Ambassador of Books ~ Book Club Madam ~ Blogger Gal

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

At the Aquarium

I mentioned before that I've been exhausted lately and that I wasn't getting much reading time in. Even my weekends have been chock full of "stuff" to do. But this past weekend, it was GOOD stuff.

Hubby, Kiddo and I spent Saturday at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It has always been one of my very favorite places, and Kiddo loves it as well. When I was a stay-at-home mom we had season passes and I'd take kiddo at least once a month. His favorite part is the shark tank - sometimes we'd go just to see them (skipping the rest of the aquarium).

Our visit coincided with the Grand Opening of the all new dolphin show, Our Ocean Planet. Kiddo is NOT a fan of dolphins - any guesses why? Well, it's because dolphins sometimes attack sharks. Didn't know that? Kiddo could tell you all about it (or you read lots of answers here).

Kiddo dislikes dolphins so much that we usually skip the dolphin show on our aquarium visit, but we convinced him that we should check out the new show. And I'm glad we did - it was pretty cool!

The intro to the new show gets the audience involved by inviting them to text answers to questions and cast votes for their favorite creatures. Hubby and Kiddo has lots of fun texting their responses.

Throughout the show the trainers showed off the abilities of the dolphins ... including the way they can splash the audience on demand. The only thing missing was our favorite trick - the super high jump.

After the show we wandered through the rest of the Aquarium and checked out all our favorite creatures. My favorites are the rays ... and there are LOTS of different kinds here.



























The last part of our tour took us to the shark exhibit, Kiddo's favorite place. We got a great look at the saw-nose shark and all the other snaggle-toothed sharks that Kiddo loves so much.

On the way out of the shark tank you pass through an underwater viewing room where you can see the huge ray tank. Luckily for us, a diver was feeding the rays so we got a few really good looks at their underbellies. Cool!

Here's kiddo and a ray, up close and personal. I told him it looks likes they are kissing each other and he said "MOM, I WASN'T kissing him. I was just LOOKING at him." Oh, sorry.














Here's a ray eating a squid from the diver's hand - how cool!








If you are interested, here's a video of the ray tank from the top. You can also the a zebra shark (my other favorite creature) and a sea turtle.



And here's a video of the rays getting fed. Sorry for the dimness of the video but it was quite dark down there.



I hope you've enjoyed my tour of the Aquarium. We had a wonderful time. If you are ever in the area, I'd say this is a MUST see.

14 comments:

bermudaonion said...

Looks like a great time. Thanks for sharing!

myza said...

Hi! You have a great blog! Check mine out for an award!
http://booksandsomanymorebooks.blogspot.com/

Myza

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

How fun is that!! I don't think our aquarium in Dallas is very good, but I'd love to go to one someday (haven't been since I was a kid). Looks like you guys did/saw a lot of relaly cool things.

Amanda said...

What amazing pictures! I love them! If I'm ever in your area I definitely will visit the Aquarium. I didn't know dolphins attacked sharks! That is cool that your kiddo has such diverse interests :)

Serena said...

Looks like you had a great time. I haven't been to the baltimore aquarium yet.

Photogrl said...

Ooh, that looks like SO much fun!

The last time I was in Baltimore, they were just building the aquarium...and I haven't made it back since.

Hmm, I think this might have to be a summer destination!

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

bermudaonion - yes, we did have a wonderful day.

myza - thanks so much!

Trish - I think we've been spoiled by our aquarium ... I've heard that most others aren't this cool.

Amanda - yeah, Kiddo is FULL of odd facts like that ... and I love it!

Serena - you should make a day trip of it!

Photogrl - it would be an excellent stop for your vacation. It is set right on Baltimore's Inner Harbor and there are lots of things to see, places to shop, eat, etc. RIGHT THERE. The Inner Harbor on a summer's day is a wonderful place to be.

Missy said...

Wow, great photos, I love sting rays.

Ti said...

Yeah Mom, he is obviously not kissing that ray! LOL. Kiddo's comments crack me up.

Looks like a great trip! Love the pics too. I always want to dive in with the fish but my kids won't let me.

Michelle Fluttering Butterflies said...

What fun photos and videos :) I love the aquarium. I wish there was one that was closer to where we live.

Glad you had a great time!

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Missy - The rays are my favorite part of the aquarium.

Ti - He's always got SOMETHING to say, that's for sure. :)

Michelle - I can't imagine not having the aquarium close by - oh, the horror!

Literary Feline said...

It sounds like you and your family had a great time, Heather! I love the photos. My mom is quite fond of the aquarium in Monterey, and she drags my dad there just about every year. I can't say I've been to one in a very long while.

Anna said...

Looks like you had a great time. I've been there a couple of times with my daughter, but not in a few years. Maybe we'll have to take a trip to see the new dolphin show.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Ali said...

I love aquariums but have never been to yours, so I really enjoyed the tour. Funny that your son doesn't like dolphins, I thought everyone did!

Blog Widget by LinkWithin