Peggy Sue's Diner (heading back home from Vegas)

On the way home from Las Vegas we stopped at Peggy Sue's, a 50's diner for lunch (and a potty break for Astrid). Some cute pics below.On a side note: We carpooled with one of U.'s colleagues so I sat in the back with Astrid. I'm glad I did because I realized it gets really cold when using the backseat air conditioning console. (It sounds like a good idea but it's not necessary.) Astrid always says she's cold, even when it's 100 degrees, so we never know if she's really cold or she just likes to say it. But today I realized she's been telling the truth when it comes to riding in the car. From now on we have to turn off the backseat air conditioning since the back gets enough air from the dashboard alone.

Fun at Circus Circus & the Clown

Astrid and I took a cab down to Circus Circus. This was Astrid's 2nd time there (I took her to Circus Circus two years ago for the first time) and being older, she was much more interested and engaged in the games and shows.

First we went on some $25 cent rides in the kiddy section:Astrid wanted to try out every ride there was.
Here she is on the choo-choo train.
Riding the big rig truck.
Making a new friend.
Riding in the red truck.

Then we went to play a Midway game:

This is one of my favorite games - throwing a ping pong ball into a small floating bowl that's circling counter-clockwise in the water. As a kid I won many prizes playing this game, so I thought Astrid would enjoy it too. Plus it's relatively easy to play and fun even if you don't win anything.

This nice old man had Astrid stand on the counter so she would have a better shot.

In the beginning she threw a lot of balls on the ground (poor guy had to keep picking them up), but the man was really nice to her, letting her try again and giving her free balls. After getting the hang of it Astrid did get one ball in a clear bowl for 3 free balls. In the end we spent $3 and when we left, the lady at the counter said, “Wait baby! Happy Halloween!” and handed her a stuffed animal monster.

She loved her little monster.

Next we sat down to watch a circus show. Having free circus acts everyday, every 20 minutes is a great feature of Circus Circus. I used to love the shows as a kid, and I still do.Here we are, waiting for the show to start. Pre-clown.Post-clown. Here Astrid is clutching me and burying her face into my arm. Scared to death of the clown. This was the first time she's ever expressed a fear of clowns.

She kept saying, “Mama, let’s walk.” “Scared.” “Hurt you.” “Mama hold you.” She was desperate to leave, and then would just hide her face and cling to me.

I kept reassuring her that "Mama’s here. No one’s going to hurt you. It’s okay baby. He’s just a clown. He’s supposed to make people laugh. He’s working and just doing his job. Don’t be scared baby."

Here is the scary clown.

Astrid calmed down a bit when she saw him playing the guitar. Anyone playing the guitar can't be that scary right? I suppose it made him appear more human.

After his act though Astrid was still scared. It didn’t help that he was standing in the aisle beside us behind a divider, and would peek over to make the girl in front of us laugh. And when he wasn’t peeking over, Astrid knew he was there because she could see the top of his hat.

Acrobatic show.

Trying to laugh it off but still traumatized.

After the circus show I took Astrid to the kiddy section again to get over the clown experience.

The dialogue continued for hours (and days) afterward:
“Clown hurt you?....No.” (Trying to convince herself that the clown wouldn’t hurt her.)
“Mama hurt you?....No.” (Her way of restating what I told her – "Mama’s not going to let anyone hurt you.”)

Then we played another midway game with racing horses (where you roll a ball up and place it into a colored hole). At first we played against another family and then Astrid and I played each other. She tried but the game is made for adults and her baby arms are still too short to really roll the ball all the way up, so I helped her and she won a teddy bear. Holding her teddy bear and monster, preparing herself for another circus show, hoping the clown won't reappear.

A strong man and his two acrobats.

Balancing a woman doing a handstand on a ring - all on his forehead with no hands.

Stepping it up a notch - here he's balancing a woman standing on a pole with his forehead, while stepping up a split ladder. The audience was holding their breath, and clapping ensued when both were down safely.

Woman being swung around by her hair.

Standing in front of the shooting gallery.

Afterwards we had lunch at the Circus Circus buffet (which I don't recommend because there were very few healthy dishes to eat there), and caught a cab back to our hotel just in time for Astrid's nap.

