For a long time, the weekends were a mixed bag. Sometimes we’d plan an outing but often we’d sit at home thinking we should be doing something fun, but all we’d manage was a trip to Home Depot. And then Monday would come and we’d feel like we hadn’t had a weekend at all, and that was disappointing. Then we got a membership at the Seattle Aquarium.
We’d been members when Sam was little but we let it lapse because all he wanted to do was climb up and down the stairs in front of the seal tank. No playing in the touch pool, no looking at the otters, and God forbid you try to get him to look at a fish. It was weird and frustrating and led to a lot of tantrums from Sam and his mommy alike. But as he got older and started to care more about animals, and actually wanted to look at a few exhibits when we’d visit the zoo, and then found the movie Finding Dory, we started to think he might be ready for the aquarium. And his sister–definitely. She loves fish. She loves exploring. So we went for a visit. It was a blast.
We go to the aquarium on Sundays because parking is free, and also because members get in early on Sundays in the summer. It’s really great to get in a half an hour before the crowd, especially with kids like mine who tend to wander and escape and who don’t have a good time in crowds. They love to be the only kids in front of the wall of fish that greets you as you walk in the door, then run down the hallway and go straight for the little photo opp cutouts–we have dozens of pictures like this:
Then Violet’s off to the touch pool, where she likes to poke the anemone but mostly she splashes in the water, while Sam runs through the jellyfish arch and maybe looks at the octopus, all the while talking about Nemo and Dory.
Sam still likes to go up and down the steps by the seal tank, but it’s no longer the main attraction.
Partly because he and his sister discovered this lovely pile of rocks and shells (Violet calls it the slide):
And don’t forget the lovely staircase leading up to the snack bar:
And, of course, the tank with the Dory fish.
Mommy and Daddy still don’t get quite as much time admiring marine life as we’d like, but the kids’ interests are broadening every day. Not every visit is completely fun-filled, with the kids occasionally throwing tantrums when things aren’t the way they expected, or when silly Mommy insists on doing things like admiring the puffins while they clean their feathers or watching the seals being fed. Still, it’s a fun outing and we’ve definitely gotten our money’s worth. And maybe one day our kids will appreciate even more of the Seattle Waterfront. They’ve got a little growing to do.
The Sensitive, Bookish Type 