The husband is home again. I’m beginning to feel a bit more like a pit stop on his way back out of town for work at this point. He got back about midnight, so of course i fell asleep about 20 minutes before he walked in the door- at midnight. Then it took me approximately 30 to fall back asleep.
The kids were up and ready to bicker. Must be Wednesday… or Monday, or Tuesday, or any day ending in “day”!
My son has worked all week the last two days to try and just get to Aquarium day without losing the privilege. We set out in the pouring rain ready to see some fishes.
We got there with miles of parking available. Woo hoo!!
I pay the machine.. i try to pay the machine. I end up putting in ‘max time’ because i was too stupid at 10 am to operate a simple machine when there was a person waiting behind me to use it. I am officially brain-sapped. So while it was a great idea to use my discount card at the aquarium and save money, i end up paying an unnecessary $16 to park for 4 hours at the pier where we might spend more than 1.5 hrs.
*face palm*
On the upside, we figured out now on our 3rd visit we can check our coats/umbrellas/badly behaved children at the front desk free of charge!
We sat and watched the end of the scuba feeding demonstration. The likes of which have always until now been standing room only. I was excited to see a bench my butt would fit on while we listened to the anxiety-causing mic speech of the person under the water:
static
“the fish..”
pause for breath
“..are eating a mix..”
pause and while listening try not to hold my breath
“..of squid and anchovies..”
let breath out.
The kids were done after five minutes.
We tackled the star fish, jumped and sat under the jelly fish arch, and pointed and poked at the Pacific Octopus tank… or, as my daughter calls it, the Op-uh-puss.
We saw something that cemented my abhorrence for eating sea food. A crab had just last night molted it’s entire shell. The docent was holding it on a napkin for people and kids to see up close. Meanwhile, old Nekkid Pincers was sitting and trying his damnedest to harden his shell while we gaped at a bare-assed crab.
Know what else molts it’s entire outer exoskeleton??? hmmmmm??? do ya?
Tarantulas.
That’s right, crabs/lobsters/shrimp are the insects of the ocean.
*shudder*
which is why i am a cheap date. i’ll take the steak, you keep the giant sea tarantula to yourself, thankyouverymuch.
So we walk through the fish tanks, into the next building, and to “The Dome”
This is the obligatory sit and snack place while the kids ooh and ahh at the pretty ugly and freakish underwater creatures of the naturally occurring north west pacific ocean.
We pass the fur seals and otters and where does the final exhibit drop you? Thaaaaat’s right. The gift shop.
After walking through and finding nothing under $5, i convince my son to settle for a bag of Swedish Fish.
a FOUR f-ing DOLLAR bag of swedish fish that i can get at the drug store for 99 cents.
whatever. it was better than spending $7 on a stuffed animal that MIGHT hold his affection until bedtime tonight.
All in all a pretty good and uneventful day… but it’s only 1:30 so anything can still happen!
Sarcasmica 