Lost But Loving It...In Alaska!: The Boston Aquarium

I realize how much stuff I do when I sit down to go over two weeks of pictures and it takes me a whole evening. The oldest pictures that I had not yet reviewed were from a couple of weeks ago in Boston. I guess I can tie in Boston to the Bermuda blog for the following reasons:

1. There is a daily flight between Bermuda and Boston. This makes it a possible stopover for anyone travelling to Bermuda on Delta that would like to take a day or two to experience Boston and some American history as well. If you stay in Bermuda long enough, you will likely overnight in Boston at some point, and it's a great city to explore and enjoy.

2. Referring back to the medical system, Bermuda has a partnership with medical facilities in Boston including the Lahey Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham Women's Hospital and Boston Children's Hospital. Many Bermuda residents will be referred to Boston for various medical conditions and treatments in their lifetime.

3. It's my blog, and therefore where I go, the blog goes, but we keep coming back to Bermuda.

On previous trips to (and blogs about) Boston, I walked the Freedom Trail, Boston Common, went to the Top of the Hub for cocktails, did some shopping at Copley Plaza and the Prudential system, and photographed all the historic buildings I could make my way to. So on this trip I decided to look for things a little bit different to do. I made it to the bar "Cheers" for some chicken wings and a seasonal Sam Adams beer (brewed in Boston of course). I did some shopping at the Quincy Market. I googled "oldest restaurant in Boston" and came up with the Union Oyster House, est 1826.

Old...but not as old as Bermuda's Tom Moore's Tavern. I met up with Cherie and Lisa, and although they made a killer cornbread that they served while waiting on the main course, everyone was pretty quiet about the food, and sadly, 188 years practice was not long enough for them to perfect the flavours. I was a little disappointed about the blandness of my food and the accompanying sauces...but to be fair, none of us ordered seafood, which presumably they serve up much better at being an an oyster house and all. I would have liked to try the lobster, but they only serve it whole. I am too cowardly to look my meal in the face. It was nice to see a couple of Bermuda ex-expats all the same.

I had hoped to do the Ghost Tours of Boston...they advertise "follow in the footsteps of the Boston Strangler," and I envisioned wonderful spooky night photos on old cobblestone streets with spooky old trees (because almost every tree in Boston is a spooky old tree...it's kind of strange actually, I kept expecting to see Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman around every corner). The ghost tours only start in April. While -8 C heralds spring in Canada, it is a little too cold for Bostonians. The "Duck tours" which is a water based tour is also cancelled in the winter. This I understand, as cold wind on the water really does feel too cold for fun for me. So I settled on going to the Boston Aquarium. It is not a huge facility, but it is really nice, with a 4 story fish tank and a good penguin and fur seal display.

Hi Nemo!

Now Nemo was hiding out in one of the smaller side tanks. He would have been a crouton or other hors d'oveur in the big tank. The big tank was host to this absolutely massive fellow.

Turtlesaurus rex

Turns out the turtle is over 90 years old. She was born in the wild, and I missed the presentation that said how and why she ended up at the aquarium. Hopefully she doesn't mind this big tank too much.

The tanks was also host to a couple of stingray, and several main course fish the size of my torso which I cannot identify, not being a big fish person. What I didn't really see until I viewed the photos was that some of them were emitting a bit of "current".

Super speedy fish

After a thorough exam of the fish tank, I headed off to the fur seal display. The giant male looks way different that the little bald headed seals, which are the females and pups.

The Mac-Daddy of seals

The little ones were quite funny to watch

No Papparazzi!

Look ma! I'm the Loch Ness Monster!

Surveying the rest of the aquarium I found a few other things. I don't know what this is but I am pretty sure we found the missing link.

Seriously, what is this and how many legs does it have because it certainly didn't swim while I was there. UPDATE: Jody tells me this is a Halibut and I have probably eaten one. I hope not. I would feel bad.

And some pretty glow in the dark jellyfish.

Jellyfish

And finally, the Aquarium's most famous character...the penguins. There are 3 types, which I was unable to document because penguins apparently do not like to sit still.