With the grandparents in town this week, we took advantage of the extra hands to get out of the house and get down to the new Ripley's Aquarium. Gabriel has been geared up all week to go. He's been exclaiming loudly and which great excitement "shark!!! shark!!!" Every fish in his picture books are sharks these days.
When we got to the Aquarium, Gabriel wanted to tear around through the crowds looking at all the tanks of fish, his eyes bright and mouth gaped open in awe. For a Wednesday morning, the place was a little insane--lots of people, and especially children from the various schools. (I am not sure when a quiet time is, but definitely not the weekends and not, apparently, weekday mornings!) So if you are going with a baby and a toddler, take another set of hands (or two) because there is no way to run fast enough after a toddler with a stroller through those crowds and it is pretty dimly lit. I am so glad I brought the grandparents so Gabriel could run around looking while I took care of the baby. I am certain we lost something (although I'm not sure what yet) but with all the people and low lighting, how could you not drop a glove or something).
We saw some amazing water creatures. I think the most intriguing were the paddlenose fish. Did you know that they live in the Great Lakes?!?!? They look like some sort of mutated swordfish combined with a platypus. And the sawfish that looks like a chainsaw (hence the name).
The best feature of the Aquarium by far was the tunnel where we hopped on a conveyor belt and rode through while fish and sharks swam all around and above us. I think for Gabriel, it was a mixture of awe and terror watching them swim around us. He clung like a monkey to me, wrapping his arms and legs tight around my neck and body and wove his little fingers through my hair while he looked up at the trio of sharks collecting overhead.
Gabriel really loved seeing all those fish and sea creatures, so I am sure that "Finding Nemo" may be a favorite for awhile.
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