With only a couple of weeks till school starts, there’s still a chance to get in a little special treat before the kiddos have to get back on a schedule!

Playing in a hotel bubble bath

What can you do, though, with limited time and money, that can still be fun for both the kids and the adults?  If you don’t have the time and budget to get out of town, find a nice hotel in your city or nearby area, and check in for a fun overnight.  Make a nice hotel your vacation destination.

Pick a hotel with a few extra amenities, and plan on getting the largest room that your budget will allow.  A nice pool where you can spend the day helps to make up for not having a week at the beach.  Room service that allows for breakfast in bed (maybe while still in pajamas) is a special treat that’s different from home, even though it will be more fun than romantic.  A couple plasma televisions means everyone can watch their programming on a big screen.  A spa, nice restaurant, or lobby lounge can mean that adults can have a few special treats as well.

Plan to check in as early in the day as possible.  Even if the hotel has a 4 pm check in, inquire if you can check in early.  If rooms aren’t available early, you can often have the bellman hold your bags while you head off to enjoy the pool.  You can usually use the hotel amenities and services before you check into your room, so take advantage of this opportunity to extend your hotel vacation.

If this is going to be your only vacation this summer, the important thing is to make it a break from your regular routine.  Vacation should be something different.  Sleep in, if you normally get up early.  Get up early for a head start on the day, if you normally sleep in.  And make some special time for everyone.

On a recent hotel stay, a little guy from my extended family fell in love with the spa bathtub.  I let him add a few bubbles and then turn on the jets, and this photo represents the results.  There were bubbles all over the place, to the total delight of this six year old.  Sure if left a bit of a mess (the bubbles cascaded over the sides of the tub) — I cleaned up part of it and left a generous tip for the maid.  This was NOT something that he could do at home, but was a simple thing that helped to create a fun vacation memory.

What simple thing can you do to help make a hotel stay fun?

Photo credit:  personal collection

Post from: Fly Away Cafe

Check out Family Car Games, created by a family of four to help your family pass the time with instructions for 100 different games.  You can play the games in the car, on a long flight, or while waiting at the airport.  Or waiting anywhere for that matter.

I downloaded the app ($1.99) to check it out.  And hey – I like games, too!  There seemed to be a nice variety, hitting on a number of different themes, from words games to story telling to singing.  I recognized the names of some (so there are so classic car games here), but there were lots of titles that I didn’t recognize.  They claim that no additional equipment is needed, but I’d recommend a notepad and pen as many of them involve counting or keeping track.

You can select a game by various searches (name, degree of difficulty) or at random (a shaker/spinner much like is on Urban Spoon), and you have the ability to bookmark your favorites so you can play them again and again.  Each game is tagged with a degree of difficulty to help you choose age appropriate activity.

It looks like a lot of fun, and next time I’m spending time with a youngster, I’ll give it a more thorough testing out.  For $1.99, though, you can’t go wrong!

Download via iTunes or directly from your iPhone or iTouch.

Photo credit:  Family Car Games

Post from: Fly Away Cafe

For the price of a hand of blackjack or a roll of the dice, you can spend time predators of a different kind — at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium.  Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino (3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas) is home to this predator-based aquarium, the only one in the United States.

Recently moving into the aquarium are two female Tigers Sharks, second deadliest specie behind the Great White.  These two are quickly becoming the prima donnas of the aquarium, and it’s the only place tiger sharks are available for viewing in the US.  How will you spot them?  They’re the ones with tiger striped markings, and sharp-serrated teeth!

The tiger sharks join over 2,000 other predators at the aquarium, and although the sharks were my clear favorite, here are a few others from among the 14 exhibits:

Komodo Dragon.  What they lack in looks, they make up for in speed, and the world’s largest lizard uses both its speed, cunning and power to track and kills it’s prey.  So ugly that they’re kind of cute, but very scary!

The piranhas.  A guide was standing near the exhibit to answer questions, and the question on everyone’s mind was – when do you feed them?  He explained that they are fed three times a week, usually raw chicken.  It’s chopped up into small chunks and then thrown about the water so that the piranhas disperse and chase the food.  They try to keep them from swarming in one area, so as to avoid any injuries as a result of less than sterling eating habits.

The stingray petting pool was a big visitor favorite, and not just mine.  A naturalist nearby gave adults and kids instructions about how to “pet” the stingrays swimming about the shallow pool.  I shoved up my sleeves and put my arm in the pool waiting for the stingray to swim by.  When it did, I ran one finger along the top of him.  It’s hard to explain what it felt like.  It was soft and spongy, but definitely not what I expected.  The closest I can come to describing the feel is that it’s like injera, the Ethiopian pancake-like bread.

Allow a little over an hour to walk through the exhibit, listening to the audio guide as you do.  The audio guide provides a nice enhancement to what you’re seeing, giving you the basics and then an option to press for additional information.  I frequently found myself teased by that basic information, wanting to know more.

Shark Reef Aquarium is open Sunday – Thursday, 10 am – 8 pm, and Friday & Saturday 10 am – 10 pm.  Admission is $16.95 for adults, $10.95 for children, and toddlers four and under are FREE.    Shark Reef tickets can be purchased online or on site.  Discounts available for Nevada residents (ID required).

Photo credits:  personal collection

Post from: Fly Away Cafe