Aquarium of the Pacific

Please pardon me while I get back to some old posts from our trip this summer that I never sat down to write...

When the U came out to California this summer to spend time at the beach house with us, we tried to fit in as many fun things for all of us to do together, as well as some fun adventures for the U on his own with my brother (who was "camp counselor" as we liked to call him).

The day that the U was heading back to Dallas, I made sure to book him a later flight so that we could fit something fun in before he left. We decided to head to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. We've yet to visit the one in Dallas, but I had a feeling that this one would be good, seeing as it's located right on the water.

It didn't disappoint. While HUT did get dangerously close to nap time, he enjoyed all of the new sights and sounds, and so did we.

HUT was a bit scared at first, but he quickly warmed up to the idea of the aquarium...

The sea otters and their training show that we watched had him particularly intrigued...

All of the adults got into it too...

The U and HUT weren't quite brave enough to touch the stingrays, but I did. Those suckers are slimy!

Why is it that sharks are so interesting? They scare the bejesus out of me, yet I was still searching around to see them when we got there...

We opted for a quick lunch in the same area in Long Beach - filled with various restaurants and shops. Next time we might opt to make more of a day of it, spend a longer amount of time at the aquarium and visit all of the surrounding sights as well! We will definitely be doing this again on another trip out west.