Dallas World Aquarium Adventure

I had one of my "on a whim" moments on Friday night, and decided we would go to Dallas World Aquarium on Saturday morning. I was so proud of us! We woke up, didn't dilly-dally (we are classic, expert dilly-dalliers who don't usually end up leaving the house until Noon or later most of the time), and were out the door by 9:45! And it was a good thing, too! Because when we got to the aquarium, there was no line whatsoever to get in (not like the line as we were leaving, which was literally an hour and a half from the door - WHAT?!). However, despite there being no line at the time, there must have been quite a line right before we got there, because the place was packed like a sardine can, the rest of the way through. You'd have to go there to experience it, but all I can say is the path was claustrophobically narrow, at least with all the people there at the time. It made it very difficult to stop and look at the animals, because you (or at least in my case) were too worried about being in people's way or having your stroller run into them. I was also confused by the idea that we were in an aquarium, yet we were looking at birds and monkeys...Not necessarily a bad thing, I love monkeys as much as the rest of 'em, I just think Dallas World Rainforest or Jungle might be a more appropriate name. One of the first things we saw was this guy:

We couldn't believe they were soooo, soooo trusting of people to let this little guy just hang out in an unguarded tree right in the middle of the path. He was literally right there at eye level. I suppose maybe they are relying on the sloth's natural defenses to keep people from a tempting touch...I've heard that as slow as they are, you don't want to mess with a sloth. So, admittedly, that was pretty awesome. 

We lost a bit of faith in humanity as we passed by the river otters and saw that someone had thrown a water bottle into their habitat and they were playing with it. Sure, I'm glad they were happy to have a new toy (they really did look like they were having fun!), but on the flip side: Seriously, guys? Really?!

 There were two humongous crocodiles that were pretty awesome too, especially for Dresden with his love of 'diles' as he calls them, but I don't seem to have been given the ability to post that picture (because Alex didn't give me the picture!)...And so we move on to the gentler, tinier turtles.

 Dresden up close and personal with some rays in a tank that was just his height...

This octopus was SO cool. 

He just kept his head hidden most of the time, so the tentacles were all we could really see. I got a few peeks at his eye though.

Dresden was looking up in the tunnel at the sharks swimming overhead.

This was our view just moments before...This picture gives you an excellent idea of the entire experience. These people were with us and/or in front of us almost every step of the way. I'm not clinically claustrophobic or anything, but let me just say I am glad there wasn't a fire.

This shark's skin reminded me of an old WWII-era airplane. 

The picture doesn't do justice to just how GIGANTIC this sea turtle was...I guess sharks don't mess with sea turtles? 'Cuz he was in there swimming along with them. Maybe he's on some fairly high doses of anti-anxiety medication. I couldn't do it, myself.

Dresden and Daddy in their matchy plaid shirts, lol.

 Hello, Mr. Sawtooth

Watching a shark swim by...

How many different kinds of manta rays/sting rays are there?! I am so confused now after seeing this guy, who I guess is just like Mr. Ray from Nemo, because he has a shark-like face, but a sting ray body and tail. Enlighten me? Do I have any marine biologist followers? I better get some.

 I just had to include this one because it's (imho) fairly amazing, both photographically-speaking, 

and cute-baby-boy-subjectly-speaking

Dresden and me

 Cool glowing seahorse

 Butterfly cocoons. I thought these were pretty cool. 

(And I'm pretty proud of myself for being the one who took this picture, lol!)

Mr. Owl - I love these guys.

And another favorite creature of mine - BATS!

This was another one of my favorite parts - a dance troupe called Grupo Pakal performs there on the weekends dressed in traditional Mayan ceremonial garb, playing drums and flutes and dancing in some sort of ritual/ceremony. This one was the celebration of the butterfly and spring. Dresden had fun doing some rain-dance moves of his own.

Such a beautiful cat! She/he? (probably she) was right up against the glass staring at us, and right at Dresden at one point. I said "It's okay kitty, I just want to eat him up, too!"

And a flamingo pyramid!

So! This post is a thousand pages long! But that was our trip to the Dallas World Aquarium. Some amazing things to see - but I would completely recommend going on a Tuesday when you are the first people to arrive at the ticket booth. And if you do go on a weekend - do NOT bring your stroller unless you want to endure unending hassles and frustrations - there is just not enough room. But then of course you have to contend with the frustrating possibility of your toddler wandering off on you. (Note to self: look into a harness for Dresden, I think it may be time.) Still, of the things we could see, there was lots of cool stuff, and Dresden did enjoy himself overall.

After the aquarium, we ate at a terrible (service-wise) restaurant called The Butcher Shop, where Dresden's "turkey sandwich" consisted of a dry, hard hamburger bun and Oscar Meyer deli turkey rolled up on it. Not cool! But my chicken salad sliders were pretty good, regardless. And then we walked around the West End for a little bit. That place just isn't what it used to be...What happened to it?! I had waves of nostalgia when we passed by the Planet Hollywood dinosaur (celebrated three? or four? birthdays there!), and felt a bit sad that it looked like that entire marketplace was probably empty. But maybe that just means there will be some kind of awesome economic revival there in the future with all new, better restaurants and businesses. That gives me hope at least!

Okay, so I will end there. As you may have seen on Facebook - I get the next four/five-ish hours to go and do whatever I want, and I MUST take advantage of that! :-D

Have a great Sunday!

Love,

Cassie