response 75 of 126:

Jun 5 03:27 UTC 2007

 re #73:  Vegas could be a great place for a family trip, but if you
 were doing a family trip there you probably wouldn't be doing many
 of the "Vegas" things.  

 During the years I was living in the Seattle area I took a couple
 of long trips through the American west and southwest, and on several
 of them I wound up staying in Vegas for a day or two here or there
 on my way to other places.  If you pick the right time to visit
 (i.e. not when any major events are going on and general tourism
 traffic is low) it can be a terrific place to get a nice hotel room
 and decent food at very good prices.

 I probably wasn't a typical Vegas visitor, however..  When I passed
 through Vegas on those trips the last thing I wanted to do was gamble --
 I got enough of that in Seattle in those years and the poker action
 in Vegas (at least back then) wasn't all that attractive in the range
 of game that I was interested in playing..  As a stop-over point to
 catch my breath and enjoy luxuries like indoor plumbing, soft beds,
 and hot food that wasn't noodles and had never been freeze-dried,
 Vegas made a great spot to stop and stay a day or two to sit by the
 hotel pool and relax before continuing the journey.  And there are some
 *very* attractive outdoor recreation opportunities available at
 distances ranging anywhere from the outskirts of the city (Red Rock
 Canyon) to a little further away (Valley of Fire) to a couple of
 hours' travel away (the Grand Canyon!) 

 I guess what I'm saying is if you pick the right time of year and
 you're not interested in gambling, night clubs, or showbiz extravaganzas,
 Vegas can be a spot for a very non-stereotypical-Vegas vacation.

response 77 of 126:

Jun 5 13:50 UTC 2007

re #73
 Really? A lot of people told me that Las Vegas wasn't really geared to
 kids and made for a poor place for a family vacation. Interesting.

Seattle to Vegas is about 90 minutes flight and the vacation packages
are cheap.  Plus, we only pay for things with our Alaska Air credit card
so we usually have enough for multiple family flights to either there
or LA or San Diego.  Vegas is the shortest and least hassle.
Fun things in Vegas for kids are watching street performers, the fountains
at Bellagio, the Zigfriend & Roy habitat, the Hoover Dam, Circus Circus,
the buffets, and walking up and down the strip with all the people to look
at the architecture like the Venetian.

re #74
 Your kids, however, probably will eschew the "water park" attractions
 (which aren't as good as the ones at, say, Cedar Point) and prefer to
 try to collect all the cards that the illegal immigrants are handing out
 on the sidewalk.

The illegals don't hand the cards to kids.  They know they'll go to jail if
they do.  Plus, we don't freak out if our kids see somebody's naked body in
a picture.  We don't encourage them to look at porn or anything but we also
don't get all prudish about scantily clad women.  I'm more worried about my
kids seeing violence on tv than them catching a look at a woman's breasts.

response 79 of 126:

Jun 5 17:00 UTC 2007

I wish more americans had tod's sensible perspective.

response 81 of 126:

Jun 5 17:31 UTC 2007

I have mixed feelings about American prudishness. Because I think it is 
kind of silly and yet, I find that I am actually a bit of a prude 
myself. I was talking with some friends about going to a resort in 
Jamaica that has a clothing optional beach and we all agreed that it 
might be better for us to consider someplace else because while none of 
us felt that nudity was wrong, we all felt we would feel more 
comfortable in a clothing mandatory setting. 

response 83 of 126:

Jun 5 17:38 UTC 2007

What if your spouse needs candlelight to get in the mood?

I guess I'll agree that the fringes of the strip include stuff that is
family-oriented (e.g. the rides at Stratosphere, the roller coaster at
NYNY, the pool at Mandalay Bay.)  The middle strip, particularly the
newer and more prestigious properties, are moving away from that
direction.  Wynn prohibits strollers for non-guests, for example, and
Bellagio prohibits all children unless they are guests, seeing a show
or dining in a restaurant.

After investing all that money, though, Vegas seems to have rediscovered
that their real niche is as a place you go to get away from your
family.

response 85 of 126:

Jun 5 18:01 UTC 2007

(#81 and #82 slipped.)

Speaking of strollers, an allegedly recent trend is for adult strollers
("mobility scooters") to be used in Vegas by able-bodied adults who
simply don't want to walk.

response 87 of 126:

Jun 5 21:38 UTC 2007

#80:  "It really is a major downer in most of American society that the
libido is seen as evil.  That's where you really see a rift between
Fundies and Jews is that Torah actually calls for sensuality with your
spouse on the Sabbath."

That's funny.  I recall reading a comment somewhere made by a psychologist
or marriage counselor, or something like that, who set up practice in a
community with a lot of Orthodox Jews, and he was very surprised by the
number of young Orthodox Jewish couples who came to him for counseling
who knew almost nothing about sex.  I don't remember the particular naïve
beliefs he mentioned, but they were things you might expect to hear from
pre-teens who hadn't had either "the talk" with their parents, or sex
education in school.

response 89 of 126:

Jun 5 21:53 UTC 2007

OK, but Orthodox Jews are the fundies of Judaism, and their views don't
necessarily reflect those of most Jews (in the US anyway.)

response 91 of 126:

Jun 10 20:15 UTC 2007

[Since this is a 'travel' related question and may help others in the 
future... and can be expanded upon as well, this item has been linked 
to the travel conference as item 73 in travel and its 93 in the spring 
agora [2007] conference.]  

response 93 of 126:

Jun 12 17:01 UTC 2007

Hmm, that comes out to be under $27 per person per night for the 2 
rooms, kitchen, breakfast, and pool; cheaper than a lot of hotel rooms 
that doesn't come with all of that [so maybe you can 'justify' the 
expense this way].  How far away are you from DC and is it close to 
public transportation?  

Good luck with the trip and have fun!

response 95 of 126:

Jun 12 17:46 UTC 2007

I hope you have a great trip, jep

response 97 of 126:

Jun 12 18:34 UTC 2007

hahaha. I would do it too! 

Plus I have a free place to crash in the DC area because my brother 
lives there. 

response 99 of 126:

Jun 12 19:57 UTC 2007

Can you actually get to the steps of Capitol Hill, or is it inside the
security perimeter?