Aquarium Day – how to turn a wet day into something otherworldly

Henry and Kelly joined us in Kitty Hawk on Monday evening, just in time for two days of cold, spitting rain. Fortunately, Bob had booked tickets to the North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke for Tuesday morning.

Friends make any day more fun, and the aquarium was a dry place to immerse ourselves in marine life. We only got slightly wet walking in from the parking lot.

We all took a half step back each time this enormous shark swam our way. I thought his/her wide open eye gave her/him a terrified look, but I doubt that is accurate. Sharks, like many animals, cannot share their feelings via their face because they lack the required musculature. Sometimes I wish my face were not so expressive. Maybe that’s why people pay for botulinum toxin injections.

Bob took this photo of a green tree frog, one of the cutest animals on earth.

Bob and I loved swimming with angelfish and the like in the warm waters of the Caribbean. Some mornings, still, I wake up and ask him, “If you could do anything today, what would it be?” He always turns to me and says, “Go snorkeling!”

While I was gaping at an alligator, Bob walked around the corner and got this picture of two beady-eyed caimans.

A pair of seahorses doing whatever it is seahorses do. These are one of Camille’s favorite animals.

At an interactive exhibit, we were encouraged to pick up plastic sea turtles embedded with chips, put them on scanners, and discover their ailments. Camille soon learned that her turtle had a gut impaction, probably caused by plastic which was ironic considering the turtle’s physiology.

Nothing you would want to touch, but reportedly good to eat, the lionfish swam languid laps around their tank. Also, they have a face only their mothers could love.

The sting of a moon jelly is not as painful as that of other jellyfish.

We didn’t get the name of these jellyfish with the super long tentacles and that lovely pattern on their cap. If you know what they are, please let us know.

Pacific sea nettles dance like no one is watching, which of course, we all were because how could you not be mesmerized by their sinuous waltz.

These nettles have four frilly arms and a slew of thin tentacles.

I watched the sea nettles rise and fall, otherworldly, pumping slowly around the tank. I took more photos than I care to admit, and when I looked at the pictures later, I had trouble believing they were real.

We go to museums to see and learn, and to while away grey mornings. How deliciously fun to come away with blown minds and a renewed respect for nature.