If you ever go to Monterey California, visit the aquarium. It's totally worth it. Admittedly our experience was colored by being with friends and watching three small children have a great time, but it was really fun. The price tag is steep, but this is true of basically any attraction in California and at least with this one I feel like I'm helping the cause of educating people about marine life. It was a very kid friendly atmosphere as well. My favorite addition was this one (picture on left) where a little low hole was cut in to the wall and a window added so kids could look at the tank without any
competition from adults. We had to see the hammerheads for G (totally with him there, they are cool and the tank was enormous! It included these whole schools of mackerel and I love watching schools of fish. It's so uncanny how they can move with such precision and grace in uniformity. Like herd movement on steroids! As a former marching band member I can tell you that is not easy!) and the octopus for M (also enjoyed that, okay I'm a bio nerd, I enjoyed everything.). Of course for Joaquin we went and saw jellyfish. He has an absolute obsession with jellyfish that I don't understand. I mean sure they're cool, but they're insanely dumb.
They have literally no brain, just a neural net. Any plot line involving them has absolutely no conscious activity on their part. Talk about boring. Anyway, check the video at the end of the blog for Joaquin's reaction to the jellyfish. He's like this at ABQ's aquarium too, everytime! But the highlight for me was an amazingly comprehensive exhibit on seahorses and their close relatives (i.e. pipefish, and water dragons - you totally don't care, do you?). Sea horses have been my favorite since a small child and this many of them to watch was super, and extremely dorkily, exciting. I actually ditched everyone for awhile and was totally transported. Joaquin enjoyed the seahorses too, including this bizarro sculpture that someone felt was not complete with a small metal seahorse being birthed. Joaquin is covering it with his hand b/c he thought it was so interesting, but it was distinctly obscene looking. I mean how many statues of anything giving birth are there? And there's a reason for that. This last picture is a family picture taken while Joaquin was in a snit. Hence the refusal to face the camera.
Daniel and I look nice though. Joaquin had been getting more and more fragile through our visit (due to the time difference it was really his naptime, to be fair). Daniel and he stayed behind to look at an exhibit that had little trapdoors that you could open to reveal bits of information. Joaquin was playing with these, and didn't want to share when some other children came by, demonstrating this by almost slamming one down on a little girl's fingers. So Daddy of course stepped in and put Joaquin in a corner. Unfortunately it was a corner decorated with cedar planking and this did not meet with Joaquin's approval. He said, in a despairing and tear-filled voice, "This is not a good corner. It hasn't been sanded, I could get a splinter, this is a bad corner." Etc, etc, until released. (This is the best story ever, b/c even if someone has never met Joaquin this would tell them basically all they need to know about his personality.) Then he proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes or so talking about what a bad boy he was and refusing all activities that looked like fun. Sometimes he punishes himself way better than we ever could. Despite that, he really enjoyed the aquarium, talking about it enthusiastically later. And I loved it!
If you ever go to Monterey California, visit the aquarium. It's totally worth it. Admittedly our experience was colored by being with friends and watching three small children have a great time, but it was really fun. The price tag is steep, but this is true of basically any attraction in California and at least with this one I feel like I'm helping the cause of educating people about marine life. It was a very kid friendly atmosphere as well. My favorite addition was this one (picture on left) where a little low hole was cut in to the wall and a window added so kids could look at the tank without any 
competition from adults. We had to see the hammerheads for G (totally with him there, they are cool and the tank was enormous! It included these whole schools of mackerel and I love watching schools of fish. It's so uncanny how they can move with such precision and grace in uniformity. Like herd movement on steroids! As a former marching band member I can tell you that is not easy!) and the octopus for M (also enjoyed that, okay I'm a bio nerd, I enjoyed everything.). Of course for Joaquin we went and saw jellyfish. He has an absolute obsession with jellyfish that I don't understand. I mean sure they're cool, but they're insanely dumb. 
They have literally no brain, just a neural net. Any plot line involving them has absolutely no conscious activity on their part. Talk about boring. Anyway, check the video at the end of the blog for Joaquin's reaction to the jellyfish. He's like this at ABQ's aquarium too, everytime! But the highlight for me was an amazingly comprehensive exhibit on seahorses and their close relatives (i.e. pipefish, and water dragons - you totally don't care, do you?). Sea horses have been my favorite since a small child and this many of them to watch was super, and extremely dorkily, exciting. I actually ditched everyone for awhile and was totally transported. Joaquin enjoyed the seahorses too, including this bizarro sculpture that someone felt was not complete with a small metal seahorse being birthed. Joaquin is covering it with his hand b/c he thought it was so interesting, but it was distinctly obscene looking. I mean how many statues of anything giving birth are there? And there's a reason for that. This last picture is a family picture taken while Joaquin was in a snit. Hence the refusal to face the camera. 
Daniel and I look nice though. Joaquin had been getting more and more fragile through our visit (due to the time difference it was really his naptime, to be fair). Daniel and he stayed behind to look at an exhibit that had little trapdoors that you could open to reveal bits of information. Joaquin was playing with these, and didn't want to share when some other children came by, demonstrating this by almost slamming one down on a little girl's fingers. So Daddy of course stepped in and put Joaquin in a corner. Unfortunately it was a corner decorated with cedar planking and this did not meet with Joaquin's approval. He said, in a despairing and tear-filled voice, "This is not a good corner. It hasn't been sanded, I could get a splinter, this is a bad corner." Etc, etc, until released. (This is the best story ever, b/c even if someone has never met Joaquin this would tell them basically all they need to know about his personality.) Then he proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes or so talking about what a bad boy he was and refusing all activities that looked like fun. Sometimes he punishes himself way better than we ever could. Despite that, he really enjoyed the aquarium, talking about it enthusiastically later. And I loved it! 
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