Aquarium

This past week daycare was closed, the house was as clean as it was getting, so I decided Connor and I should take some "field trips" instead of hanging around the house all day.  Our first stop was the Aquarium.  A free admission for Mom with her MTA (teacher's union) card, and kids under 3 are free, so we didn't pay a cent (well, until we got to the parking garage, but that doesn't really count, right?). 

We first watched the seals outside the aquarium.  Connor loved it!  They swam right by him, back and forth.  Upside down, right side up, etc.  Connor kept saying "dolphin! dolphin!".  He's been pretending he's a dolphin lately, so he was happy to see them right here in front of him.  We'll tell him later that they were actually seals.  Besides, I don't think he'll be seeing a dolphin anytime soon, so why break the kid's heart?

Our next stop were the penguins.  I think Connor was a little mesmerized by them.  He was just staring at them and didn't say anything.  We were there early enough that it wasn't too crowded, so he was able to find a spot by the glass and see into the penguin pit without me holding him.  I think he would have stayed there all day. 

Next we started around the big tank and saw Myrtle, the giant sea turtle.  She actually rested right by our window for quite a while.  Her head was on the other side of us, but her body was smack dab in front of us.  Connor liked it, but not as much as I thought he would.  I think it became a rock to him and wasn't too exciting, since she wasn't moving, but Mom sure loved it.  We also caught the sea lion show, but it was hard for Connor to see and harder for Mom to take pictures.  I kept hitting the lady next to me with my lens.  She was very understanding, though, as she had two kids of her own.  She even picked up a lost Goldfish cracker from Connor.  After that was over, we made our way to the top where we saw the big sting ray, or as Connor called it "leaf", but at this point Connor was starting to get hungry, so he wasn't on his best behavior.  We walked back down, had some lunch and left.  Just in time, too - the line to pay for tickets was backed up until the parking garage (which is far for those who aren't familiar with the area).  The bad part about the aquarium is that it's not really built for crowds, and there were crowds trying to get in, so I'm happy we went early and avoided all of that.  Connor had a great time and crashed in the car, which is always a nice thing for Mommy! 

Stay tuned for adventure #2 next!