For the first time during the whole trip, we hit a major delay. We set off from our hotel in Playa del Carmen after a quick breakfast at around 7.30am for the hour long drive to Cancun airport with the taxi driver that I had used the day before, running around getting some last minute things.

We flew over the hugely built-up Cancun ‘Strip’ and knew we had made the right decision having our Mexican beach experience at Tulum – it just looks like the Gold Coast on steroids – yuk – environmentally irresponsible developments causing irreparable damage to the delicate eco system.

The two and a half hour morning flight with Spirit Airlines from Cancun to Dallas Fort Worth was relatively uneventful and we knew there would be a three hour wait for the connection to Las Vegas and were scheduled to arrive in at around 5.30pm, which is a pretty long travel day – close to 12 hours to cover such a relatively short distance. Dallas Fort Worth is one of the busiest airports in the world by aircraft movements and passenger movements – it is absolutely huge covering nearly 70 square kilometres.  The airport even has its own postcode! We arrive in at Terminal D and take the Skylink train around to Terminal E for our onward flight making ourselves comfortable close to the assigned departure gate.

After a while I went to check on the status of our departure only to find the flight had completely disappeared from the screen. With no Spirit airline staff anywhere to be found (never come across being in an airport and not finding the applicable airline staff- unbelievable!). The only way we could find out any information (and worried that perhaps the flight was changed to another terminal and thereby missing it) we eventually logged onto the airline website using the limited free internet sign-on time only to discover the flight had been delayed an additional five hours meaning an eight hour wait between flights.  We were now scheduled to depart at 11pm and arrive into Vegas at 1:30am, with worrying talk about the flight even being cancelled if it got delayed any further.  Having prepaid our accommodation in Vegas already there was no way I wanted to spend an uncomfortable night in the airport instead of our flash hotel suite waiting for us in Vegas.

 Alarm bells should have started ringing when looking around us the Vegas bound, mostly 20-something passengers, were getting a head start in the bar and were really quite boisterous and happy in the plane yahooing and carrying on once we got going – we, however we more subdued and just wanted to get to bed.

After grabbing a bit of food the girls fell asleep on the carpeted floor of the airport only to be woken again to board the plane, fell asleep again on the plane and had to be ­woken again to walk out and into the taxi for our ride to the Signature at MGM Grand, our stop for the next few days. 

They finally fell into bed at what was actually around 3am Mexico time for our body clocks. We had been on the go for over 20 hours to cover together what is a direct flight distance of only four and a half hours!

Vegas was not what I had remembered – OMG what was I thinking – bringing children here in what is clearly not a place for kids?!  Sin City with a capital S.  It really is a sleazy place and everywhere you look you are faced with scantily clad females, sexual innuendo and gambling, drinking, shopping and adult entertainment, people handing out escort service cards  which invariably end up littering the ground.  What the hell were we doing here?! Oh yeah that’s right – it was the cheapest way to get a connection to Honolulu to meet up with our flight back home.

We did however make the most of our room though and enjoyed our wonderful Deluxe Suite on the 23^rd floor of the Signature at MGM Grand.  The kid’s favourite spot was sitting at the windows which overlooked the Intl. Airport watching the many planes taking off and landing! Our last full day we started by walking through our hotel (that alone take about 15 minutes) to get out onto the strip side and into the M & M World shop for a chocolate hit.  It was 4 floors of chocolate heaven.  There was even a wall of M & M’s in every colour.

Then we took a taxi out to Walmart to get some much needed haircuts – the first haircut in over a year for Phoebe, Immi and I!  Then we made it back to the strip in time to catch the fantastic Cirque du Soleil ‘Mystere’ show at the Treasure Island Hotel. Mesmerising and breathtaking it was the most incredible show – athleticism, high-energy acrobatics and inspiring imagery.

After the show we walked then to the Mirage to watch the Volcano ‘erupt’ before walking back to the hotel. 

By this time I knew the girls had picked up my vibe about it not being a place for children when Phoebe commented “It’s alright Mum we aren’t looking” as we pass yet another screen showing an ad for a strip show. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough!

Our departure flight was not until 6pm the following day so David also managed to fit in a flight trip out to the Grand Canyon leaving early in the morning and returning at 2pm. 

Meanwhile the girls and I packed up the bags (I had done a flight over the Grand Canyon years ago so decided against taking the girls due to cost and exhaustion)before taking the girls down to the pool for another quick swim and some lunch then we left for the airport at 4pm, for our evening flight to our final destination – Honolulu.