Aquarium of the Pacific

As Josh is getting older, we are trying to find what things interest him and keep him entertained. We went to a local small zoo a few weeks back and Josh didn't seem all the impressed. We thought if he had a good time we might buy annual passes and return frequently. But with his lackluster reaction, we figured Josh wasn't quite old enough yet to make that worth it.

This past weekend Jim and I had our first weekend away without Josh. Thanks to my parents and sister taking him on, we headed to Las Vegas for a great getaway. Since Monday was a holiday, we decided to make that a family day with Josh after our absence. We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach which is quite nice.

Josh absolutely loved it! He was so interested in the animals because they were so close and he loved seeing all the other kids. It was great! This time we decided to get passes. It was only double the daily ticket price, so with one more visit, it has already paid for itself.

When we walked up to the Harbor Seal exhibit, one immediately swam right up to Josh. It was amazing.



Then we found a nice spot by some sharks that Josh loved splashing the water. He didn't really notice the creatures just below him, but I'm sure he will one day soon.




I look forward to taking him for little visits throughout the year. And on some hot day, I'll let him play in the "wet zone"!

VOLLLL - CCAAAAAAA - NNOOOOO!!!!!

Last week we went to Rain Forest Cafe with Jim's family. I was surprised to realize that they have never been to a restaurant with Josh. For the most part he is a lot of fun when dining out. He always charms the staff and he is pretty well behaved.

At Rain Forest, they have this colossal dessert called the Volcano. It is piled up scoops of ice cream with big slabs of brownie piled up on the sides, topped off with whip cream and a sparkler pom-pom. They bring it through the restaurant yelling "VOOOOOLLLLL - CCAAAAAAA - NNNOOOOOOOOOO!" You hear it all night long.

So for our big group we decided to split one. Josh was in a great mood and just being silly. His reaction to the volcano was priceless:




It's hard to see because it was so dark, but his mouth was agape the whole time. The restaurant also has the occasional rain storm with thunder and lightning and the animals all come to life in reaction. He loved that just as well.