Aqualads: Jumpin' Jellyfish! (Dan x PorkChop go to the Aquarium) 🦑🦑🦑

Seeing as I'm not back to work as of yet, I figured it would be a good time to catch up on some of the blogs that I've yet to finish or in some case start. This blog is one that you guys have been waiting for since I posted the aquarium photos on Instagram. (Not everyone, but I'm trying to be positive here.) Roughly two months ago, Pork Chop and I headed down to the Long Island sound to check out the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT. (Links of course are down below for information, tickets and the latest and greatest the aquarium has to offer.) I love the ocean, so I'm excited to go and see what sea animals I can see and interact with. They'd better have a sting ray tank, they're my favourite. Just like when I was in Hunting Beach and I went to the big aquarium there, I got to pet the sting rays. I want to go to the aquarium in Boston, but I've not had the chance to. Actually, I have I just didn't want to pay the god awful price for a ticket lol. That will change though, I think before the summer is out I will have done a nice little day trip to Boston hit the aquarium, get tattooed and go home. Can't beat that, can you? I'm excited. I have the perfect shorts for the trip; they've got little rainbow crabs on them. Rocking matching tees with Pork Chop, we gather our little rucksack and head out. It's a little bit of a ride from us, but we've got Diet Coke, headphones and a brand new edible to try out. Normally I don't try new edibles in public, but this one is just a different flavour to the strawberry cheesecake bites that I had just tried. Yum, chocolate cheesecake. The shit that people are putting out these days is amazing. What a time we live in. We put on The Used and get lost in 2004 while we wait for the warm and loving euphoira to overtake us. A smile slides onto my face as he head further south. By the time we arrive at the aquarium, we're just at that peek point that we want to be. My shyness fades away. The anxiety of public places, the thoughts that I'm being watched or made fun of slip away from me. We purchased our tickets online early, so we walk up to the ticket booth so the guy can scan them for us. Fuckin' a, I'd love to work at an aquarium. I have so many jobs that I'd love to do and ones that I know I'd be good at. Does this mean it's time to move again? I've lived and spent so much time over the past 10 years travelling that it's nice to settle for a little bit. Doesn't mean that I'm not looking at other places to go. I can't help it; I think my anxiety makes me this restless. We walk into the aquarium; Warm waves of summer air hit us as does the cool of the building. It's the best feeling in the world. The first thing we see is the sting ray paddling pool. OH MY GOD. I have to resist the urge to knock all the children out of the way to get in there. I should have known that there would be children in the middle of a weekday here, but I wasn't really thinking. Maybe we'll play with them like we did with the kids in Stockholm. The kids don't take long in the paddle pool. I reach my hand right in. I'm not afraid of them. They're not really harmful. God I need to get a cute little stingray tattoo! The rays swim up to my waiting hand and I stroke them gently. They have a jelly-like, smooth texture to them. I can't get enough of it. I tickle a few of them. I don't want to move from the spot. In addition to the two types of sting rays they had in the pool, they had little sharks. A visit here is highly recommended, regardless of age! Seeing a new group of people coming in behind me, we move onto the tanks that line the walls. They're full of small sea life. OH MY CHRIST! THEY HAVE A JELLYFISH TANK TOO? Could this place get any better? A bright blue jellyfish covered in little white spots catches my attention. The bottoms of the tentacles are all curly-wurly and from a distance look like cauliflower heads. All I can think of is that blue jellyfish in Spongebob because of the colour. I wish they were friendly like the rays and little sharks were. Jellies of all shapes and sizes swim through the tank, hypnotising us. Is this part of a superpower? Are these things really Pokemon? We stare at the tank, lost in the movement. Feeling that free. Want to get into the water and swim around. It's been too long since I went for a nice swim. Don't like lakes and ponds though. That's where most serial killers tag, burry and molest their victims. As if someone was inside my head, sometime tells me to look to my left. There is a Jiggle a Jelly Station. (Okay, just gonna put that out there it's not as filthy as it seems and you know me, I love to jiggle more than a jelly. I love jiggles, the way they move...but maybe that's a blog for another time.) YOU CAN ACTUALLY PET A JELLYFISH! The woman at the stand let's me know that I can stick my hand in carefully and touch some of the jellies. Shivering with anticiaption I stick my hand in, Pork Chop gripping onto my shoulder. The jellies in the tank are a wonderful clear colour. Maybe the palest of pinks in certain lights. It's amazing. I watch them swim up to me and around me. I notice some windows almost glowing