Carpool Goddess

Adventures From Carpool To Empty Nest

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Published Work
    • My Books
  • Writer’s Life
    • Reading List
  • Parenting
  • College
    • Empty Nest
  • Midlife
  • Contact Me

Family Fun, Vegas Style!

Like every family we have our rituals. The summer is no exception. Just about every 4th of July we go to Sin City for fun and fireworks. That’s right. Las Vegas, Baby! We’ve been going since the kids were in preschool.

Now I know, Las Vegas might be the last place you’d think to take a child, but Vegas has changed a lot over the years. Yes, you can still find the sleaze, but over the last decade it has become incredibly kid friendly too.

In the mornings we used to visit The Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay, admire the White Tigers at The Mirage and ride the roller coaster at New York-New York. The afternoons we’d have lunch and hang by the pool. And with the extreme heat, there’s really no better place to be. At night, we’d enjoy the fabulous restaurants (Vegas has tons of them!) and then see a magic show or let the kids load up on “winnings” (stuffed animals) at the arcade at Circus Circus.

You almost forget you’re in Vegas.

Unless you count the time we were in the pool with what we presumed to be “European” sunbathers. It was a scorcher and the hotel’s five pools and chairs were packed, so we parked ourselves at the first set of chaise lounges we could find in the shade. Rubbed in the sunscreen, grabbed our inner-tubes and headed for the cool water. And then they saw them.

Topless swimmers.

My kids giggled and asked me why the women didn’t have bathing suit tops on. My first thought, sophisticated woman that I am, was that they’re European of course. I explained to the children that in some parts of Europe, it’s perfectly natural for women to sunbathe topless. And we shouldn’t stare (reminded hubby of this too).

Ever curious, I decided to wade near them to hear what foreign tongue they were speaking. To my surprise, it was a flawless English. And that’s when I noticed another group of topless women. Some how, in our heat induced stupor, we staggered over to the “Tops Optional” pool. A little bonus you don’t find at most kid friendly hotels.

I never did tell the kids we were at the “wrong” pool. I kept up the charade, since they were more interested in doing handstands and summersaults, and shaded chaise lounges were hard to find. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Do you have a favorite summer vacation spot too? Had any embarrassing moments you needed to explain away like we did? Please share!

 

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Parenting, Popular Posts Tagged With: las vegas, Mandalay Bay, pools, sharks, summer vacation, The Mirage, topless sunbathing, vegas baby

Comments

  1. Sparkling74 says

    April 15, 2012 at 2:53 am

    That’s really funny. I’m sure they just shrugged and carried on because kids are usually satisfied when they hear what sounds like a reasonable answer. Found you at finding the funny.

    Reply
    • Carpool Goddess says

      April 19, 2012 at 10:02 pm

      So glad you stopped by!

      Reply
  2. Robbie says

    July 6, 2012 at 3:21 pm

    That is priceless! I doubt we’d be able to stay at the “wrong” pool b/c my kids would be so loud and obvious in sharing their thoughts!

    Reply
    • Carpool Goddess says

      July 6, 2012 at 5:33 pm

      LOL! It was a good thing my kids were so distracted 🙂

      Reply
  3. mel says

    June 7, 2013 at 3:01 am

    Haha- we were just in Vegas and with kids too! lOL!! My kids would probably laugh hysterically if we were in the “wrong” pool!

    Reply
  4. Tracie says

    July 4, 2013 at 2:16 pm

    That is pretty hilarious. I can’t imagine that my daughter would just go with it that easily – she is too loud and questiony.

    Reply
  5. Kat says

    July 4, 2013 at 3:02 pm

    You are sharp. If it were me, I would have struggled with the explanation.

    Reply
  6. Anita @ Losing Austin says

    July 5, 2013 at 1:01 pm

    Oh my! I was thinking that even European, when in Rome and all that means cover up. But then you see the sign… lol

    Reply
  7. Considerer says

    November 23, 2013 at 3:25 pm

    Bwahahahahah maybe in the South of France, or one of those party islands around Greece… Your poor kids!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Linda Wolff

Stay Connected

Get Me in Your Inbox!

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Places You Will Find Me

featured writing

I’m In These Books

Looking For Something?

Top Posts

  • 10 Things That Smell Good
    10 Things That Smell Good
  • Tell Me About Yourself: Take My Fun Survey
    Tell Me About Yourself: Take My Fun Survey
  • 6 Things I Would Tell My 20-Year-Old Self
    6 Things I Would Tell My 20-Year-Old Self
  • Fear of Flying: Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. Yeah, right!
    Fear of Flying: Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. Yeah, right!
  • The Real Reason I Don't Want To See Photos Of Your Kids On Facebook
    The Real Reason I Don't Want To See Photos Of Your Kids On Facebook
  • 12 Songs to Help Get You Bathing Suit Ready (Or Close Enough)
    12 Songs to Help Get You Bathing Suit Ready (Or Close Enough)

carpoolgoddess

Mom, writer, purveyor of unsolicited advice. No longer driving carpool, still driving my kids crazy. L.A.Times,Wash Post,Cosmo,Good Housekeeping,AARP

Thrilled for this piece to finally see the light o Thrilled for this piece to finally see the light of day on @thegirlfriendletter. And a hearty thanks to @profwendywood, author of Good Habits, Bad Habits, for her words of wisdom. I wrote this back in February, before Covid threw us all a curveball. One thing that I realized is that whether or not we’re in quarantine, many of our basic human traits remain the same. Once a perfectionist, always a perfectionist...until I learned that that mindset was actually holding me back. Love to hear your thoughts. Link in bio. #goodhabitsbadhabits #perfectionisoverrated #selfcaretips #breakbadhabits #lessstress
So excited to start this book! It’s been hard to So excited to start this book! It’s been hard to tear my eyes away from the news to read for pleasure, but it’s a necessity. My favorite time to read is in the morning when I first wake up, when I’m still cozy in bed. How about you? #untamed #glennondoyle #readingforpleasure #readinginbed #readingwomen
When your Mahj game needs a fourth, you do what yo When your Mahj game needs a fourth, you do what you gotta do. #mahjong #mahj #learningfromthebest #alwayswelcome #dogsofinstagram
So thankful for every little bit of normalcy I can So thankful for every little bit of normalcy I can get. Playing Mahj with my mahjagals is one of my most favorite things to do. Plus, it’s so good for the brain! (Click on the link in my bio to read about my love affair with the game and what it’s done for my life). Thanks @caritk for the fabulous Mahj goodies! #mahjong #playitsafe #betterwithfriends #letsplay #mahjongtiles #loveofthegame
Feeling groovy. #weekendbaby #sandals #animalprint Feeling groovy. #weekendbaby #sandals #animalprints #stillsummer #cheers @mystiquesandals
Hiding a multitude of sins. #incognito #whodis #un Hiding a multitude of sins. #incognito #whodis #underwraps #pandemiclife #lifeisgood
Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

There may be an issue with the Instagram access token that you are using. Your server might also be unable to connect to Instagram at this time.

Categories

Follow Me Everywhere

Get Me in Your Inbox!

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Popular Posts

  • 10 Things That Smell Good
  • Tell Me About Yourself: Take My Fun Survey
  • 6 Things I Would Tell My 20-Year-Old Self
  • Fear of Flying: Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. Yeah, right!
  • The Real Reason I Don't Want To See Photos Of Your Kids On Facebook
  • 12 Songs to Help Get You Bathing Suit Ready (Or Close Enough)

Copyright © 2021 Carpool Goddess. All rights reserved.