It's still a very cool place, but overall they give you the feeling that they really only want you there for your money. They charge nearly $15 per person, and that doesn't even include parking. You've got to fork over $7 just to park. Not a very welcoming feeling. Plus, after a couple of the exhibits they have overpriced stuffed animals and paraphernalia for purchase. Very tempting for those kids who just saw the cute otter and want to take one home, (luckily Natalie is too young for that!) And then to top it off, after a one-way trip through the aquarium, you are funneled through the gift shop on your way out. Just another place for tired parents of cranky kids to have to say "no". I thought the set-up was bit tacky, but the displays were top-notch and we had a great time exploring it all.
Before we even entered we saw a couple of amazing birds of prey being shown off outside the aquarium. There was a large hawk of some kind, and a much larger golden eagle. And from the discussion it sounded like we'd missed a bald eagle as well. The birds we saw were very impressive though. Both had been injured and were now unable to return to the wild and make it on their own.
On entering the aquarium, Natalie donned a deep-sea diving outfit. Perfect fit!
One of my favorite exhibits was the otters. These guys really know how to have a good time. This one kept doing underwater somersaults across the glass in front of us. I could have watched him all day. 
There was a dessert exhibit with a simulated flash flood. Signs warned that people in front of a certain line would get wet. The guys took Natalie and waited right up front to see what would happened. 
It was a pretty spectacular display of water, and Natalie burst into very short-lived tears. 
See, she's okay now. Though a bit wetter than she was before. How about a nice, dry sweatshirt. 
Natalie thought the guy in the scuba gear vacuuming the gravel was pretty interesting. 
But she was uninterested in Sharky. 
We caught feeding time at the big tank. 
These bubbles were pretty cool. You felt like you were in the tank, surrounded by the fish and water. Pretty interesting view. 
Towards the end Natalie was getting pretty tired. But we still had a little ways to go. She perked up when she saw the tigers. (Don't ask me what tigers are doing in an aquarium, I didn't have a chance to read the info, but I remember in the beginning them saying something about the aquarium demonstrating how water is important to all sorts of creatures.) 
Here's the whole gang, (minus me). 
And one more of the cheerful baby. She loved the fish tanks and just wanted to be free of arms and strollers for a while. 
Some pretty coral reef. 
And a cool, and deadly, lion fish!
She wasn't as impressed with the sharks as we were.... maybe in a couple of years. 
Outside the aquarium she had some fun with Papa Ev, pushing her stroller around. 
And some fun with her daddy, chasing the bubbles!
What a fun way to spend the afternoon.
I've got so many more pictures from that day, and looking back, from the last couple months, that haven't made it onto the blog. I promise that soon, maybe even tonight, I will update the Picasa site!! I'll change the slideshow on the right to use the new pictures too, so you'll know when there's new stuff loaded!! I promise. Check it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment