Fishies!

On a particularly hot summer afternoon a couple weeks ago, we decided to escape the heat by heading to the local aquarium. The aquarium is moving to a bigger/nicer building this fall, so they will be closed down soon for a few months while the move takes place.  We thought we better check out the fishies while we had the chance.

Arden likes the jellyfish best.  I also love the jellyfish.  I even love those upside down jellyfish that stung me in the Carribbean.  I stick my face up against the glass of that tank and pretend I am snorkeling.  I love snorkeling.  I haven't been snorkeling in the ocean for oh sooo looooong....

But back to the aquarium.  Here is Arden and one of her gooey friends:

Everyone loves the stingray tank, because they are the only fish you can touch.  Here are the kids petting the sting rays.  We were there around feeding time, so the little rays were excited to see us, and kept coming around to check if we had food.  We didn't, but they kept checking anyway.

 Here is one, climbing up the wall to ask Dax to please pleeeease feed him:

We probably spent 45 minutes petting sting rays (yes, I cannot resist petting them either).  The kids kept asking when we could go back to Grand Cayman and go to Stingray City again.  Someday, my littles.  I hope.

We looked at every fish in the place, and I think my favorites are the sea horses and tube fish.  We even got to watch the Caimans (little crocodiles) have their feeding time.  It was a swarm of kids up by the glass, so I didn't get any good pictures of that, though.

Cora's favorite was the penguins.  They liked her too:

Dax's favorite is still...of course...the sharks.  He was disappointed that they didn't have any Great Whites there.  Sorry, dude.  If he had seen that one Jaws movie where the shark breaks through the aquarium glass and starts eating people he wouldn't think that.  I remember being just a little nervous as a young teenager at Sea World after watching that movie.  Who's with me?  (That movie was so bad it was actually pretty funny...but I still remember that scene.)

He also really liked the anaconda they have there.  It is gi-NOR-mous.  I was too busy gaping at it to take its picture I guess.  All I can say is boy howdy I am glad I am not the one who gets to try and wrestle that snake into a crate to take to his new home!  (Speaking of anacondas, have you seen the movie "Anaconda?"  You know, the one with old school J Lo and John Voight trying to do some sort of accent I can only guess is supposed to be Latin?  That movie was soooooo terrible it was freakin' hilarious.)

The kids had to be dragged out of the gift shop on our way out, but overall we had a fun time.  

I'd rather go snorkeling though.  

Or maybe just have a movie marathon of really bad shark and snake movies.  Who's with me?  I'll make the popcorn!