Under the Sea

"Darling it's better, down where it's wetter, take it from me! Up on the shore they WORK ALL DAY, out in the sun they slave away, while we devotin' full time to floatin' UNDER THE SEA!" (Lyrics excerpt from The Little Mermaid from Disney). Are you singing the song? You know you are!!!! Ahhh.....the beach. The SEA. And the wonderful sea creatures it beholds. Over this past Memorial Day weekend, Darby and I took Cameron to the Aquaruim at Pine Knoll Shores...conveniently located within walking distance of my dad's beach house. We decided to go ahead and get a family memnership as we will also be able to use the other NC Aquariums as well as the NC Zoo. We figured Cameron would enjoy these destinations over and over, and we wanted to start exposing him to these wonders at a young age. Cameron looked very dapper in his stroller as we arrived...I get the sense that babies know when they are on an adventure! Our first stop was a beautiful waterfall and we discovered the most amazing thing! If we stood behind the water, our camera captured the droplets! The pictures look pretty cool and I have to share them! The one of Darby and Cameron is so sweet. Next we saw a gigantic frog...I was a bit amazed they allowed it to run loose! But I managed to control my urge to hop away for a quick photo with the large amphibian. Next, Darby decided to allow Cameron to experience the "hands on" tank. I was a little hesitant at first considering it was full of sting rays and skates...but once I saw how much Cameron was enjoying himself (and was reassured that all the dangerous aspects of the animals had been removed) I took a ton of photos. The best part was when a sting ray came up and stuck his tail straight out of the water and Cameron grabbed his tail...he was thrilled...and I began envisioning the tail becoming a new kind of teether/sushi...and our new membership being revoked. I removed the tantalizing sting ray tail and we moved on to the large shark tank! Wow! There were tons of fish in that tank and Cameron and Darby loved watching them! We bought Cameron a stuffed sting ray to commemorate the occasion...and took a very happy baby home to enjoy a bottle. What a fun day! I highly recommend escaping to the sea...discovering the creatures that live there...and relaxing.