Then, this week my mom & I went to Seattle for 2 nights & 2 days. I had two days off in a row from work and I wanted to go to the Woodland Park Zoo & the Seattle Aquarium and so my mom rearranged her work schedule and we went together. My mom is into letterboxing and so we also did a couple boxes on our trip. And the best part of going to the US - SHOPPING! We made stops at multiple Wal-Mart & Target stores, mainly in search of supplies for my kids at work but who can resist doing some personal shopping! I got my nephew, C some really cute school clothes for his birthday as he just turned 5 and is starting Kindergarten in Sept, and I got some onesies for Audrey for her baby shower in Sept.
Tuesday we started off at the Seattle Aquarium at Pier 59 in Seattle. It is quite a cool aquarium but different than what I am used to. It doesn't have the larger animals - like orca whales, dolphins, belugas, etc that I am used to from the Vancouver Aquarium. But what it does have that I enjoyed is more of a look at Pacific sealife which is what is all around us but a much closer view. Their newest exhibit is called Window on Washington Waters, a 120,000 gallon exhibit with a 39' X 17' viewing window. It is very cool and gives you a very up close and personal look at what is beneath the water around us. There was also an exhibit which showcased the birds of the shore and how they interacted with the sealife.
They have quite a few touch pools where you can reach in and touch the various creatures. My mom was braver than I and reached in and touch a few of them but they were a little too slimy for me!
One of the many touch pools - this one was full of various types of sea stars
My mom really like the stamp they used for their re-entry markThey stamped it on the inside of our right wrist. It was kind of cool as it didn't wash off with the first time you washed your hands!
One of the really cool exhibits was the underground dome where you were in a huge glass dome where the fish were all around you, above you and it was just so neat. Even as you walked down into the dome, there were panels in the "roof" which allowed you to see into the tanks overhead.
this photo was taken on the way into the dome of the school of fish that was overhead.
After we finished at the aquarium, we headed over to Pike Place Market, which was celebrating their 100th birthday this week, to grab some fresh fruit and ended up also getting some mini doughnuts and stayed to watch some of the fish throwing - tried to get pictures of them actually throwing the fish but it all happens so fast!
This is the fish market during a quiet time
After we finished up at Pike Place, we headed over to West Seattle so my mom could go to Lincoln Park and check out some letterboxes. After we finished with that, we headed out to Saltwater State Park and walked the beach a little and then settled into our campsite to spend the night.
Wednesday morning we woke up and I headed out to have a shower at the campground - it was the HOTTEST shower I have ever had! I actually had to wait before I could step in and first figure out how to cool the water down! The shower was operated by tokens which you got 4 for a $1 and a 3 minute shower was 2 tokens. The tokens were quite neat -
and while it was a quiet and small campground, it was quite nice. The campground was a "self-serve" site where you had to fill in an envelope and put your fee in the envelope and then drop it into a deposit box on site. After both Mom & I were ready to hit the road and we had had our breakfast, we headed north towards the Woodland Park Zoo!
When we got to the zoo, we headed first into the Australian section (where there was a letterbox hidden) and then started our way around the zoo going through all the various sections except the Northern exhibit which held bears, foxes, eagles, and other animals which are found up North and which I have all seen many times here. At the end of the day when we got near that exhibit, my feet were killing me as I hadn't worn my sneakers and orthotics for a couple of days and so my feet didn't like being made to conform to something not natural for them! We were at the zoo for 4 or 5 hours walking the entire time and while I truly enjoyed it, it was very tiring! Their exhibits are all more about the animals then the visitors, they all have HUGE habitats and at some, more than one type of animal share the habitat, just like they would in nature. For example, the giraffes, zebras, gazelles, ostriches, and hippos all share the same African Savannah habitat. They all have their own "barns" but during the day they all mingle together in this large habitat made to resemble their natural surroundings. The elephant habitat is another amazing one! It is absolutely huge and has many different areas, including a 60,000 gallon pool with a waterfall that the elephants can bathe in! The gorillas and the orangutans also had really great habitats with lots of room both outdoor and indoor and many high swing and seats made out of woven canvas. I have LOTS of photos from the zoo and haven't been able to go through them all yet but will get some up here soon!!
No comments:
Post a Comment