On my birthday, my older brother called and offered his vacation home in Saint George, Utah as a present/escape from all the smoke. I was so grateful and accepted happily! We made plans (hoping the smoke would clear before then) to drive out to Saint George in the first week of October. The little kids had minimum days for school all week and everyone can just take school with them anyway. It seemed like a no-brainer. To add to the ease, Wyatt has been in Utah visiting cousins for the last two weeks and Lorien went to Utah to visit a friend. So the 10 hour drive would be made with just three kids! It was going to be so easy!
We headed out early Saturday morning. The sky was thick with wildfire smoke. The lack of visibility gave us all an unsettling feeling. The skies were smoky all the way through Bakersfield.
Once we got through one particular pass outside Bakersfield, the air cleared. It was shocking to see blue skies again! It was also 100 degrees as we headed into Death Valley. Fun times!
Because we had the time (and desire) we stopped in Las Vegas for dinner and took the three little kids to eat at Will's all-time-favorite restaurant, Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. We strolled around the casinos and took in a quick Bellagio Fountain show too.
Adell and I stopped to ooh and ahh over some fancy clothes in a designer store. I pointed out an Alexander McQueen dress so she would know what the judges were talking about the next time we watched Project Runway.
For a laugh, we stopped into one of the designer stores and enjoyed the high quality customer service! They told us all about their hand crafted purses and these amazing shoes that smelled like chocolate. Colter even got to try the shoes on. I was impressed! This was a high end, designer shop. There was no way we looked like typical customers (see our traveling outfits in the picture above). Yet, we were treated with kind enthusiasm and politeness. They let us try on shoes and handle purses. None of the kids were told to keep their hands to themselves or to leave. It was really lovely! If I ever become an high end, designer item shopper, I'll be shopping here!
Mesa Grill was a hit. Will and I love this place and it was beyond fun to treat the kids to a really yummy dinner. Everyone ate something new and something they liked. The only draw back was the chilly air conditioning.
Our waitress told us in normal times they would provide shawls to the female guest who got cold while dining. With COVID 19 they weren't doing that anymore. However, one of the other staff members suggested extra table cloths! They brought two out and draped them over Adell and Clare's shivering shoulders. It was awesome. Say what you will about the seedy underbelly of Las Vegas, the high end restaurants and shops care about taking care of their customers...I'm a big fan.
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