Baltimore Aquarium 2008...

Liz, Amanda, Christina, Mom and I went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore over the weekend. We left around 9:00am on Saturday and along the way, we stopped at a truck stop somewhere near Dover, Delaware. We loaded up on travelling munchies and headed out. We arrived in Baltimore around 11:00am. Upon arriving in downtown Baltimore, we stumbled upon a wedding ceremony -- complete with drums and news crews and a police barricade. We walked a few blocks to the aquarium and found that we couldn't go in until 4:00pm.

So, with a few hours to kill, we walked over to a local book store to hang out for a bit. We had coffee, juice and cookies at a cafe in the book store. Mom picked up a stack of books and Liz and Amanda picked up two books. Around 2:00pm we headed out to Mo's for seafood. Mom saw a program on Food Network where Guy had visited Mo's and raved about their crabs. When we got to the restaurant, it looked a bit different from what Mom remembered. But, it wasn't until we were actually ready to order, that we realized that Mo's had two restaurants and we were not in the one featured on Guy's program. In fact, we were in a restaurant featured in Rachael Ray's program on Food Network. Mom was heartbroken, but, we persevered and made the best of our experience. As it turned out, Mom had the best crab cakes she ever had in her life.

Around 3:30pm, we headed back to the aquarium and hung out for a bit while we waited to go in. At 4:00pm, we went in. In the lobby, we saw a two-story waterfall above a large fish tank. We went up to the second level and saw a huge jaw from an extinct species of giant shark. We paid for three pictures of our group standing in the giant mouth. But, the clerk had accidentally printed five pictures and gave us the extra two for free. Near the giant mouth is a wall a tubes filled with water and lit from within. Periodically, bubbles flow through the tubes and with the lighting, the bubbles provided a wonderful backdrop for photos.

The first big encounter with fish was in a giant pool filled with all manner of rays, turtles and fish. Then there were a series of exhibits showcasing different marine environments. The exhibits continued upwards in a spiral that spanned three floors. At the top, we passed through a rain forest exhibit. There wasn't much in terms of wildlife to see. But, there was a great deal to be heard. After the rain forest, we descended into a reef simulation. There were some small fish to be seen here and there, but, not much else. Below the reef exhibit, were the sharks. Everyone enjoyed the sharks. Afterwards, we made our final decent to the lobby and headed home. We got home around 10:00pm.