An Indoor Ocean

I don't have to tell any of you it's been a long winter.

I understood the intensity of our desire for some color and light by the delight this reflection rainbow caused.

We never did find out what ephemeral situation was causing it. Miles just wanted to capture it.

"It's my pet rainbow!"

So, our brother/in-law Tim, and sister-in-law Corey in Maryland enjoy connections through their jobs that sometimes get them Tickets to things. Tim works at the Maryland Zoo, and volunteers at the National Aquarium, and Corey was able to get us tickets to the Aquarium for this past weekend. We had to jump at the chance to take the kids to this amazing facility. It's a pretty pricy experience, so it might have been a while before we got there without this opportunity.

Away we went on Friday, the last day in February! Finally!

The kids were pumped to wear their new sunglasses on that sunny drive.

It was a lovely evening, actually. All drives should be so smooth. Kids slept after dinner and didn't awaken until we arrived.

Early Saturday morning found us making the brief drive into Baltimore!

(Famous Pickles Pub. Apparently. Across from the Sports)

                                      

It's a beautiful city, and I always forget that since we're always roosting in Annapolis and visiting DC.

Inner Harbor

More Inner Harbor

Right by the entrance of the aquarium, visible from the outside: A huge waterfall.

Gorgeous views of the Inner Harbor could be found around every turn. 

Posing with the crocodile. 

Adele was mesmerized:

I loved the reflections here...

There were a lot of beautiful touches around the aquarium, between and among exhibits, like these bubble tubes:

There's is this one pool/ reef area and as you climb, you get a larger and larger view of it: 

Oh Miles... In front of the whale skeleton. 

Probably my favorite part of the day was the slow walk around and around the inside of this massive multi-floor tank containing sharks, a sea turtle, and tons of other species I couldn't begin to name. But it was a chance for the kids not to be hurried and to just gaze at fish and talk to and about them. 

What I didn't mention was that we were able to meet up with a college friend of ours, another Tim :-) and his son, Ben, 7 months older than Miles. Theirs was one of the first visits from friends that Miles received when he came home from the hospital. But Miles was able to advise his older friend on being a big brother to a sister! Tim and Karen are expecting a daughter in a couple of months. Actually, all Miles did was to confide that he liked being a big brother, and that "you can play" with a sister. Not terribly profound, but sincere.  

The octopus was feeling shy. 

The eel wasn't. 

This fish is apparently nicknamed Lady Gaga, for her love of the camera. 

I recommend the puffin exhibit! 

So, at the top of the aquarium there is a rainforest. Complete with real foliage, monkies, birds, and 85+ degree temperatures. I was, sadly, too busy trying to keep the kids from getting lost, falling down stairs, etc, and also trying not to pass out from the heat (I was a bit dehydrated), to take many pictures. :-) But I did manage to snatch this one of the sloth at the top:

This was Miles' favorite part; he came back for seconds. Adele (who was beginning to develop a fever) and I stuck to the bottom of the forest the second trip.

What did I tell you about the views of the Harbor??!

Family shots. Kinda lack dignity, but they're very true-to-life.

3-flippered sea turtle. So very loveable. 

Oh yes, and there was a huge dolphin exhibit! We opted to do some freelance observing and not stay for much of the Show. Our kids were getting antsy.

Still, they were delighted to be ThisClose to real dolphins!

I thoroughly recommend the National Aquarium to anyone, with or without kids. It's beautiful, educational and refreshing, particularly in winter. I imagine it'd be a relief from the heat of summer, too, but the contrast was greater on this, the first day of March, the day before Annapolis got about six inches of snow....

We have a little collection of marine animals we bought to use for bath toys. The kids love that they recognize the various sharks and whales from their trip to the aquarium. The Sting Ray is their favorite. Bathtime has become even more innovative since Saturday :-)

Lent tomorrow. Spring Break next week. It hardly seems possible.