Tuesday morning we got up fairly early again (pictured is the view from our hotel room), and went to swim in the pools in the morning, as we would be checking out at noon. Check-out was swift and easy, and afterward we took a long walk around the pool areas, now armed with cameras, and the lobby--we noticed tropical birds and fish we hadn't seen before, as well as the conference center wing, which was set apart from the casino and looked very nice. Pictured below are a fountain on the hotel grounds and a view of the pool area and one wing of the hotel.

For lunch we decided to try the Mandalay Bay buffet, since we were right here and it looked good. There was only a ten minute wait, and the buffet was excellent. Far better than Bally's, and only very slightly worse than the Bellagio, the buffet had superb smoked salmon, though no shrimp or prime rib, but very good ham, corned beef, kielbasa, and turkey, and particularly nice Mexican and Asian dishes (including nice grilled pork chops which would have been wonderful if only slightly less dried out). There was also one of the best dessert buffets we've seen, with very good mini-pastries, lots of different pies and cakes, peach cobbler, soft-serve ice cream in three flavors, and especially good macaroon cookies. One of the best luncheon buys in Las Vegas, and an all around great buffet. The dining room is pretty, spacious, and looks out onto the pool area; the buffet itself is well laid-out and attractive.

After lunch we took the tram over to the Luxor, which we'd passed through but hadn't really looked around yet, and admired the "inclinators" (elevators that went on an angle up the pyramid), though as non-guests we weren't allowed to go up them. (Pictured is the view from the tramway of Mandalay Bay in the distance, then the Luxor, then Excalibur up close.) Then we drove to the Las Vegas Hilton, to go on the Star Trek ride. The "History of the Future" exhibit, with costumes, props, and a timeline, in the waiting area was really good--we looked almost exhaustively at the first two-thirds of it, where there was no line, but where we were able to take our time, then we got tired and glossed over the end of it. There was about a half-hour's wait near the end, during which time there were some more exhibits, video clips of different movies and episodes, and Federation personnel, a Klingon in battle dress, and a Ferengi who walked among us. Robert took my picture with the Klingon, in realistic makeup, who didn't once break character. The ride itself was amazing. Though we knew it was called the Star Trek "Experience," we thought the name was just hype--it isn't, though, and it truly is an experience, not just another simulator ride. Don't let anyone tell you anything more specific than this if you want to have the best time on it--just go. It's definitely worth the price. After this ride, we were so excited that we knew anything else we did in Las Vegas now would be a let-down. Besides, it was late afternoon, and very, very hot, so we decided to head back to Los Angeles.

On the way back (pictured: driving through the desert), we stopped at the outlets in Primm, Nevada, near the state line. Robert got a nice pair of casual Timberland shoes and I got a pair of "The Matrix" sunglasses and a Star Wars Episode One tee shirt. We had brought some CDs to play in the car, but we alternated between listening to them, writing some of this journal, and singing the Weird Al Star Wars song, The Saga Begins, which had just been released that week. It took awhile to drive back--about 4 1/2 hours total. Shockingly enough, we passed what bills itself as the tallest free-standing thermometer in the world on our way home; at 8pm, nearing dusk, the thermometer read 111 degrees!! The weekend was hot, the drive was nowheres near as short as everyone said it would be, and we were awfully tired, but we'd had a wonderful weekend. When we neared LA, we stopped for a late dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant in California (Dragon Mark, in Del Mar) and that was the end of our second first anniversary weekend.

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