Georgia Aquarium

I've said this before, but I have a fascination with aquariums.  They are breathtakingly beautiful and they have a serenity that is hard to come by on land.  The Georgia Aquarium houses 120,000 animals, representing 500 species, in 8.5 million gallons of marine and fresh water; it was the world's largest aquarium when it opened in 2005. 

My favorite sea creature is the sting ray, they glide through the water like a bird glides through the air. Standing 10 inches away from them, I just put my hand against the glass and almost feel the manta ray's silk wings swim by.  Standing in the IMAX of aquarium displays was a whole new experience, just sitting and watching all the animals around me.  Even the dancing jellyfish and the tiniest seahorse, with its tail woven around the seaweed have a genuine beauty. Every time I leave an aquarium I have a new sense of calm around me and can only image a life away from the sun and into the deep dives of the blue ocean.

Seaquarium

Let me just start off by immediately saying: I love aquariums!  I can never go to too many of them.  They are all completely different and I'm always so excited for an aquarium trip.  This summer the Greensboro Science Center (formerly the Natural Science Center) is opening their brand new addition of a Sciquarium!  And it's literally a half mile from my apartment, so I'm pretty excited to spend many summer afternoons there!  

I don't really know when my amazement of aquariums started.  I'm not a big beach-goer, and I hate going deep into the ocean, as a matter of fact I won't get any further than my knees unless I'm endlessly coaxed and my hand is held.  But yet I love watching the water and the things that live in it.  I certainly have a deep respect their space and their world. 

Vlad and I spent an entire day at the Miami Seaquarium, taking in dolphin and killer whale trick shows and watching the sea lions show off for their audiences. But my favorite part of the day by far was hand feeding pieces of fish to the sting rays.  It was an unbelievable feeling being able to stroke their backs as they swam by.  I thought they would be slimy, like many water-dwelling creatures, but instead they were soft, like silk streaming by the tips of your fingers.  The sting rays were definitely one of the biggest highlights of my entire Florida trip!  

I hope you find something that can connect you back to mother nature as this warmer season begins.  It certainly reminds you of the bigger picture and lets you remember how to look at the small things with a greater appreciation.

Greensboro's Natural Science Museum

          I always love being a tourist of the city I live in.  People become so used to their everyday routine, that they forget what their surroundings have to offer, especially when you just want to go 20 minutes down the road for a day of adventure!

         Wanting to go somewhere I'd never been before, and not having time for travel, Vlad and I spent a Friday afternoon exploring the Natural Science Center of Greensboro, NC!  I didn't realize how much was there!  Between the exhibits and the indoor habitats, as well as the small enclosures outside, there's a lot to see.  The Natural Science Center is only one of two zoos in the country, the other being in Indianapolis, that has Javan Gibbons monkeys.  Soon, in spring 2013, it will also be the home of the Carolina Sciquarium!  So I'm already excited to go back next spring and see the addition!  Its definitely a place to put on your checklist for Touring Greensboro!

An Afternoon in D.C.

          I came to D.C. for a few days and I had an afternoon to play!  I've been to D.C. a few times, so I've been through most of the museums, some of them twice, so I decided to explore somewhere I hadn't been yet, the National Aquarium.
          Though this aquarium was small, located downstairs in the Department of Commerce Building, it's residents were diverse.  Watching fish swim so effortlessly through the water, creating a constant, elegant movement is so relaxing to me.  However, the octopus was what caught my fascination. I just stood in front of his dark habitat and as if in a trance just watched him move.  His tentacles twisted around themselves, curling and writhing, allowing his intense strength and movements to look like a dance.  I didn't know that the octopus is considered the one of the smartest underwater creatures, even more intelligent then dogs.  I was simply amazed by this beautiful, vermillion animal.

        I did, of course, have to stop by my favorite exhibit in the world.  Since I was 2, I've been in love with dinosaurs.  The triceratops was always my dino of choice and Land Before Time was my favorite movie.  I had dino stuffed animals, and made the first sculpture I ever created was of a stegosaurus in 4th grade!
          This is another summer of dinosaurs, with the dino gummy "bears" I found and since I'm currently reading the classic Jurassic Park, I thought it was only fitting to stop by the exhibit and walk beside those larger than life creatures that once walked the earth (and also see the Dinosaurs 3D IMAX showing).
          While it was my third trip to the museum, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History never gets old to me.  Full of things of from both the past and present, it just puts on display how amazing and powerful mother nature can be, making people aware of how many other species and lifeforms are a part of this world, and how important they truly are, because without them humans wouldn't have come to exist in the first place.

An Afternoon in  Washington D.C.