Trip to Las Vegas: Day 6

Technically, I should be starting off speaking about our last day in Las Vegas, but I forgot about a picture I had taken at Lagasse' restaurant Table 10 at The Palazzo.  We of course decided to have desert - which we had been VERY good about avoiding our whole trip - and it was definitely worth waiting for.

Our dessert of pumpkin cheesecake with almonds, cranberries and pumpkin ice cream

Um...  smears of remains of our dessert with cranberries on a plate...

I also forgot that when we exited from the tram in front of the Luxor, we noticed a lot of interesting cars parked there.  I believe there was a car show going on some where, but since I don't usually care much about those sort of things, I can't say I know much about where it was or anything.  I did take some photos of those in the valet parking area...

Those were the ones there that I could get close enough to get a shot of.  And of course, there was this guy at the front entry of The Luxor:

Anubis statue guarding the front of the Luxor

Waking up the next day, I got into my packing mode.  Years of attending conventions had me fairly well trained: Last day you checked out by 12 so you had to get packed up and ready to go. 

Packed up... yet STILL had more stuff than I could fit well in the bag...

I get a bit stressed internally about this because my convention practice had everything packed up and then either taken to the car, or to the table in the artist alley where I was selling my work.  I always wanted to get done as fast as possible because I was eager to get my art table set up and open to make some last day sales.  That wasn't the issue here obviously, but I still had the tension in my gut till we had checked out of the room and had our bags held at the front desk. 

We went over to Mandalay Bay to see the Shark Reef.  Now the reason was more than just seeing the exhibit; Years ago when Las Vegas was different and MGM hadn't owned so many hotels and homogenized them, Mandalay Bay had some beautiful shops - one had amazing hand made items that we often purchased from.  So we looked and realized those great shops, like many of the others in the other MGM hotels, were gone now.  We were really sad about that because it was just another thing we looked forward to seeing that no longer existed in the ever changing city.  Mom also was looking for these parrot earrings (clip-ons) she had gotten years ago but of course they no longer carried them. 

So, we went into The Shark Reef which is the only ocean predator based aquarium in North America which also houses about 2000 submarine beasts.  It is a really worthwhile place to visit and while it has some amazing things to see, it is also there to educate.  It is home to some of the world's last remaining golden crocodiles along with other endangered reptiles and has exhibits talking about conservation, saving wildlife and changes that need to happen if we are to hold on to the amazing and exotic creatures of the world. 

Recreated skull of the crocodile.

Golden crocodile floating at the front of the glass enclosure.

Golden crocodile floating at the front of the glass enclosure.  You can see more of the golden color on his back.

The creatures were right there in the front so it wasn't like you couldn't see them like other places where you always seem to get there at 'nap time'.  That didn't mean they were running around, some were still lounging...

Unimpressed Komodo Dragon is unimpressed.

There were a few aquariums with a lot of fish in them - huge ones! - but it was difficult to get pictures of them between the glass the dark reeds and how fast they would swim by.  I took a lot of photos but they weren't really all clear. 

They also had piranha - a lot of them - in one tank.  The sign next to the exhibit said that piranha were illegal in the state of Nevada, but these were allowed as they were all confiscated from people either owning them illegally or transporting them illegally through the state.

Sure, these piranha look innocent now...

They looked rather innocent as they swam along...  Its hard to imagine them in a feeding frenzy, but I'm more than glad not to witness that and certainly have no need in my lifetime to do so. 

Throughout the exhibit were many statues and the structure of the first part of Shark Reef resembles an ancient ruin, but I'm not sure what culture they were going for.  I certainly am not sure what the statues were meant to represent.

Pepto, the god of indigestion...?

The further along you go, the more 'underground' it becomes, as if you are heading into the depths of the ocean.  The darkness envelopes you and the outside world aspects fade away.

Entering further you pass through an underwater tunnel to an area where they have a little 'petting' area or Touch Pool.

We were allowed to pet the horseshoe crabs and stingrays.  You could gently pet them on top, between the eyes, but not in front of their eyes or on their tail.  I sat with one stingray and pet him for a while - he seemed to  really like it because he hung out with me the entire time instead of swimming away after a few strokes like the other stingrays did when other people were petting them.  Apparently I had the right touch.  I asked the biologist there if the crabs and stingrays really felt the touch and liked or disliked it.  She told me the horseshoe crabs didn't really feel anything - unless you touched their tail, but the stingrays did feel it and did seem to like when they were pet the right way.  Because of the way the species is, the ability to gauge their reactions is a little difficult.

After petting the stingray for a bit, I went back to looking around at the aquariums.  There was such a variety of fish there that it would be impossible to describe them all.  All of them were interesting and exotic! 

Some were easier to shoot pictures of, because they swam more slowly and came closer to the glass.  There was an octopus, but I couldn't get a shot of him.  A girl was there with this HUGE camera with an even bigger flash (the flash bulb thing was about the size of her head, I kid you not) and she was taking photos.  The octopus did NOT like the flash and scuttled away into the crevices of the coral.

One of my favorite displays is the jellyfish...  I could sit and watch them for hours.  Because jellyfish are rather delicate, the enclosure is kept smooth and round so they just float about, gently bumping into each other before drifting in another direction.  It is so very relaxing and peaceful to watch them.

But always be careful...  Even if they are washed ashore, their stingers can still cause you damage!  I had a jellyfish sting years ago and the scar took forever to fade away.  Still, in the water at this moment, they were really amazing.

The last part of Shark Reef is where the actual sharks reside.  The structure is like that of a sunken ship and you are looking up into the ocean where dozens of sharks swim around you in their constant state of motion.  There are blacktip reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks, bonnethead sharks, nurse sharks, sand tiger sharks, sandbar sharks, zebra sharks, white spotted bamboo sharks, port jackson sharks and lemon sharks and sawfish... along with large fish and even turtles!
 

No, the sawfish isn't trying to spear that other fish... 

What was sort of amusing was that the sea life were aware of their 'schedule'.  Not all the turtles would be out - in fact they had a little cove where it looked like they were going on their 'break' while another turtle swam out.  There was even a particular sawfish that appeared to have a standard route because he followed it, hitting the same point at two minute intervals where he would then swim over the tunnel and continue before coming around again.  After about an hour, he changed his route, going another direction to do that one over and over.  We sat in the tunnel which was the last part of Shark Reef before the exit, for a long while.  It was fun to watch the children be amazed at all the sharks and fish... Even to hear one little girl exclaim, "Look, a turtle shark!" every time she saw the turtle swimming along.  The flow of the sharks around us and the dark area was as relaxing as the rest of the aquariums, the noise of the people around us seemed to fade away. 

While nice to look at behind glass... not so nice when you are swimming in the ocean...

Shark Reef Shark Reef opened in Las Vegas in 2000 and is the only accredited aquarium by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in Nevada. Popular with tourists and marine experts alike, Shark Reef is considered one of the most prestigious facilities of its kind, along with the San Diego Zoo and Sea World.  It is an amazing facility and aquarium and definitely worth the time to go and see it.  It is one of the many places in Las Vegas that can get overlooked in all the glitz and glitter.

After that we were left with not much to do except walk around and take in as we could of what was left of our vacation before we had to board the shuttle to the airport.  We sat down in a cafe for some coffee and to just do that one thing you so rarely do on a vacation sometimes: Nothing.

Sadly, we did end up having a television with the news on.  Considering it was early October, what else could they be discussing but politics.  We blocked it out as best we could because really, who needs that?  But it was a subtle reminder that the rest of the world was waiting for us after this break.

Eventually, we headed back to the Luxor, gathered up our belongings and waited for the shuttle to the airport.  When it came, we got on, along with a family who had a little boy with him.  His older sister pointed out things in the window telling him to say goodbye to everything so as we rode, a little voice behind me said, "Goodbye pyramid... goodbye New York hotel... goodbye lion... goodbye sand..."  When everything was out of sight he said, "Thank you!"  It was pretty adorable.

While it wasn't a normal vacation, it was a lot of fun and writing up this blog afterward made me remember how much I really did get to see and do while in Las Vegas.  The city has changed a lot in the 10 years or so since we last visited and I'm not sure I like all the changes or believe it has changed for the good, but there still remains so much that I do like.  The energy is still there, the museums, exhibits and grandeur are still there, amazing shows like Cirque du Soleil are still there.  Yes, there are tons of places to gamble and bars are everywhere, but that isn't all Las Vegas has to offer.

Mom and I had the added bonus of seeing my cousin Sue in Los Angeles after some freak weather which included hail (and now they can never say 'we NEVER get weather like this here!').  And I wouldn't trade that day for anything!

There are still questions about school and what I'm going to do, where I am going to go.  I haven't made up my mind yet.  But I do know that if the opportunity comes, I'd go to Las Vegas again.  It was a great time!  Unfortunately, I definitely broke the rule, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." so, I'm not sure they'll let me back in.