Our Trip to the Seattle Aquarium

Another rare sunny day in Seattle & Gerritt was prepared!


Gerritt found the sea otters to be utterly adorable!




Gerritt admiring the starfish (they can be touched, by the way)


Sophia trying to catch the fish


A sea anemone


Gerritt & Sophia fascinated with the Ring of Life (a plastic ring filled with slowly circulating jellyfish)




Instead of observing the fish in the Underwater Dome, Sophia spent most of her time crawling back & forth along the seating bench

This week, rather than going to the Crossroads Mall for our weekly day off activity, I've decided to take the kids to the Seattle Aquarium. Typically, I am a homebody & consider it too much trouble to go anywere unfamiliar or to a place that requires longer than 15 minutes of driving. So, I've really surprised myself by planning a trip to downtown Seattle (just the thought of finding parking there sends the chills down my spine) WITHOUT my irreplaceable GPS (my husband used it recently & forgot to put it back into my car) & with BOTH kids. I laugh at how bold I've become because I feared going to the grocery store with both of them not so long ago.
The Google maps came in handy again, & after writing the driving directions to & from downtown, we all headed out. Getting ready part is a true work out & a test of one's organizational skills. Stroller, diapers, wipes, snacks (usually protein, fruit, dairy), a change of clothes, kids' favorite toys, a blanket, Sophia's formula in a bottle, water, photo camera, money - the list is pretty long. I like to travel in comfort & be prepared for as many scenarios as possible.
The Aquarium was surprisingly full for a Monday morning, & I felt slightly annoyed since I don't like crowds. Of course, the Seattle Aquarium is nothing like the Monterey Bay Aquarium or The Sea World in San Diego, but we are fortunate to have it nonetheless. It turned out to be a fun day as Gerritt & Sophia explored the Aquarium's surroundings. Sophia was having so much fun, she refused her usual mid-morning nap.
We saw a multitude of indoor & outdoor exhibits with our favorite ones being the blue lobster, star fish, sea otters & harbor seals. The otters really knew how to have fun - they kept diving, chasing & playing with each other. Gerritt kept saying, "Aaah, cutie pie!" & laughing. The Underwater Dome was impressive as well - schools of large fish in the filtered sunlight. I could not contain Sophia in the stroller! She wanted to crawl, walk & run everywhere, so I got plenty of exercise along the way. Both of the kids really enjoyed the hands-on area where they could touch rockfish, sea stars & plankton, & I barely convinced them to move on from The Ring of Life - illuminated glass "donut" teeming with dozens of jellyfish.
As expected on the first trip, we didn't get to see everything. I felt happy not to get a parking ticket for going 40" over my allowed 2-hour time limit. No one pooped in their pants & no one had a temper tantrum. Seattle has about 6 months of the rainy weather left, so I am confident there is another Aquarium trip in store for us this year. :-)