August 03, 2011

The aquarium and final stories

I'm truly bummed that the pictures of this adventure are absolutely terrible. This was definitely a time when I was kicking myself for not replacing our close up lens before. With our super zoom lens (that I often love and have learned to successfully use in most situations) we couldn't get anything of decent quality in the incredibly packed Aquarium. There were just too many people & too much chaos for us to step as far away as we needed. But we still had a great time.

The twins are in a very sea obsessed phase right now. They love fishies & whales & sharks & turtles. They sleep with a seahorse every night. They love anything that has to do with water. And so, the only "touristy" thing on my agenda was a trip to The New England Aquarium. We went with some good friends (their children darkly pictures below), and enjoyed an afternoon together watching the sea lions, penguins, seals, seahorses, displays of fish from all different regions, the touch tank, and the sharks, turtles & fish in the main tank.
The biggest draw (for me), a special sharks & rays touch tank. The twins weren't awesome at it (they splashed too much), but we all got the chance to touch a ray or two AND I got to touch a shark!!
The twins LOVED the penguins. They are on the ground level and all the way up the main tank you can peek over the edge and see them. The twins loved checking in on them ALL the way up (much to the dismay of their bathophobic mother)...
At this aquarium, each level hosts different displays with a main tank in the middle. There is a walkway that winds around and up the main tank, and then an observation deck at the top. On the way up, we happened to catch feeding time and witnessed up close the feeding of the turtles! We also had sharks and large fish swim so right by the windows where we were standing!
One of the highlights - seeing the turtles so close!
Another random story I wanted to share: we visited my former boss at the nursing home where she now works. With my Activity Director background, and my love for the elderly, I have wanted for a while to take the twins into a local nursing home to visit the grandma's & grandpa's there. But I was afraid they would get shy and the visit would be for naught. I got a little taste of what it would be like with this visit. It happened to be their birthday party & the twins ended up joining the entertainment - dancing, helping play his guitar, and even singing a little! They ended up each getting a dollar for their help (their first paycheck?)! By the end, they were saying hi to residents by name, greeting everyone as they left, and dancing around without inhibition. Then Allie stuck her hand in the birthday cake, and I figured it was time to go! Not only was it great for me to get to see my former boss and good friend, but it made me feel much more confident about some potential volunteerism in the future!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am surprised you got to touch the stingray as their sting can have serious consequences. Grandpa caught a stingray fishing on the ocean shore, but it got off the hook just before they landed it---a first and only in his life. We visited an aquarium somewhat like you saw somewhere in the East on a trip there. Forgot where. So awesome! See you soon, Grandma

Kim said...

Not only are they a small, and less dangerous type of stingray to being with, but my understanding is that they clip the stinger so that they pose no danger to their little visitors:)

Anonymous said...

They love to explore...love these twinners :)
Nana

Anonymous said...

That makes sense about the stingrays. They are very interesting creatures. Grandma