The Linq

One of the things we "locals" dislike the most, is having to go to The Strip for entertainment. Traffic, long walks, tourists, and the list goes on, don't make for a good experience. If you're not from Vegas, it's OK. At some point I been a tourist in your town and behaved as such.

Yesterday was one of those occasions. I decided to take the babies out for a ride and I wanted to check out the new attraction in town. Of course it's not easy preparing and packing for the girls, there's finding outfits, shoes, getting them to stand still while I get them dressed and then getting them into the van. That's another saga.

By the time we got on the road it was just over 10:00am. So off we go on our adventure. They love adventures.

We quickly got down to the strip and along Flamingo, even before you get to Las Vegas boulevard, you can see a big sign indicating where The Linq is, so I followed the sign in the direction indicated. As I turn into the street, I can see a lot to traffic in addition to construction traffic. No worries, I slowly make it towards the entrance to The Linq. 

There is no entrance or parking dedicated to this place. Your only luck is going to be to park in one of the adjacent casinos (Flamingo or The Quad).

So I pull into the parking entrance for The Quad and lo and behold, it is only for registered guests or for those who have a "player's card" for their casino. Sorry, not me. 

On the way back out I ask the security guy where else I can park. He tells me that the back parking lots behind Flamingo are an option. As I exit, I see some lots full of cars and I'm not sure if this is what he was talking about. I figure I try the parking structure at Flamingo but before I got there, I had to get back onto LV blvd. and deal with traffic all the way down to Spring Mountain, basically from The Flamingo all the way to The Venetian. 

I end up again along the same street I turned into originally, only now I am looking for the entrance to The Flamingo, which I quickly find. No luck here either, same deal as The Quad for patrons or guests only. Now I'm rethinking my "adventure", go home or find another solution. 

I decide to park at Caesars. 

Caesars is such a huge place and their parking lot is behind what used to be the original Caesars. ( the building you see in Rainman). Now parking is surrounded by so many other towers.

after driving through one of the lower parking levels with no success, I end up on the roof. Finally I find a parking spot and begin to gather everyone. I have a stroller with one seat in front and one on the back. Two babies end up in back seat and one in front and off we go. I can see our destination from the roof of parking lot. Now we just have to walk a good half a mile through the casino, onto the street and across the strip to get to The Linq.

Eventually success!

We get to the big observation wheel and after asking around for directions, there is no signage anywhere. I line up behind some people purchasing tickets to the observation wheel. Finally my turn to get tickets and I have to wait till 1:00pm. It is now 11:30 and I know the triplets will not wait that long.

I say thank you and instead opt for lunch. 

We make our way to Brooklin Bowl and find out we can bowl free for an hour. This deal was worth all the driving around hassle. Babies had a great time bowling, enjoyed their pizza and followed by some very expensive cup cakes at "sprinkles" $12.00 for 3 cupcakes. While we are there, we run into a local celebrity journalist. Norm Clark, who proceeds to interview us and take lots of pictures in the process.

It was a great day on The Strip.