The Christmas holidays can be fun–and wearying. About a week before Christmas, my gentleman friend and I decided to get away for lunch. We drove to the Las Vegas Boat Harbor on Lake Mead, about a 40 minute drive via I-515. No, it wasn’t boating season, we just wanted to visit Lake Mead’s largest harbor and have lunch at the Harbor House Cafe Lounge.

The Lounge has a bar, but a fair number of tables for dining as well. When we visited, every bar stool had a holiday decoration and the table area had a large Santa Claus statue. The menu is rather large for a small place, and we enjoyed our meals.

The cafe/lounge is open five days a week (closed Wednesdays and Thursdays.) Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Clearly, if you are headed there for lunch (other than on a Wednesday or Thursday), the cafe will be open.

On the way to the cafe you will see the surrounding hills with water marks that make you feel it must have been impossible for Lake Mead to have ever been so high. Where the harbor and the cafe sit today will have once been under water.

You will also see lots of birds, ducks and fish. All the creatures seem quite relaxed around people and seem very well fed as well. Lots of the food for these creatures comes from visitors who toss everything from bird food to French fries into the water, creating a scene that might have been in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

The large fish that hang around the Harbor walkway (it’s a long walkway) even come up to the surface with their mouths open–something one doesn’t see every day. Yes, they even pose for pictures.

Folks can bring pets to the harbor just to sit and observe, but they are not allowed in the cafe. A large “No shoes, no shirt, no service, no pets” sign is at the cafe/lounge entrance.

The harbor has obviously moved over the years as the lake level has dropped, As a result, plenty of parking spots on gravel are available where once the lake had been.

The harbor itself contains 1500 slips and has been owned and operated by the Gripentog family since 1957. It is the largest privately owned and operated marina in the world and can accommodate boats up to 75 feet in length. Checking out the boats is another interesting activity when visiting the harbor.

We loved our little get-away.