October 8, 2016

  • Adventure Aquarium ... or Playground with Fish

    I've been wanting to see the aquarium that's just on the Jersey side of Philadelphia. I love aquariums and thought that it would be a fun way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon.  Well ... $27 for the ticket and $10 for the parking, I'm not sure I got what I was looking for, but it beat staying in the apartment all day.

    My pictures don't reflect the hoard of children and mothers that were there. Lots of dads too, and a few grandparents ... but the kids and mommies ... OMG!

    It was much less an aquarium than a mall playground of crawling-under toys, push buttons, touch-sealife ponds, souvenir vendors, and food court. (I don't think they served fish sandwiches, as I recall .. hmm.)  I had been hoping for many more exhibits of aquariums and aquatic life.

    Sadly, I had the feeling that in today's world, quiet and beautiful don't pay the bills. The shark exhibit was huge ... because sharks sell. Touching creatures were all over the place, because kids want to touch creatures. Playground equipment was all over the place, because kids have energy to burn. There was an aquarium with Nemo and Dori type fish because ... well, you get the picture.

    That said, there were a few exhibits that caught my eye. I've put some pictures of them below.

    And by the way ... I'm posting here because it's been a while and FB is ... ugh  .... well, "FB."  Nuff said.

    How in God's green earth can ANYone still be supporting Trump is absolutely beyond me ... but that's another topic.

    Delaware and my work in Jersey are going fine. Pretty quiet for the most part, which is better than SaintVi has been having to deal with.

    My work is running near the end of the licensing course for the students. There are no more new topics to teach. It's all doing various drills and examinations to prepare them for their licensing exam in December. The upside of that is that each night is now pretty full for me. That's good, because there were a few where I had nothing to do, so I studied. That's a long 8 hours.

    I try to walk in the sun every chance I get ... but the temps are beginning to turn to autumn and more rain is showing up.  I've also done a little to help a lady who moved from Boston to the King of Prussia area. Just some odds and ends, but it's something in the way of volunteer work. Tomorrow is the local CROP Walk, so I'll be doing that. Hopefully, the rain has ended by then. Fortunately, no Hurricane Matthew, as it looks to turn its back on DE and NJ to go revisit Florida.  Ugh for them. :(

    Think that's about it for now.

    Blessings to all!

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    Hallway with various aquariums

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    Some guy taking a selfie in front of a massive aquarium dubbed "The Aquarium Theater"

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    The Aquarium Theater. Actually, this was just one side. There were several other viewing windows throughout the building. This was the largest.

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    That guy again.  He's by a rail overlooking a freshwater exhibit that's actually a floor down.

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    Better look at said exhibit. Logs and freshwater fish were in it.

     

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    Probably 75 gallon or so. Nice reef aquarium. I'd like to do something like this when I retire for real.

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    Another small reef aquarium. Thought of Val when I was looking at the shapes of some of the urchin-ish life.

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    Not exactly sure what type of water this is. Fresh or brackish, I imagine. If you look closely, there is a dark alligator resting with its head out of the water.

    They always lay so still.  "Walk through a swamp" is definitely NOT on my bucket list.

     

     

Comments (4)

  • Glad to see you are getting out and about! The aquarium isn't too far from my sister's house... Anyway I have to agree about the focus of the aquariums - I went to one that was in a shopping mall!! Yep. Same experience. We will be geocaching in Michigan City today with saintvi. It will be a perfect crisp fall day... Your guinea pig is now a vase or toothbrush holder after it collapsed while trying to attach the head. This guinea pig is jinxed.

    • Poor pig. :D Hope you enjoy the day with Vi. I did a CROP walk under gloomy windy skies. As soon as it was done, the sun came out an the afternoon looks to be gorgeous.

  • Every time I've tried to go to the Shedd Aquarium, it's been closed. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.

  • So great to see you again. I'm sorry the aquarium was a bit pricey, and not quite what you had hoped for, but glad you got a chance to get out.
    Sometimes I like to go to a pet store and just look at the fish, and pet the furry critters.

    Ps I thought of you recently while I was boarding my first ever cruise. I boarded in Jacksonville and once on the ship and we were doing our safety checks, I noticed the power plant on shore in the not to far distance.

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