Back to the Marine Science Center

We were back at the Marine Science Center again today, although we didn't see any familiar faces there this time around.  The place, of course, was all too familiar for Madison, who has spent a few summer camps here, and outside of that about three other visits.

These two, however, have never been.  It was interesting that the grandparents, who live so close by, have yet to visit the Marine Science Center, but we were happy to show it off as if we were the locals that lived nearby.  They had a great time.

We started out with this guy here, a red tail hawk named Luna.  She got her name not from any phase of the moon, or any celestial event.  It comes from the fact that she is known to act like a complete lunatic.

The presentation was actually interesting, as when you go to these things, there's always something new to learn.  Which is what we did - this year we've learned a lot about the raptors, some amazingly gifted birds.

But as you can see, there are plenty of other creatures at the Marine Science Center, including this octopus.  Don't worry - it's just one octopus, not two.  Two would be sixteen arms too many!

This time Daddy took a camera in and actually spent some time taking pictures as Nana, Ba-Ba, Mommy and Madison all looked around at the exhibits.  Madison was being the perfect host, and showed off the tidal pool where you could pet the manta rays.  Nana was enjoying that!

The girls were having a fun time here.  There's something about all the animals, and the mission of this place that makes everyone feel special.

There are all kinds of sea life here to see, and it's all just down the road from the grandparents' condo.  They enjoyed visiting the tanks, and seeing all the different creatures in different sorts of environments.

These fish were in a reef environment, and it looks as if these sea horses below maybe stayed up a little too late on New Year's Eve:

The main attraction was the sea turtle ICU, which you can see the family checking out now.  This area has a screen and a map of sorts that show what turtles are here and where.

It also shows what had happened to the sea turtles in order to bring them to the hospital in the first place, and in what stages of recovery each creature is in.  Here's the ICU below, something we've seen several times.

Visitors can't go down there, but there's a place where everyone can see the patients from above, as you can see here:

They spent a good amount of time there, overlooking the patients, and talking to the worker there, who was happy to let us all know about each sea turtle.

Nana was very moved by it all, grateful for a place that can keep these creatures safe.  And of course, there are more than just the sea creatures there.

We went back to see Luna and the other birds in the sanctuary area in the other area of the center, and spent some time there seeing the bald eagles, red tail hawks, owls and other birds of prey.  They were feeding the pelicans and seagulls too:

They were enjoying that bit.  Anyway, it was a nice time there, and I've probably posted too many pictures of it for the moment.  We went to Chick-Fil-A after this, and then back to the condo.  This morning, we saw dolphins outside in the ocean, so it was quite a day for wildlife.

Upon getting back, we went for a nice walk along the beach, just the three of us.  It was nice.  The weather is so perfect here right now, while the rain is pouring, pouring, pouring back home.  Back in Georgia, there is more flooding and more soaking weather.  Here, everything is simply perfect.

Tonight we watched "The Grim Grotto," and read some more:  we're reading X-Men comics and "Peter and the Shadow Thieves."  We sit out on the balcony overlooking the sea, watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, playing some Mario Odyssey or Roboblox, or working on ancestry research or reading from a few other books... Daddy even wrote a new message for our upcoming dinosaur series.  It's been a relaxing time here.