HARD ROCK CAFÉ AND AQUARIUM
After we showered and got cleaned
up, it was time to head out to see the sites. The main drag in the area
is known as King’s Highway, and it run the length of this coastal region.
We went up the highway to where the local Hard Rock Café was. We
weren’t planning on eating there (as Molly commented that it was over-priced),
but we just wanted to look at the architecture. I loved the pyramid
shape, and Egyptian motifs (completed with a couple sphinxes out front).
Considering how the humidity was now building, it seemed rather fitting
to be sweating under a bright sun and standing in front of a pyramid.
We did briefly go inside so we
could hit the gift store and grab a few things. I took a moment to scope
out the menu and saw you’d be paying dinner prices for lunch-sized items.
No, I don’t need to shell out $12 for a hamburger, thank you. There
are more economical local venues we could go.
The interior didn’t continue the
Egyptian decor much, but instead there were music-theme items displayed on the
walls. Guitars, pictures of artists, and sheet music were among some of
the things placed through out the establishment. It was interesting to a
guitar which was played by Eric Clapton, but not very as it was one of many
guitars played by Slow Hand. Other than a small descriptive card (“Used
in concert in 1983” or some such) there wasn’t much to get excited. It
would’ve been nice to have a small video playing which showed the item being
used. That would’ve meant more to me.
Nearby
was the Ripley’s Aquarium, and there was a short walking path to get over
there. Designed for foot traffic, there were benches and other things
present meant for people to sit on. Molly sat on a low orange dinosaur, in
response to me playing with the motorcycle out in front of the Hard Rock Café.
As we got closer to where the
Aquarium was, we noticed the parking lot was a lot emptier than we expected it
to be. It was towards the middle part of the day, so it should be open.
We were able to go inside the lobby and learn it was currently undergoing
renovation, which wouldn’t be completed for a few weeks. The area was
covered in scaffolding and tarps. Most of the animals which could’ve been
moved had been temporarily re-located to different places. Many of the
tanks containing smaller fish were still here, as it was less traumatic to move
them. I’m sure the sounds of power tools weren’t very traumatic in any
way. >grin<
The Aquarium was technically still
“open” as there was still some research and minor things going on, but it ended
up not being worth the time to check out. Molly had been there the
previous year, and had talked about how good it was, so she was bummed out for
hyping this up to me. We couldn’t have foreseen a remodeling project
going on, so it wasn’t that big of a deal (although I still would’ve liked to
see it). She commented that we’ll just have to come back next year.
ALLIGATOR ADVENTURE
If you want to see alligators in South Carolina , you really
don’t have to go too far. There are some
marshy areas nearby, as well as a number of streams and ponds in the vicinity.
Anyone who lives here knows that they could walk out in the front yard
and find a gator eating the morning paper. For the tourists, and as part
of a scientific preserve, a large number of these reptilian beasts are gathered
at the aptly named Alligator Adventure.
Spread out over a couple acres in North Myrtle Beach , this was a man-made habitat for these
gators. It has channels which they can swim in, and shores where they can
lay in the sun, without the danger of accidentally stumbling upon a human.
Like most wild animals, they will defend their territory if people get
too close, but try to shy away from people as much as possible. They’re
meat eaters, so small yappy dog that’s gotten loose is as prey for gators as
other feral creatures are. Unlike their larger and meaner crocodile
cousins, alligators don’t actively hunt humans, but if you tangle with one,
chances are the reptile will win. As a species, they predate the
dinosaurs, so they have done something right to survive all this time.
On the shore area, there were
dozens of them all lined up, being pretty lazy.
When one would move, either to enter or exit the water, there was only
the minimal movement necessary, and they had a slow swinging gait. Don’t
be fooled by that. As the guides explained to us, alligators are capable
of quick bursts of speed on land. These bursts don’t last very long, but
it’s usually enough to capture prey. If you encounter a gator in the
wilds, if you’re a really good sprinter and can stay ahead of it, you’ll be
able to outrun it. Like most things in the wild, it’s smart enough when
to try for something easier. My philosophy for situations like this are
that I don’t have to outrun whatever’s chasing me, but just the people I’m
with.
The jaws of the alligator have an
interesting muscle structure. They’re designed to bite down to break
whatever gets in their mouth, whether it’s animal bones or turtle shells.
Their jaws can clamp down with an average of 200 pounds of force.
But the muscles used to open their mouths are far weaker, only exerting
about 10 pounds of pressure. Don’t believe the stories about someone
putting a stick in the gator’s jaws to hold it open, but do believe that an
average person can hold a gator’s snout closed with their hand. Okay, a
gator’s not going to stand there and let you do that, but you get the idea.
If you wanted, you could pry an alligator’s mouth open. Then be
prepared for it to spin at you in a heartbeat and snap at whatever part of you
it can get.
Alligator’s are ambush predators,
and do most of their hunting in the water. The placement of their
nostrils and eyes on the very top of their arrow-shaped heads means they can
stay submerged and hidden. I’m sure many critters’ last thought was it’s
just a log floating near them. Gators swim by moving their tails from
side to side (unlike aquatic mammals, which do up and down). They can cut
through the water with minimal resistance, so don’t think you’re able to
out-swim them. Those who had tried have earned themselves a Darwin Award.
As we were wandering the area, the
loudspeaker announced that it was feeding time. This wasn’t as much as a
spectacle as you thought. Someone stands at a location slightly higher
than the fence of the compound, and one-at-a-time heaves in a dozen whole
chickens (plucked and beheaded, just like the kind you’d buy for the
barbecue). The chickens land, and make a
small bounce, before a gator leans over and snaps it up. After one or two jaw motions to crush them
(with very audible bone snapping), the chickens are swallowed.
One of the other spectators asked
how do they know that every alligator got fed?
There was a funny response first to get a chuckle from the crowd, but
then the guide gave a serious answer. Basically, if a gator was hungry,
it’ll move to get food that comes by. And
because they’re cold-blooded, reptiles don’t need to eat as often as mammals.
With twelve feedings a day at the top of the hour, everyone’s bound to
have something to eat. A couple of the
more enterprising ones knew who was throwing the food out, and swam over to
meet him. Once the guide did one or two
“hand feedings” (essentially dropping a chicken into an awaiting maw), a bunch
of other gators would then congregate in the area in order to get their share.
This area had things other than
reptiles. There were some smaller animals around, too. What was
interesting was they didn’t necessarily fit with a marsh or swamp theme, or “other
native critters.” One was the giant rodent known as a capybara, which is
native to South America . It looked like a larger version of that damn
guinea pig she had (that somehow I got stuck cleaning the cage of). It made me wonder if this was the reserve
food for the gators. This was a real
interesting find, as it was informative as much as it was entertaining.
For current information on the places visited:
Ripley’s Aquarium: http://www.ripleyaquariums.com/myrtlebeach/
Alligator Adventure: http://alligatoradventure.com/
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