Under the Sea - la la la

How many of you are in love with aquariums? Personally I am a huge fan. I used to visit the Seattle Aquarium multiple times a year. The exhibits never really change, but I enjoy it just the same. My favorite parts are the octopus, cuttle fish, sea dragons, jelly fish and otters. How come aquariums never have any squids? So disappointing. I've come to develop a fierce loyalty to the aquarium in Seattle, so going to new ones makes me wonder if they'll stack up. I don't even know how the Seattle one stacks up to the others in the US, I just know that I love it.

When visiting the aquarium in San Francisco with my mom November of last year, I was mightily impressed by their sea nettle exhibit. I stood in front of it for at least ten minutes just watching them float around, and I took some great pictures too. A cursory search of my archives shows that I apparently never posted photos from the aquarium. How did that happen?!

::: One of the many large and beautiful sea nettles at the San Francisco aquarium

On Friday Andrew and I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. You can rest assured that no one will be missing out on our experience, because this post will be pretty much all photos! We had a super amazing time and spent a whopping four hours there! The place was crazy crowded because of multiple elementary school field trips; I was nearly mown down by more than a few children.

The exhibits did not disappoint. The building was huge and had mini viewing tanks on the way to the actual exhibit areas! One viewing tank was three stories high! So impressive! We took our time exploring all there was to see, even back tracking and visiting some fishies multiple times. There were a lot of surprises too, including the most adorable white arctic fox and some absolutely terrifying bird encounters. We spent time with a boat load of sharks and I befriended a sea turtle.

Please enjoy these photos and join me in appreciating the wonder of the ocean world!

::: Super tall viewing tank

::: Beautiful clown fishies and adorable sea horses

 ::: Elegant jellyfish and the most beautiful crab I've ever seen

::: Leafy sea dragons are one of my most favorites things/creatures EVER

::: Prowling fish and an eel hugging a lobster

 ::: Beady eyed pipefish-type creature

::: A Lorikeet. There was an area full of them and they were scaring the crap out of me

::: The majestic sea turtle <3

::: Beautiful and impressive sea star

::: I love that rays always look happy

::: Lone fish and the most adorable garden eel

::: Teeny tiny shrimp!

::: White Arctic fox; this little guy stole my heart

The few non-aquatic creatures that were present have me seriously jonesing for a trip to the zoo. Maybe sometime soon Andrew and I will go to the San Diego one? That would be so great!

Overall  I give this aquarium a very high ranking! They only had one octopus and it was hiding big time. That was a let down, but it's also very common. My biggest complaint is their lack of cuttle fish. What gives?! Perhaps I'll write them a letter ;)

What's your favorite aquatic creature? :D

-MJ