, finding Golden eggs, and taking family pictures. I introduced them to my family tradition of making egg salad after the egg hunt and they introduced me to new Vegas experiences.
Since it was mine and Alex's first time in Vegas as 21 year olds, his parents, Nino, and Nina took us out to the Piano Bar inside of New York New York. It was such a cool experience to see the aura of the Piano Bar and of course to finally see the wasted side of Vegas. Of course we didn't get hammered, but we got to people watch and laugh at the people who were.
​One thing that I want to emphasize is to always be kind to others. I was in the bathroom when I heard a girl in the stall next to me throwing up. There was no one else with her which for a girl, seemed strange to me. Vegas is pretty scary as it is, but to be drunk and alone in Vegas is a whole other feeling. I walked out of the bathroom and went to the bar that was directly across the walkway and grabbed a glass of water for the girl. I went back into the bathroom knocked on the door and offered her the water. She didn't want me to see her so I slid it under the door along with my number on a piece of paper. I told her to call if she needed anything or felt in danger. She didn't call but she did text me the next day thanking me. It's small acts of kindness that can really go a long way and ensure a person's safety. 

Family trips to Vegas are also a staple in my family. In the past, my family goes for summer vacations, but one of the trips that stood out the most to me was when we went for Christmas. We actually went right before Alex and I went to Countdown in San Bernadino and we made a whole week long vacation out of the two trips for Christmas and New Years.
Our Christmas was so magical because we got to spend it with my siblings who were so young at the time. They were still considered babies in my eyes but this trip, they knew enough about Vegas to be aware of their surroundings and really appreciate the magic that is Vegas.
Seeing their eyes light up and their ear-to-ear smiles makes that time spent together so much better. It really was a pivotal bonding trip with my siblings. Taking them to Glowzone, the M&M store, New York New York, the Coca Cola Store, Circus Circus, bowling, watching them in our hotel room at Excalibur while our parents went out,  and trying new things gave us an opportunity to just enjoy our time without worrying about anything else in the world.

Send us pictures of your next trip to Vegas and drop your favorite Vegas destinations in the comments below!

Sincerely,
​Alana