(Note: When she woke up from her nap she immediately started talking about the clown and it was laughter mixed with fear. I hope it's not permanent.)

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay

The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay (Resort & Casino in Las Vegas), claims to be North America’s only predator-based aquarium and exhibit. The facility is 95,000 square feet (8,800 square meters), and displays over 2,000 animals in 1.6 million gallons of seawater.

Hours of Operation: Open daily from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. Last admission at 10 p.m.
Admission: Adults $15.95, Children 12 years old and younger $10.95, Children 4 and younger admitted free. In past years both U. and I were curious to visit this aquarium and exhibit, but we passed at the $16 per person admission cost, especially since there's a free aquarium at Cesar's Palace, (and we could think of many other things to spend $32 on in Vegas). This time around however with Astrid, the Shark Reef was a must see, since there isn't a whole lot to do in Vegas with a 2 year old, and since I only had to purchase 1 ticket (kids 4 and under are free), it was a no brainer to go. Astrid standing in front of a rare Golden Crocodile, that is native to Thailand.
Here's another Golden Crocodile on display. We only saw 2, but the aquarium boasts having 5 in total.

Visitors are provided with audio wands detailing each exhibit, which was a nice feature.

"There are only about a dozen Golden Crocodiles left in existence, and those found at the Shark Reef are the only ones in the Western Hemisphere."Astrid imitating the male Water Monitor, (a cousin to the Komodo Dragon), by flicking her tongue in and out. Water Monitors are carnivorous and can reach sizes of up to 8 feet.
Everyone taking a photo of the big fish.Astrid standing in front of the Piranha tank.
There was an elementary school class visiting the aquarium today as well, so we were able to tag along and listened as the guides described each exhibit, (A Piranha's teeth are sharper than a shark’s) and watched as they "tried" to demonstrate how aggressive Piranhas can be, by feeding them. Unfortunately, the Piranhas didn't appear to be hungry and weren't interested in eating the fish.

I chatted with one staff member and he admitted that these guys are pretty shy. He said when he goes in to clean the tank, they all swim away and hide from him. Getting our first peek at the shark tank.It was fun to watch as the sharks swam up close to the glass.Here at another section of the aquarium, they had a container filled with food, suspended in the water for the fish to feed on.Next we walked through an aquarium tunnel filled with marine life. It was really dark in this tunnel and it was difficult to take a decent photo (with or without flash).
The coolest part about walking through the tunnel was looking up and watching the sharks swimming overhead.Astrid standing in front of a fish aquarium.

I believe this is called a Lion Fish.

They were quite friendly and would swim right up to the glass looking at us, looking at them. Astrid wanted to "go in dare" (go in there) to swim with them and touch them.A mesmerizing jellyfish display.

Astrid was fascinated by them.

They glowed neon colors in the dark.

There's also a "touch pool" with Stingrays.

They let you stick your hand in the tank to touch a Stingray.

There was one large Stingray (that I touched) and four smaller ones.

Astrid shouted out, "Playground!” when she saw these stacked boxes.

It's one part of the exhibit where kids have room to run around and play.

I don't know exactly what they were doing (trying to catch some marine life possibly), but it was neat to see the staff down in the water with their wetsuits and scuba gear. Astrid pointed and asked, "Man?" It was pretty funny after seeing all the fish and sharks, now only to see a man swimming around.

Looking through the Plexiglas on the floor, at the sunken treasure chest down below.

After that you pass through one more tunnel, and then end up - surprise - at the gift shop.

Some advice - don't dress too warmly - the first part of the exhibit is extremely humid, so be prepared. Also, don’t wear anything green. They take a photo of you in front of a “green screen” for you to purchase (if you like) at the end, and if you're wearing green (like I was), the photo comes out crummy. I was wearing a long sleeved, green shirt and after they photoshopped the background, it affected my shirt as well, and you could see fish swimming through my chest.

It's a nice aquarium and exhibit, and I'm glad Astrid was able to see it. Another tidbit of information: The Shark Reef is the only Nevada institution accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.