National Aquarium
Went to National Aquarium in Baltimore today. What a great experience. Baltimore's Inner Harbor was clean and vibrant and alive. It made the idea of city life seem exciting. Dolphin show was ehhh. The dolphins themselves were great. I just wished the MC would have done less talking and allowed the dolphins to show off their talents more. After all, its called a DOLPHIN SHOW, not a wannabe actor/marine mammal trainer show. Anyway, it was still pretty cool. We sat in the "Splash Zone" and the kids both got soaked. Shane's first rxn was to laugh, but then rethought it and stole Kristen's jacket from off her lap to hide from subsequent splashing. Liv did NOT like getting unexpectedly splashed.

The facility itself is pretty neat. Olivia love climbing up on the little built-in foot stools in front of most of the displays. It was neat to watch her protect her space on the step from three older boys without being overly aggressive, mean, or agitated. It was if she was saying, "Look, I have a right to be here, too. Don't mess with me." A stranger who was eerily going the same pace as us in the nearly empty aquarium, even noticed her ability to hold her own, and told me I should sign her up for soccer. I'm thinking Harvard Business School.

After getting what should have been a quick bite to eat, but nothing is as quick as you'd think when two adults are outnumbered 2-to-1 by children in an unfamiliar town, we got ice cream and went down to the outdoor ampitheater where there was a steel drum band playing. We listened and dance for quite a while. It was neat to see the kids interacting and playing with kids from various cultures. Got home well after ten.