Life Aquatic

So my little sister came into town this week, and I have lots to update. First stop after picking here up was Pier 39 to check out the sealions! Loved it! The pier is a lot more touristy than I usually like to go, and the parking is hellish, but we had an awesome time.

We decided to check out the Aquarium of the Bay while we were there and were shocked by how much we enjoyed ourselves. The space is thoughtfully arranged to get the most out of a rather small aquarium. Their main attractions are the two large tunnels where the fish, skates and sharks swim over you.



This is one of the coolest/most disturbing things I have ever seen! This is a skate (original member of the stingray family) egg sac that's had part of the casing removed and replaced with clear plastic. What you see inside is a live, developing embryo. It evoked myriad emotions in us, but it was definitely fascinating to see this most-private of life's stages exposed.

I also had my first "touch pool" experience at the aquarium - I have been to billions of aquariums, and never done it before. I made friends with several of the bat rays and skates there. They felt slimy like those grow-your-own-dinosaur-in-water things. Aside from the amount of small child slobber/snot it put me in contact with, it was awesome!