Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus - The Girls First Circus Experience

Ringling Brother Barnum and Bailey Circus highlights

The circus performers

The circus elephants are the real stars of the show

The elephants were incredible

Elise loved watching the elephants

The human cannonball performer was fun to watch

 

 

 

I can still remember my first trip to the circus as a child. I was in a state of amazement throughout the entire performance. It was a magical experience, and I saw that same sense of thrill and excitement in my daughters eyes during their first circus experience a few weeks ago. They were in awe the entire time. In fact, I never imagined that two-year-old Alina would actually be captivated enough to sit through the entire performance, but she was. Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus has been around for nearly 100 years, and they have really perfected the art of entertainment. The show was over two-hours and there was never a dull moment. They seamlessly incorporate each performance segment, to keep you on the edge of your seat for the duration of the show. Elise preferred the animal segments much more than any other, but who can blame her, (I did too!).

 

I have to say that seeing the circus as adult, I was once again thoroughly entertained and impressed by the show. While I enjoyed the performances, and felt that intense amazement that I had perhaps unknowingly longed for all these years, it wasn't without a sense of guilt. Being older and wiser, I understand that such amazement does not come without intense pressure on the animals performing within the show. I am by no means an activist, but seeing elephants contort their bodies and balance their massive weight is both incredible, yet disconcerting. I can't say any bad things about the show; it was fantastic. I want to believe that the animals are treated well and that their conditions have dramatically improved due to more recent animal protection laws that have been put in place. Do I necessarily believe that? I don't know. I can only hope. They don't have a choice in performing yet they truly are the biggest stars of the show.

 

 

 

Acrobats, tight-rope walkers, and more

 

The poodle show was Alina's favorite

The circus tigers were amazing 

Circus tigers ready for their standing ovation

Clowns and acrobats

Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus finale!

Las Vegas Trip 2013 - Mono Lake & The Road Trip Home

A stop at Mono Mills before heading to the lake

Yellow floral landscape of Mono Lake

Elise was intrigued by the tufa towers

Limestone tufa tower amidst the scenic Mono landscape

Standing by the incredibly tall tufa towers at Mono Lake

The girls loved exploring the unusual terrain

Mono lake tufa formations; unique and imposing landscape

Sometimes the best part of long road trips are those special and unexpected stops you make along the way. This was definitely the case, when we decided to forgo our usual I5 route in favor of CA-95 on our drive back to Northern California. CA-95 took us on a journey through Southwestern Nevada, and we all felt like we were on a mini desert adventure. We drove through Death Valley and the open stretch Nevada desert where other vehicles were far and few between. The best part was watching the desert scenery slowly spring to life as we made our way through the Inyo National Forest and Eastern Yosemite National Park.

 

I soon realized we would be passing by Mono Lake, which I had been wanting to visit for years. We made about an hour stop at Mono Lake and it is a truly breathtaking place to visit. Mono Lake is literally right off CA-95 and while you get great views just passing through, it is well worth stopping and walking down to see close-up. The limestone tufa towers are incredibly unique and make for quite interesting photos. It is a bit of an alien looking terrain, seeing this tranquil desert lake amidst huge limestone tufa towers set against a mountainous backdrop. The girls loved running around and exploring the unusual tufa towers with the grandparents. After stopping here, we enjoyed the rest of our drive home through the El Dorado National Forest. All in all, it was a fun journey home and the girls did great on their first interstate road trip.

 

 

 

The tufa extend out into the depths of lake

Family shot at Mono Lake; love this landscape

Limestone tufa towers - natures works of art

Admiring the tufa...one of a kind photo opportunities

Love the mountainous backdrop at Mono Lake

Heading back after a fun afternoon of exploring

Exploring the Nevada desert, earlier on our road trip

Dry salt lake in Nevada

 

Las Vegas Trip 2013: Vegas After Dark - Part II

By the mini Trevi Fountain at Caesars Palace

Alina and momma enjoying the fountain views

Having fun by the Caesars Palace fountains

The girls were entranced by the fountains

On our last night in Vegas, we cruised by Caesars Palace and the Bellagio after dark. The girls had already had a wild and crazy night watching the Mirage volcano, so we had to follow that up with some more mellow sights to erase that traumatic memory. We headed to the fountains outside Caesars Palace and they loved watching the water. We took plenty of photos and especially enjoyed relaxing and making wishes at the mini Trevi Fountain. I call it mini, because we've been to the real Trevi Fountain in Italy and it is quite impressive not to mention massive in size. Ah, Italian memories, I digress, but overall Caesars Palace is a must see after dark. The fountains are much more impressive at night, all lit up.

 

The girls were quickly losing steam, so we decided to cap off the night at the Bellagio. We had wanted to see the Bellagio Botanical Gardens during the day, but time did not permit, so night it was. The atrium is gorgeous. The flowers are beautiful and all real. They change up the display during various seasons and holidays. It is much less crowded here in the evening and we would have loved to stick around longer, but the girls were d-o-n-e at this point, so off we went. As we were leaving, we got a quick glimpse of the Bellagio Fountain show. It was the perfect end to a great trip.

Inside the Bellagio. Elise loved the Fiori Di Como ceiling

We made a stop at the Bellagio Botanical Gardens

The Bellagio is a beautiful hotel, the girls loved the flowers

Momma and Alina in the lovely Bellagio atrium

Las Vegas Trip 2013: Vegas After Dark - Part I

Elise posing with daddy by The Luxor Sphinx

Mommy and Elise by the Sphinx

The Luxor lit up at night

The busy Vegas strip after dark

Vegas night lights

 

 

Vegas after dark, really is the ideal time for site seeing and exploring. 1. It's much cooler (translation: still damn hot, but not 100+ scorching degrees out) 2. You can walk a mile without sweating to death 3. The Vegas night lights shine all bright and things feel more festive 4. People watching goes into full force. The only downside to Vegas after dark is kids and their nightly schedule. This is why for one night, and one night ONLY, you let the kids stay up way past their bedtime and drag them along with you. You convince them that it will be fun, by telling them they may get to see a pirate show, a volcano erupt, and/or fountain display, then you choose one of those because unless you have multiple days or you've planned everything meticulously in advance, you will likely only get to fully see one of these options. As we all know, kids wear out fast, they are unpredictable, and are surely guaranteed to resist compliance at the most inopportune of times. That being said, out of all three of those options above, we ended up watching the Mirage Volcano strictly out of convenience. The girls were excited at first and walked all the way up to the railing for the closest view possible. When the show began, their excitement turned to indifference. Once the first round of scorching hot flames shot up from the water, they both made a beeline for the exit (translation - ran and hid behind daddy). After the show was over, Elise expressed how the pirate show would have been "way more fun". Note to selves, volcanos and kids don't mix, but hey at least we got to see a bit of Vegas after dark.

The Mirage after dark

The girls ready for the Volcano

The Mirage Volcano Eruption

Um yeah, they were not fans. No future volcanologists here

It was much more dramatic than what I remember as a kid

We managed to get a family shot after the chaos