Author: 2019tv

I blog about things in general although I am particularly interested in photography and love taking pictures.

Dallas World Aquarium

Although it is called an aquarium, I think that the title indoor zoo would be much more appropriate. Given the chance to visit here or the zoo in the summer, this wins. But only because our usual outdoor temperatures are at or near 100 degrees Farenheit. All other times of the year, it is a toss up because they are both very nice.

Even before you enter the building, you know that this will be a different experience. On the walkway up to the door, there are birds, fish, monkeys and even a stork. Immediately after entering the door, there are penguins swimming and entertaining you. From there, you climb a staircase. At the top of the stairs are more birds and an actual indoor waterfall that is two or three stories high. On the island in the middle of the water is a large tree with monkeys hiding throughout it. There are numerous ducks and all kinds of fish swimming around the island. From here you slowly wind your way through the building, seeing fish and other animals at every turn. One of our favorites is the sloth. Usually he is high in the tree and has his head buried, but on our last trip with the grandchildren, he was down low and eating.

Sloth

As you continue winding around the exhibit, you encounter more birds, an otter and even several crocodile.

On one of the lower levels near the cafeteria, there is an area with lots of coral, urchins and other exotic and interesting fish. My favorite is the seahorses. I could watch them for hours.

My other favorite animal at this amazing place is the manatee. He usually carries around a board with him. We think it is his security blanket.

Manatee with security blanket

As you continue meandering you way through the building heading towards the end of the exhibit, there is a tunnel that you can walk through with all types of unusual fish, like sawfish and sharks swimming on the sides and on top of you.

Tunnel with fish swimming around you on three sides

When in Dallas, if you like animals of all kinds, the World Aquarium is a wonderful place to visit. It is in downtown Dallas and easily accessible. You can ride the Dart train, take Uber or Lyft or your own car. Parking is directly across the street from the building. If you would like more information about the Aquarium please go to their homepage: https://dwazoo.com/

A Week in the Life of Grandparents

Last week we had a wonderful week with two of our younger grandsons. Both of their parents work, and that particular week we decided to keep them. First of all, dealing with younger kids is exhausting but fun! Their parents dropped them off Sunday afternoon. Monday we drove to Houston to take them to the Johnson Space Center. First, we ate at a wonderful restaurant called Joe Lee’s. They have really good seafood. We got one child’s plate of popcorn shrimp. It came with two veggies. There was so much food that we fed both boys, who have healthy appetites, and had food left over. We got butterflied shrimp. It was great, and we had ample food also. Then we decided to go to the Space Center and ride one of the tram rides so that we would have more time the next day. When we arrived the power was off in the main building, but the rest of the buildings had their power. That took about an hour and a half because the boys were amazed by the Saturn V rocket. It was the hit of the trip. By the way, we could go for such a short period of time because we had a membership and didn’t have to pay for each day separately. We have twelve grandchildren and have been able to take all of them at some point during the year with the membership. After that we went back to the motel to swim.

We got up the next morning, and went back to the Space Center. By about 1:30pm. the boys had had enough and were ready to go. They are only first and third graders. We drove back home and put them to bed after supper.

Wednesday they went to “the cousins” house to play with the boys. Thursday, we took them to see other cousins. They normally don’t get to see these relatives because they live in Arkansas, and we live in Texas. Friday we visited the Dallas World Aquarium, which is actually more like an indoor zoo. Air conditioning on hot summer days in Texas is really appreciated. Saturday, we met their parents half way and dropped them off.

Then on Saturday on our way home we picked up three grandsons who spent the night and cut our grass for us. After church, their family came and picked them up and left the two older girls to spend the rest of the day with us. My daughter-in-law picked the girls up at 10pm.

As you can see, we really enjoy our grandchildren. They keep us busy, but we have a great time doing things with them.