Philly Trip Part 2: Adventure Aquarium

The second day of our trip we went to the Adventure Aquarium across the river in Camden, NJ. We had never been there before so it was new for all of us. We got there right when they opened which, unfortunately, was also when all the school groups were arriving. Thank goodness it didn't take long to get in!

We just started wandering around with no real purpose. Norah wasn't really interested at first. There were lots of little exhibits that she was ready to move on pretty quickly. We finally found a HUGE tank that had all kinds of fish in there. There were different kinds of sharks, fish and giant sea turtles. They were very cool. We spent quite a bit of time around this tank. 

We found penguins and seals outside. We happened to be outside when the seals were doing a little show. We watched this guy swim onto the rock and catch a Frisbee. There was also an area that was a kids play area. Norah really liked climbing on the animals. And she REALLY liked those metal drums. She spent a lot of time playing them all. 

This aquarium had lots of different areas to pet different things. There was an area to pet sting rays and sharks. Norah acted like she wanted to pet them but then freaked out last minute. So Mitch pet them instead. I did pet one of the sharks. There was one that swam around the edge of the area showboating. He had his head out of the water and was very "look at me look at me!" So I did and I pet him. He felt like sandpaper. 

Then we found the piece de resistance. The HIPPO exhibit. Yeah that's right there were hippos at the AQUARIUM. And let me tell you these guys were WAY cooler than the ones at the zoo. You wanna know why? Because you could stand at the big glass tank and watch them under water. It was so freakin cool. I didn't want to leave that spot. 

I may have enjoyed this a little more than Norah did. But come on! Look at them! So huge and so awesome! Definitely a highlight for me. I love this picture of her standing there watching it walk by. So cool! 

Another great day of vacation and still more to come. One more fun day at the Please Touch Museum. Post to come later. 

And if you missed our first day checked out: Philly Trip Part 1: The Zoo

Philly Trip Part 1: The Zoo

This weekend we took at three day trip to Philly. Not really far from home but it was fun to get away for a few days. We took advantage of the City Pass (pay one price to get into a bunch of different attractions). The first place we went to was the Philadelphia Zoo. 

On our ride there I asked Norah what her favorite animal was. After a significant pause she said. "My favorite animal is......a hippo. Yeah I needa nice the hippo." I have no idea where that answer came from but I think a hippo is a pretty solid favorite animal. And I would like to say that now even several days later she still answers that the hippo is her favorite animal. And guess what they have TWO at the zoo. I googled it on the way and it said it was a newer exhibit so we were in luck! Yay hippos! They were kinda boring to watch they just kinda sat there almost all the way submerged in the water while we were there. We went back again on our way out and they were still doing the same but had moved slightly to the side. But Norah loved it. Hippos are pretty cool.

We spent most of the day wandering around the zoo. We saw giraffes, rhinos, zebras, flamingos and so much more. There was a really cool gorilla that was just hanging out in the one area of the habitat literally posing for pictures! He would shuffle around, sigh, and place his chin on his hand like he was posing for the pictures. One of the staff members walked by while we were there and said "oh that's, fill-in-name-here, he's always getting into trouble." We commented on how he was posing for pictures and apparently that's normal for him. He likes it. Who knew? 

 

 

I have found through our various trips to zoo's over the year that I kinda like the red panda. They had them there and I saw a glimpse of it's tail but there were people blocking the opening to look at them and by the time they moved the it was in a crevice where you could only see it's hanging tail. But I know it was there. Here is a picture of one that we took at the D.C. zoo last year. So cute! 

 

 

The zoo was so much fun for all of us. It was great to see Norah get so excited when she saw different animals. Or not really be impressed with some and be like "let's find a different one." Seriously I don't know where she comes up with the stuff that comes out of her mouth!

Later that night after checking in to the hotel and vegging out on the bed watching a movie we finally decided on where to go for dinner. We went to a place called Tony Luke's for cheesesteaks. Traffic was terrible getting there, I seriously don't know how people can travel on the Schuylkill every day. That road is terrible! Anyway, Norah was in the back watching Yo Gabba Gabba on her iPod touch and we thought she was being so content watching it quietly in the back seat. Well the show ended and I heard nothing from her. I turned around to find that she had let the iPod fall into her lap and she had passed out! Did I mention she didn't take a nap? Yeah so she had a nice little nap while sitting in traffic. 

 

It was a great day at the zoo. Here are some pictures of us from the day. Watching animals, riding the carousel (because what trip isn't complete without a carousel ride?), and just plain being cute.

 

 

Day two of our trip was the aquarium. But I'll tell you all more about that in another post so this one isn't hugemongus.