Yes, I know this has taken me awhile but here it is. How we spent the 2nd half of our trip.
Lunch was at the Penguin Cafe.
Although there were a few tables inside in the air conditioning they were all taken. Most seating was outside under the big umbrellas. Lunch was simple fast food, hot dogs, fries or onion rings, hamburgers, chicken fingers etc. I think we filled up on drinks because we were all sweating so bad.
After lunch we headed inside the Aquarium. Here the lighting was subdued. It was crowded. There was a shark/ray touch tank, a jellies display, a large variety of different tanks showcasing the various environments such as river, pond, rain forest etc. All enjoyable and all pretty much the usual fare.
The Sea Lion Show was a bit different from the ones I’ve usually seen. It started with a seal being paraded around right in front of the audience and then the show itself seemed to concentrate more on natural behaviors than the contrived tricks you normally see. It was both educational and fun.
From there we went back outside to cross to another building where there was a special display about Frogs and the theater. We watched the Angry Birds short movie (15 minutes) in 4 D so yes, we felt the wind blow and water sprinkled over us while the action on the screen seemed to jump out at us.
After the movie we exited into the special exhibit area where a shark cage was predominantly displayed so you could take pictures. There was a reptile section with american alligators and the special frogs exhibit. Getting photos of the frogs was hard because of the crowds around each display. I tried to get a picture of the poison tree frogs , both tiny and brightly colored, but it was very difficult through the glass of their terrariums.
Following the Frog Exhibit we headed back outside, through the marsh again. The frogs and turtles were still hanging out but we didn’t linger. We were headed for the penguin display.
I made the mistake of going into the air conditioned lower level to see the penguins as they swam underwater. When I came back out the heat and humidity fogged the camera lens. As far as I know there is nothing to do but wait when that happens. Wiping it off doesn’t seem to work.
Sadly it was still fogged when we went past the Northern Fur Seal exhibit and Mr. Seal was posing and grooming on a rock.
It made it impossible to get clear photos. I was surprised how big Mr. Fur Seal is. For some reason I always thought they were smaller animals.
One last stop at the Beluga exhibit and it was time to leave. I think everyone was tired from the heat but it was a good, relaxing day. Well worth the drive.