Like anyone else's, Brandon's job comes with pros and cons. A con being that he has to work one Saturday every month, which produces the pro: a day off during that week.
We've used the last several days off in conjunction with trips, but on Monday we decided to make a day of it and do something Vegas-y. That may sound silly, but we don't plan to be here forever and want to start taking advantage of the sightseeing opportunities so close to us, especially now that Teagan is old enough to appreciate things...not to mention that she's still free most places! So we headed for the Shark Reef. We hadn't been since 2009, so we thought it had been long enough to be interesting again.
The look of awe on Teagan's face as we approached the larger-than-life fish tank was worth every penny. She'd never seen anything like it. Crocodiles, fish bigger than her (and I) and sharks everywhere. She was fascinated at first, and then began to realize how close they were and preferred to be held, safe and secure by one of us. She was fine with the octopus until it moved. She refused to set foot on the glass floor, even when Brandon tried to lower her onto it.
Brandon and I both seized the opportunity to pet the stingrays. I wasn't nervous about it until the employee started barking out warnings and cautionary tales, stressing the importance of only using one finger and not touching the tail or the eyes. No big deal. I kept to the rules and petted it appropriately. To quote a little girl touching a dolphin at Sea World a few years ago: "It felt like hot dogs." T put her hand in the water, but that was the extent of it. That was even more than I expected.
We spent a lot of time in the tunnels, where you can see fish and sharks swimming above, below, left and right. Aside from the world's loudest group of high school kids on a tour, it wasn't very busy so we enjoyed a good portion of it in peace.
Oh, and Teagan surprised us at the end and touched a stingray AND an octopus. In the gift shop.
Brandon and I both seized the opportunity to pet the stingrays. I wasn't nervous about it until the employee started barking out warnings and cautionary tales, stressing the importance of only using one finger and not touching the tail or the eyes. No big deal. I kept to the rules and petted it appropriately. To quote a little girl touching a dolphin at Sea World a few years ago: "It felt like hot dogs." T put her hand in the water, but that was the extent of it. That was even more than I expected.
We spent a lot of time in the tunnels, where you can see fish and sharks swimming above, below, left and right. Aside from the world's loudest group of high school kids on a tour, it wasn't very busy so we enjoyed a good portion of it in peace.
Oh, and Teagan surprised us at the end and touched a stingray AND an octopus. In the gift shop.
While we were out and about near the Strip, we made a day of it and hit Town Square. I've been obsessed with the holiday hand soaps at Bath & Body Works. How sad am I? I'm in a vanilla induced haze and can't seem to buy enough of them, knowing that they'll be gone at the end of the season. I have a sickness to be sure. A sad, sad sickness - apparently I need a little more excitement in my life.
To reward Teagan for being on her best behaviour while I hemmed and hawed over the attributes of Winter Spice & Vanilla vs. Coconut Lime Verbana, we took her over to the park. She loved the slides and got a kick out of the kiddie-sized maze and it was fun to be at the park as a family. And to reward Brandon for his patience at "Bed, Bath, Body Works & Beyond" as he calls it, we picked up Thai take out on the way home. Everybody wins on days like these. They should happen more often. Like once a month!
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