Las Vegas, Nevada is an amazing place. It’s a city that never sleeps. Bright, bold, boisterous, and busy.

If you’re into people watching, Las Vegas provides an abundance of free entertainment. People from all walks of life make their way to this place. But people watching is only one of the many things to do in Vegas. There are wonderful sights to behold. You don’t have to gamble to enjoy what this town has to offer. There is truly something for everyone.

That’s why we thought it would be a blast for our boy; a pit stop on our journey to see their maternal grandmother.

I know I am breaking the widely advertised rule, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” But I have to share.

We chose Excalibur for its theme. The boys were geeked to stay in a “castle”. Our oldest was most impressed with the door handles fashioned as swords, reminding us that the Excalibur was King Arthur’s sword.

We figured we could have dinner at the Round Table Steakhouse and watch an authentic joust. There’s the arcade called The Fun Dungeon where out gamer boys could spend some quality time.

We also had a list of non-Excalibur related adventures:

• Hoover Dam Tour
• M&M World
• Circus Acts at Circus Circus
• Fountains of Bellagio

Despite the available options, tears and disappointment marred our two and a half days in Vegas.

The five year old was sick, running a fever.  Strep throat we found out later. A visit to the med center, picking up medicine, ensuring naps and adequate hydration, altered our itinerary.

Our youngest who loves to be plugged in and a gamer at heart, hated the arcade on the first visit, and would not “go in there”. Who would have thought? Not us. He said, “It scares me. Those sounds scare me.”

Unfortunately, it meant our seven year old had limited time in the Dungeon, which made him say of this trip to Vegas, “It’s not as fun as I remembered.”

Our gamer guy was enthralled though by the adult arcade (aka the casino):

“Mom, can you teach me how to play these games?”
“No, they’re adult games.”
“I know but I want you to teach me how to play them.”
“That would be illegal. Do you want Momma to go to jail?”
“No.”
“Okay, please don’t ask again.”
“When I’m bigger can I play these games?”
“Sure. When you get older if you want to play these games you can. Please just do so in moderation.”
“’Kay.”

Cute right? Not when you’re living in the moment. It’s endearing and funny when you recount the story though.

But it got worse from there.

We tried M&M World but the five year old is afraid of people dressed up in costume like Chuck E. Cheese and the Red Robin bird. So when Green showed up there was a monumental melt down. Lots of screaming, “I want to find an exit.”

By the time we checked out of the Excalibur my husband and I were both drained, emotionally and physically. We’d had to split up to manage the needs of both boys. My husband took my oldest to the Dungeon and for meals while I stayed in the room with the littlest dude nursing him back to health.

Vegas didn’t turn out to be the fun filled stay we envisioned. I pray this isn’t an indication of how the rest of vacation is going to go. Hopefully, the return trip to Las Vegas will yield a better experience.

So, I will retract the statement:  “There is truly something for everyone.” Because clearly there wasn’t anything positive for my five year old, at least not this time around.