Eeek an eel!
We've been doing a hell of a lot of touristy stuff on the weekends since we moved here, just trying to get a feel for the city & I have to say, playing traveller in your own town is fun. Not that I'm sure I can consider this my own town yet, but we are in that strange transitional stage where we're not sure if we should raise our hands if the tour guides ask the crowd if anyone is from out of town. Yesterday I got all excited & raised my hand because we were from farther away than anyone else, but the guide never noticed & then I just felt like a dumbass schmuck for most of the day afterwards thinking about my overeagerness for some measly attention from someone whose job it was to entertain the paying public. Sometimes I am a goofball.
The tour yesterday was the Underground Tour of Seattle (Jennifer I went! And it was good!) but since I need to catch up on the other stuff we've done I'm going to skip it until I tell you about all the other places we've seen. And since I never get enough time to type out much, it's gonna be one site at a time. How am I even doing this right now you ask? Shhh don't tell anyone, but she's watching (captivated!) Baby Beethoven right now. Gah I know there's no educational value to these things but if it gives me a few moments peace, I'm letting her watch. She freaking loves it & tries to grab the objects off the screen while talking to the saxamaphone playing giraffe. We tried to get something mildly "educational" the other day & bought a Sesame Street dvd, but none of us are liking it as much, because a) the music isn't as great (though mildly less tinny), b) it has the baby versions of Elmo, Big Bird, Brandi & Prairie Dawn (who for some reason I loathe) & their parents which is just weird for someone who grew up with the regular sized versions & c) damn it, I'm supposed to sit there with her & interact! I'm sorry, but I bought this for a break from the interraction. Now I'm supposed to sing with her too?!
Yes I'm joking..... or am I?
Anyway, on to the touristy stuff. Last Saturday we went to the Seattle Aquarium and had some watery fun. We got there later than anticipated as Ms. No-Nap decided to snooze for 2 hours making our plans for getting there when it opened all for naught. Despite the long line up it didn't take forever to get in & on to the aquatic frenzy. The River Otters were first & didn't really live up to their reputation of being frolicking critters - they just laid there snuggled against each other looking cute & kind of oily. The Sea Otters on the other hand were chasing each other in & out of the water & being very frisky so the baby was fascinated for about three minutes. There was plenty to look at throughout the aquarium & several of the exhibits were located in a lower section where you could see the seals & other creatures swimming under water right beside you. There's also an underwater dome-like area full of fish, sharks (smaller ones) eels (see creepy one above) & other assorted slimy & anemone like creatures. Pretty cool. Elsewhere there's hands on exhibits where you can touch starfish, sea urchins & the like so Doodlebug was in heaven splashing about in there.
All said it was a good time, though probably better to visit when the baby is not so much of a baby but more of an inquisitive 3 or 4 year old. I think our almost 5 year old nephew Thomas would love it but as for Doodles, if something wasn't moving around directly in front of her or she wasn't able to splash in the water, she seemed to get a little bored / tired & got more enjoyment out of reaching towards unsuspecting heads to pull other people's hair. For some reason she really likes blondes.
The Aquarium itself is apparently undergoing some renovation & expansion projects which will hopefully update the look of the place. I think I was expecting something more along the lines of Marineland or Sea World because coming from the Prairies / Eastern Ontario the only exposure to ocean life you get is from commercials. It's like when I moved to Newfoundland & thought it would be exciting to visit the seals at the Ocean Sciences Centre in Logy Bay. Calvin took me shortly after meeting him & well, I thought it was really cool to see a couple of be-whiskered faces popping up every so often but after a short while it got pretty cold & exciting was not the word to describe the experience. I'll say breezy & fascinating. As for the Seattle Aquarium, not so cold but probably just as old (too lazy to check) so some parts feel slightly dated construction wise (like the dome) but really it's probably just due to my overly eager expectations. A part of living in this society that always wants the latest & greatest technology perhaps? Whatever. To sum it all up, the Aquarium was a great place to get acquainted with the watery environs that surround this city, the baby liked it, we liked it but left wanting a little bit more excitement wise. B grade for visiting with baby but I'd rank it higher if you are going with an older child who is fascinated by all things ocean.
Having a great time until she banged her head too many times on the glass.
Sidenote: Did you notice how long this took? I started this on Sunday... it's now Thursday. That's pathetic!
5 comments:
Siiigh...I miss aquariums..I too love to bang my head on the glass.
What's your new email address, mama? I'm guessing it's no longers a Roger's hookup, and I have lots to tell you. (okay, not really, my life sucks, but I miss you)
Dude. We were at the aquarium at the same time.
I was the one with the two adolescent boys that would NOT STOP WRESTLING in the dome. And I was the one pretending like I didn't know them.
I bet you can't wait to do it all again when your family/friends come to visit. I'm sure Brynn would love the aquarium (she's 3.5).
Freyja looks more grown up since you were here in July (makes sense). I can't believe you can still use the Bjorn.
We're back from our vacation in Nanaimo and turnabout drive to Calgary for my MRI, so I've just caught up on your blogs.
No fun, that house/apartment hunting/decision-making drill, is it? Especially difficult, I would imagine, in a totally unfamiliar city. Good luck.
A comment on the empire waist thingy. The empire waist was actually (as I'm sure you already know)just under the bustline. Could the connotation be the high station of the single ruler of an empire or, in the case of the USA, the height of the Empire State Building. I guess, if the latter is the case, they will have to change the pronunciation of that name to "almpeer" ("alm" as in calm).........at least that's how I've heard it pronounced.
I, for one, am pretty sure I've seen many almpeer-waisted dresses in those British historical love story films.
That's my rant for today.
eels eh? eeuw. Don't they have a bad rap right now...
Just a thought Laura. You've always struck me as a city type but maybe the motherhood thing could cause a type-shift. Wherever you end up will become "home" so don't fret.
I miss you too Tracey! But your tales of rednecks pissing in your driveway makes up for the distance a wee bit.
Jennifer I can't believe we were there at the same time. I keep thinking when I go places, maybe we'll miraculously bump into & recognize each other. Obviously we are both too self-absorbed for that (kidding!) - but lets just blame the children. Oh won't someone please think of the children?
Mags, the Bjorn is killing my shoulders!
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