The Aquarium Adventure

Sorry this is so late! I came home from Dallas, and DH immediately wanted us to go on a three-day adventure camping in the woods in a cabin (thank God, a cabin, not a tent), which meant no Internet access. Oh, the withdrawal. Then I hit the migraine wall for several days, which put me behind on the book that's due in a few days, which means Priority One became the book, and getting better.

Speaking of that, I have gone back to running and exercising, because I know my neuro will want to hear that, yes, I am taking his advice and fitting in exercise. Plus, I would rather not spend my life in bed, fighting off a headache. I had heard that Britney Spears got her stomach back in shape after Baby #1 by working out an hour and a half a day and doing 1000 crunches a day. Well, I don't have the hour and a half, but I decided to try the 1000 crunches.

Ha-ha. I started with 100. Couldn't bend over for two days ;-). But I'm happy to say that a week later, I'm up to 300 crunches and 30 girl push-ups a day (well, most days). I tell my daughter I'm doing my Britney workout for the day. She, who is 14 and a size 0, thinks I'm pathetic (of course, I will remind her of all these eye rolls when she's a blink away from 40 and fighting the two-kids body). Anyway, I've gone running twice now, and already got back up to a mile and three-quarters (running 2/3s of that, walking part of the middle of the trek). The iPod does make the journey much more pleasant :-).

Okay, on to the Texas State Aquarium Adventure story I promised. It was a total blast. Every animal there is named, which was just so cute. This is Bitsy, the rehab turtle. The aquarium has a pretty extensive turtle rehab program (right now the turtle rehab area is under construction while they make them a new and improved area, so a lot of the turtles were spread out among different exhibits). These turtles have different problems that have brought them to the aquarium, but most of them had at least one missing flipper. If they are able to be rehabilitated and released back into the wild, then they are, but if they can't function in the wild, then the TSA keeps them and takes care of them. Bitsy was really cute but wouldn't stay still for a good photo :-).

This is Dusty and Merlin, two otters who were completely hilarious to watch. When I saw them early in the morning, they were really active (and very loving with each other). They were all over the otter pool, up and down the slide, in and out of the tunnel, just everywhere. But when I went back later in the day, when it was hotter, they apparently had found their lazy time and were napping ;-).

The TSA had another otter, a little pup, who didn't play so well with Dusty and Merlin (he was teething, so he bit everyone) and he was kept in the office, with a little kiddie pool and lots and lots of toys. He was adorable (I was so entranced, I completely forgot to take a picture!).

The dolphin up above is, I think, Cobie, who was the sick one that week. The aquarium keeps meticulous records on the dolphins, and a detailed schedule for all the dolphin tests, from their weight to their blood. One thing I hadn't realized was that dolphins are trained, not to put on shows for everyone, but mainly for medical reasons. If you can't get a dolphin to open his mouth or sit on a scale, then there's no way you can check him for medical tests. The staff told me dolphins mask their symptoms really well so the only way to tell if one is sick is to keep an eye on all their tests.

Everyone at the aquarium was totally fabulous and friendly. I'll share more pictures over the coming days and weeks (but that book has to go in first!). If you are ever in Corpus Christi, be sure to stop by the aquarium!!

Now, one more treat for my readers--because I am on deadline (and woefully behind on everything!!), I am going to have guest bloggers for the next few weeks in between my own blogs. Look for lots of great authors to be posting recipes from their own kitchens!

Shirley