and that pulls us away from the hypnotic jellyfish. Waving goodbye to them, we head over and see that in the windows are giant tanks where the aquarium is rasing plankton. There's a whole other level to explore, so we head up to the next level following the signs for frogs, turtles and my personal favourite, the monitor lizard. Actually, as a kid, my sister had a lizard. It was the coolest thing ever. I'm actually thinking about getting a frog. Build a nice little stand in my lair for it. Maybe keep him over by my desk? I can't have him by the bed, the light would drive me mental. If the lizard isn't there I'm going to be so ragged out. They could at least put a sign up or a note on the website if certain animals weren't going to be there. My disappointment doesn't even have time to bubble up. We spot the monitor lizard. It's big but adorable. It's lounging in the shade, enjoying himself. I want to pet it. I know it's not a good idea, but I really want to. Maybe it's the weed talking. The warm feeling is consuming my entire body. I feel so peaceful. Nothing can happen to upset me. I could die right now in this spot and I'd be the happiest I'd ever felt. Sea creatures, lizards, Pork Chop and cannabis. I can't think of a better way to go. In addition to the frogs and turtles past the monitor lizard is a little forest enclosure. I wonder what lives in there. Curiosity gets the better of us and we look into the little tent only to see a skunk crawling out of it. OOH!And next to it is even a porcupine! I've seen skunks before but never a porcupine. It looks just like it does in that Homeward Bound film. It's amazing to get to see one in real life. They have the cutiest little monkey jumping around in his enclosure. I want to give him a hug. Most of the monkeys and apes that I've seen in the pase few days have been cute and friendly. Chittering excitedly. It was really enjoyable to see them out interacting with one another, seeing how similar the behaviour is to humans. What more could this place have to offer? We see the Dive Deep sign with a giant eel slithering across it and we dash down the hallway. That would be extra cash money if they had an eel. My parents had eels when I was just a kid. I know they had a snowflake eel. I can't remember the other type that they had. Giant takes used to be in the basement. I remember leaning into them, curious to see what was living inside them. That would be cool to have. Giant salt-water tank. I don't think Uggie would like something the size of him slithering around in a tank. Might upset his applecart. We'll have to see about that one. Moving into the latest exhibit, we see various corals and sea slugs. This has to be the biggest slug I've ever seen. It's about the size of my head and twice the size as Pork Chop. Apparently it's a sea hare. I have no idea what that means. Probably giant ass slug. There's more of them in the tank! They're up the sides, down the back of the tank. O>O It's like the Vermicious Knids in Willy Wonka!! Before they can break loose of their prison and suck our faces off, we slink away to the stergeon tank. I love the look of this fish. So pre-historic looking and they are! I've seen them in Canada and the US in huge fresh water lakes. (Two of these lakes are supposed to have lake monsters. I'd really love the see the Lake Champlain one.) Some of them are giant and others of them are medium sized. There is a giant shark tank filled with all sorts of fish and sharks. The deep blue of the room and the dim lights make the giant shark swimming around look more menicing than it already is. They swim around looking at the children that are all stood in a corner, looking up in amazement. Pork Chop and I must have been standing there looking like that too, but it doesn't matter. There are giant eels. They have to be about 7 feet long and they're thicker than my torso is. That's not the kind of eel that my parents had lol. They look evil. They're a deep, musky green colour with beedy blue eyes. It feels like they're looking into my soul. One turns and makes better eye contact with me. I have to resist the urge to scream. Let's go leave the creepy eels and check out the lion fish. I've never seen one outside of televeision before. I start to laugh when I see them all swimming around. Seeing them reminds me of Deuce Bigalow when he's gotta watch the gigalow's fish and flat. (If you haven't seen the film, it's a much watch.) It's been a wild adventure in the aquarium. We've seen so many new things, old favourits and learned some things about marine life during the day here. It feels like we've been here longer than we have when I check my watch. We get an ice-cream at the snacc shacc and head out to enjoy the surf and sun. We need more little trips like this. I like to do these little things, Kinda gives me new hope. Thanks to everyone who's enjoyed this latest blog! I have one more of the May travel blogs to finish and post on here. I can't wait for you guys to see that one. I'm still working out why I'm not being allowed to upload photos into the blog. You can see these and more on my Twitter and Instagram! There will be new reviews and new content also coming soon for you guys! AQUARIUM: