STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 22447: Christmas Chronicle

I’m taking advantage of some “down time” away from the family this morning to do an update. Lou & Dawn have gone “thrifting” (big surprise), and Don is at the RV geeking. There is not much to update work wise, but a lot of family stuff.

Tuesday, the 23rd. I was up before the roosters today. I left Fontana at 0500. I allowed myself 2 hours to drive the 60 odd miles to the consignee in Rancho Dominguez (Compton). My appointment was at 0700. Unbelievably, traffic was light. I arrived 45 minutes early and had to wait around for them to open. The unloading went well and quickly. I settled in at the back of their lot to wait. About 1000, I decided to take a chance and drive to the Shipper in South Gate. The Dispatch said that the load wouldn’t be ready until midnight (it is a drop/hook load). I tried a couple of times to call and ascertain if the load would be ready early, but all I got was that intolerable nuisance; voice mail. Again, amazingly, traffic was light. It took only 15 minutes to drive the 11 miles. When I checked in with Shipping I found that the load was indeed ready. It had just left the dock. Good timing. I did the drop/hook, caught up on my paperwork, and left South Gate at about 1130. I drove to the Pilot truck stop in Hesparia, CA. Swift has a deal now with Pilot and Love’s truck stops anywhere in the country where we can take our trip-packs, bills, and ‘logs’ in and have them “scanned”. This is in order to facilitate more prompt payment. Good for Swift, and good for we drivers as well. Anyway, I decided to give it a try. It worked like a charm. The whole process took literally seconds. I ate a small lunch, and set off for Vegas. I arrived around 1600. Don and family arrive shortly thereafter from Bakersfield. We met up at the WWW and went to Black Bear Diner for dinner. It was yummy as usual. Lou and Dawn shared an immense Cobb Salad. Don and I had Chicken Fried Steak. Don had the “normal” sized meal, but I opted for basically a senior sized portion. The only difference between the two meals is that the senior sized steak a bit smaller. You still get two side dishes and soup or salad. It was just enough for me. After dinner, we returned to the WWW. They were intending to stay there (the WWW) in the RV for the night, but the noise and work lights from the construction going on in the WWW lot drove them over to the Orleans Casino.

Wednesday. I drove over to the Orleans for a pancake and smoked sausage breakfast in the RV. After breakfast, they went shopping and exploring, and I returned to the WWW. I just kicked back for most of the afternoon. For dinner, we met back at the Orleans. We decided to eat in the food court there. I had a Fuddruckers ½ lb Bacon Cheese Burger and Steak Fries (I skipped lunch). They all shared a meal from Sbarro. We all were delighted with what we had. After dinner, we ‘toured’ the Orleans. I then returned to the WWW and called it a day.

Christmas Day. Christmas was grueling, but in a nice way. I treated the family to breakfast at the WWW (I had a coupon). After breakfast, we went to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. I paid the admission because, being a local, I get a substantial discount. It cost me about $55.00 for the four of us. Had they purchased the tickets, it would have cost nearly $70.00.
Being gluttons for punishment, we didn’t stop after seeing Shark Reef. After taking a short break at the WWW to pick up the MMM, we next went to The Habitat at Flamingo Las Vegas. It was a pleasant place to relax. After spending a couple of hours here “absorbing nature”, we decided to have Christmas Dinner at the Orleans. The Christmas Buffet was delicious yet reasonably priced. We all ate too much. By the time dinner was over, we were all pretty much “done in”. We all retired to our respective abodes. I went into the WWW and wished everyone a Merry Christmas, Kicked back in the truck for a while, then went to bed and slept the “sleep of the dead”.
Friday, the 26th. After a morning of fending for ourselves, Don and went to lunch at Slots-A-Fun Casino. We ate at the Hot Dog stand there. They are the best Hot Dogs in Vegas, although the price has gone up. After lunch, I took Don back to the Orleans, and returned to the WWW for more geeking. We decided to meet up at the Fremont Street Experience later in the evening. Once again, in all the years I have lived in Vegas, I have never experienced the Fremont Street Experience. We first went to dinner the Great Moments Cafe in the Vegas Club Casino. We all had sandwiches. D,L,&D had the $2.99 half sandwich and soup special. The soup was clam chowder. Since I don’t eat Clam anything, I had a grilled ham & cheese sandwich that wasn’t really grilled, but toasted. The ham was cold in the middle, and the cheese wasn’t melted. It was OK, but not what I was craving.

After dinner, we mostly loitered around the Golden Nugget. It is centrally located, and as good a place as any to watch the Vista Vision shows. Inside the Golden Nugget is an aquarium they call The Tank (above right).


Vista Vision is the largest TV screen in the world. It uses umpteen bazillion LED lights. The picture is actually quite good considering it’s size. It encompasses the entire roof, which is 5 blocks long.

Above left is a good picture of the Plaza Hotel. It is located across from the west entrance to Fremont street. Above right are Dawn, Lou, and Don.
We left Fremont street about 2000 and went to Jerry’s Nugget for desert. I wanted Strawberry Shortcake, but was disappointed. They were out, so I had to settle for Banana Cream Pie. After desert, we all went back to our separate lodgings for the night.

Christmas Day (part deux): Visit to The Habitat at Flamingo Las Vegas

Christmas Day. In the afternoon, we all went to The Habitat at Flamingo Las Vegas. In all the time I’ve lived here, this was my first time. It is not really an attraction, but lots of people go there specifically to see it. It is more of a place to just go and relax; basically a “tropical park” within the confines of the Flamingo courtyard.


There are many Japanese Koi (above) in the ponds.

Above left is a Red Crested Pochard. Above right is a North American Ruddy Duck.


Above top (left and right) are the Sacred Ibis. Above bottom (left and right) are the African Crowned Crane.


Above (top left) Black Swans. Above (top right) Mute Swan.
Above (bottom left) Black-Necked Swan. Above (bottom right) Water Turtle.

The Courtyard is serene and beautiful. A pleasant place to wile away an hour or two.
By now, you are probably wondering to yourself; “Where are the Flamingos? This is, after all, the Flamingo Casino. Shouldn’t there be some Flamingos?” Well there they are.


They are Chilean Flamingos to be exact.

By far, these were the “strangest birds” in the place.

Christmas Day: Visit to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay

Christmas Day. Today, my family and I visited Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. We hadn’t been there in a few years. Shark Reef is not just a ‘tourist trap’. It is accredited by the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) and is involved in numerous conservation efforts such as the clean up of Lake Mead and working to save local endangered species. There are a multitude of varieties of fish to see throughout the aquarium (more than 2000 animals and 100 different species). I will identify those that I can. The main reason for this visit was the addition of a Komodo Dragon exhibit.

Komodo Dragons are the largest reptile, and are an Endangered species. Only 3000 to 5000 are estimated to exist in the wild. They are not venomous, but 50 different types of bacteria inhabit their mouth, seven of which are deadly. Just their size will be enough to keep me at a distance. There is also a Water Monitor Lizard (above right), the second largest reptile.

Above left are what I think are Black Pacu, but I’m not certain. On the right are a pair of Blacktip Reef sharks and a Zebra Shark.

Above left is a Porcupine Puffer (cute huh). On the right is a shy Unicorn Tang, He/she turned away as I was taking the picture.

Above left are Blue Moon Angelfish. Above right is a Lionfish. They have nasty little spines on the tips of their fins which are poisonous.

Hiding in the center of the picture above left is a Malabar Grouper. Pretty good job of camouflage. In the picture above right are Moon Jellyfish. Jellyfish are not really fish at all. They are invertebrates that have no eyes, ears, or brains (not unlike most of todays Politicians). Unlike politicians, Jellyfish consist of 96% water. Politicians seem to consist of 96% of another substance (bovine excrement). Sorry about that, but I just couldn’t pass up such an obvious comparison.

Above left is a much better picture of a Blacktip Reef Shark. Above right is a Fiddler Ray.

Above left is a Starfish (duh). Above right is a Giant Pacific Octopus (again duh, except for the specific name).

Above left is a Green Sawfish. They are an Endangered Species because they are particularly vulnerable to being caught up in commercial fishing nets. Above right is a Sandtiger Shark. Looks like a Great White, but it’s not. They are a Threatened Species.

Last but not least is this lonely Tarpon. I can’t blame him for keeping to himself. It looks like someone tried to have him for lunch.

I enjoy coming here. I still want to get a pictures of the Golden Crocodile who always seems in hiding when I’m here, and the elusive Green Sea Turtles which are slow on land, but fast enough in the water to avoid my camera lens.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, click on the pictures above for a full size view.

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