Mystic Aquarium Part 2

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Sadly it was still fogged when we went past the Northern Fur Seal exhibit and Mr. Seal was posing and grooming on a rock.

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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.

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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.

 

 

Mystic Aquarium

Its still, as the weathermen say, HHH. High Pressure, Hot, Humid, 3 H’s. I like the heat but I will admit the humidity is starting to wear me out.  The forecast was for a break in the humidity if not the heat so Nancy and I decided to take the kids to the Mystic Aquarium. I was thinking it would be inside so we’d avoid the oppressive outdoors anyway. I’ve never been to Mystic Aquarium so what did I know. I based my opinion on Boston’s Aquarium.

Anyway, quite a bit of Mystic Aquarium is outside and to my way of thinking some of the most unique and best exhibits.

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It’s not a bad drive to Connecticut and we made it right on time according to the On Star  directions and that was with several minor traffic back ups.

The Beluga exhibit is right there when you first go through the entrance.

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I could have spent the whole visit there even though it was hot and humid. The whales are sometimes called the Canaries of the Sea because of the multiple vocalizations they can make. They did not disappoint us. They blew and chirped and stuck their heads out of the water.

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At the observation windows they seemed as fascinated by the humans as we were of them.

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Following the path toward the Penguin exhibit we passed the seals & Sea lions.

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Then it was decision time, right took us through the “Marsh” on a boardwalk and left took us to the Penguins. The kids made a bee line for the boardwalk and eagerly inspected the duckweed and plants for turtles and frogs.

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I really liked the boardwalk. We spotted quite a few creatures once we adjusted our eyes to finding them in the weeds.

Frog in Duckweed

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We had an audience of 3 little ducks too that added comic relief.

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Next up was the Budgie Tent.

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Those birds are always fun.

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There were cockatoos and other small birds native to Australia as well as the Budgies.

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By then It was time for a break and we hadn’t even gotten inside yet!

The Whales are on a Roll

I’ve been doing a lot more whale watching this season because the whales seem to be especially active this year.  They have been so active that I have skipped some of my other seaside activities to get some extra  outings and I have not been disappointed.

A couple of weeks after the Great Puffin Adventure I decided to give the morning whale watch a try.  I stayed on the upper deck this time. I wanted to try a different angle.

Sure enough, it was a very active trip. Right off the bat we spotted multiple humpbacks. At first we were getting backs showing as they cruised along and a few flukes.

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I have plenty of photos of backs and flukes so I wasn’t too interested in that.

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A bit deeper into Stellwagon bank we found ourselves surrounded by groups of humpbacks surface feeding.

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That’s always fun to watch. There lots of activity with the birds trying to steal the fish that manage to escape the huge mouths.

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Plus the whales swim along the surface with the water streaming out the sides of their mouths as they strain the water through their baleen.

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That alone would have been a successful trip but suddenly there was a mother and calf off the port side. “Mom” would flipper slap and then the little one one would do the same.

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This went on for quite awhile. In fact all of us with cameras had plenty of time to get pictures.

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Eventually, as if to say goodbye, mom rolled onto her back and gave a double wave, both flippers waving in the air and then both mom and calf disappeared beneath the surface. The show was over.

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We watched some more surface feeding before it was time to head back. I was just packing up the camera when a collective WOW! went up. I looked up in time  to see a whale fully breaching. It was quite a distance away. It flew fully out of the water like a giant dolphin! The splash down was huge.

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That was the only full breach I saw but the feisty whale gave us a few other partial breaches. I managed to get the camera back out for the end of the show.

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I’m not too disappointed that I missed getting a shot of the full breach. It was amazing to see and I think I appreciated it more by being able to watch it without the little view finder. A breaching whale, at least in this area, is a rare sight.

I’ll keep looking for another opportunity for that awesome photo shot but if I never get it , I won’t be too sad. I’ll chalk it up to the one that got away.

 

 

RIP Buddy!

stray 002 copyBuddy arrived unannounced on the coldest day of the year in January 2013. He was fully grown, age unknown and he had cattitiude.

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With a little white tip on his tail he could take on the world. He made up his mind that he’d found his furever home and nothing I could do would change his mind. I re-homed him twice but he managed to get returned to me both times.

We had some fun time and he trained me well.

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He would walk on a leash just like a dog.

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He was so big that some of my neighbors thought he was a dog!

He was a very handsome fellow right up until the end.

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It came fast. One day he couldn’t eat, then he stopped drinking and his breathing became labored. We tried to entice him to eat and we ran loads of tests. It was finally decided that although they couldn’t pin point the mass there was cancer somewhere. Fluid was going into his chest cavity.

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Through it all he was brave and kept his sweet disposition. He took all the needles and poking and prodding with grace and dignity. He’s the only cat I have ever had that let me “pill him” without a fuss.

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The prognosis was grim and after an emotional discussion with our vet the decision was made to help him cross to the Rainbow Bridge.

RIP Buddy, you were a great cat! Love you much.hearts

Lighthouses, Eagles and a Seal , Oh My!

As we headed out of the harbor into the Bay of Fundy we passed the first lighthouse.

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The 2nd one would be on Machias Seal Island.  Both Canada and the United States claim sovereignty. The Canadian Coast Guard continues to staff a lighthouse on the island.

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The whole Island is considered a bird sanctuary so boardwalks have been constructed for the humans to walk on to avoid stepping on nests or baby birds.

On the way out of the harbor we  spotted a pair of bald eagles.

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It gives me a thrill to see so many of these magnificent birds. It was hard to get a picture  as the Barbara Frost was starting to pitch a bit as she picked up speed.

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We didn’t see any whales.

It was about an hour trip and it felt like it. It was cold even when we huddled near the cabin. Hard to believe that it was 90 + in Boston!

Our first indication that we were nearing the island was a raft of small black and white birds.

A raft of Razorbills

They are called Razorbills and also nest on the island with the Puffins. Right after the razorbills came in sight a puffin flew across our stern. These bird make me think of bumblebees. They have such round little bodies and stubby wings. Its hard to believe they can fly at all!

Bumblebee of the Bird World

Right after that we spotted the lighthouse.

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We were surprised to see some gannets mixed in with the razorbills on the rocks but the biggest surprise of our approach was the stranded seal!

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I mentioned the huge tides in a previous post. Well apparently this guy hauled out at high tide and forgot to leave when the tide receded.

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Now we watched in fascination and horror as he slowly (and painfully) worked his way down the rocks. He landed face first more than once. I mean, that’s got to hurt!

Still Going

Determination

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He was almost to the bottom when we got the go ahead to land from the coast guard and had to miss his big splash. It was time for us to start part 2 of our big Puffin Adventure.