Other posts on this trip: Spring Break in Las Vegas on the Strip.

As much fun as we had running around on the Strip, I think it’s safe to say we had way more fun on this trip sightseeing in the rest of Las Vegas and the desert beyond. There were so many cool things to do.

The first day we drove out to Red Rock Canyon and did the scenic drive.

We also took H to Bonnie Springs Ranch, just a few miles away from the canyon. That was a wacky place with an old timey western town complete with gun show and really unethical-looking petting zoo. We were anxious to find a place for H to ride a horse, and she did love petting the animals.

The Saturday before Easter we found a giant Easter egg hunt at Centennial Hills Park. Thirty thousand eggs divided into hunts for 3 age groups. H got two eggs, and we were thrilled to get those. It was a HUGE event.

They also had bouncy castles and emergency vehicles to play with, plus a really great playground. The park was behind a beautiful library, too, but H was too exhausted from the day’s excitement to go in.

The chocolate tour at the Ethel M factory was worth a trip on a quiet weekday morning. They had an Easter festival, too, but we were Easter’d out after that massive egg hunt.

The tour itself was quiet, we were there first thing Monday morning. But the chocolate shops and attached cactus garden were well worth the trip. We tasted Ethel M chocolates and bought a bunch to take home.

We also bought a custom mix of M&Ms, which H devoured whenever she could find the bag. We tried to hide it, but you just can’t hide purple candy from a purple-loving three-year-old.

And the cacti were beautiful. That was a nice stroll for wearing off some of the sugar we ate.

That Monday was actually a pretty busy day, we also met up with my friend from library school and her wife and two daughters for a play date at the downtown Container Park. It was their suggestion, and it was a great one–except for one little terror of a child who was mowing down small people left and right. Including H, we ended up in a toy shop to soothe those tears.

But it was just a very cool complex with a contained playground surrounded by restaurants and shops, so you can get food and libations while your kids run around wearing themselves out. I didn’t take any photos inside, unfortunately. So worth a visit.

We trekked out to the suburbs to eat at Bachi Burger and go see Home at the theatre next door. Bachi Burger was another spot that had been on our list for quite a while, and it was frankly amazing. The garlic fries were awesome, and I had these pork belly bao.

I’m still thinking about how yummy that place was. And Home was a really fun movie, too.

There was so much good food on this trip, but one of our stops was rather odd. We made it to a Hash House A Go Go after missing out on our last trip. We almost didn’t make it on this one either, we tried the Linq location first. That one had an hour wait, so we decided to drive out to the one at the Plaza downtown near the Fremont Street Experience.

That one had no wait, and H had the yummiest waffle. Adam had a smoked salmon hash that just had dry overcooked salmon on it. Not what he was expecting, so that was a big disappointment. I had this roasted chicken hash with asparagus, which was actually delicious but not really breakfasty. Like a stir fry on top of breakfast potatoes with eggs.

It was also enormous. Kind of a 50/50 on this meal because Adam’s was bad, H’s was great, and mine was somewhere in the middle.

We had some incredible pizza at Pizza Rock on our last day that gave us all of the happies, though. We shared a margherita and the Diavola. That place was so stinking good, and that was where we learned how much H apparently likes Guns ‘n Roses. She danced like a little maniac. That was our last meal before the airport, and it was one of our favorites.

That last morning we also took H to the Discovery Children’s Museum. What a great place. Every time we go on a trip H seems to make some kind of a jump in development. She experiments with food, or she starts talking up a storm, or we see her become more social. On this trip she definitely became more physically independent and confident. We barely used the stroller, and at this museum especially we saw her trying to climb more and keep up with more active kids. It was awesome.

It was a great week, and I’m sad and also thrilled to be back home. Those are the best vacations, when you’re sad to leave but really feel like it was a satisfying trip and you’ve been gone long enough. Now to try and get on with the rest of April.