Las Vegas is our Thanksgiving destination. It offers reasonable hotel rates, easy air travel access, and proximity to world-class rock climbing. Since Andrew is spending his vacation with us, the last two of these were of great interest. As it happens, this is a low period in the convention business that is the principal engine of the Las Vegas economy. So all hotels are on sale this week. We choose a Residence Inn located in a quiet area off of the strip that offered a discounted 2-bedroom suite. And the place takes pets. All good.

Despite the hype, the heart of Las Vegas is not really kid friendly. The mega hotel/casinos along the strip are not set up for families. To get even to the ticket booth for Cirque de Soleil, for example, required us all to walk through a large smoke filled casino. Similar pathways go to the (very brief) free acts at Circus Circus. Even using the monorail requires casino travel because the station access is always through a casino. But away from all that, the city has a university, museums and parks, and looks like every other southwestern metro area with endless suburbs and their accompanying malls.