Happy Hour
Happy hour is late. Sorry, everyone.
So, for today we're gonna forego the drink recipes. There was a little too much imbibing on my part to wanna share any this week.
This time of year is ALWAYS insanely busy. Sweet mercy, but I feel exhausted. And the sad thing? I have got sooooo much stuff I still need to do. I should probably be doing it now ... don't feel like it.
Anyway, on Friday I went to Baltimore with two of my sisters, one of their boyfriends and their two friends. We got there later in the afternoon and it was cold, but we still had fun.
I love Baltimore. I've been there several times, but this was the FIRST time I've ever gone to the aquarium. Not for lack of interest or trying, mind you. It's just never worked out.
This has to be the COOLEST aquarium ever built. When you walk in, there's this giant pool area filled with stingrays, a shark that lays eggs (most of them are live birthing creatures) and this adorable sea turtle who was missing a front flipper. The way it's set up, there are out croppings and walk ways over the water so that when you look over the edge you can't see the animals coming. It is the coolest thing to be leaning over, looking at the pretty water and then BAM! Big freakin' stingray's zipping by.
The way the aquarium is built is so well organized and easy to follow. You know how in some places you just wander around aimlessly? Not here. You just go straight up and up and up, following the exhibits and the escalators. Each level goes through the different aquatic life you can find in Maryland and then it branches all the way out into the oceas... it's really neat. Then, you come to the top of the building.
The entire top is this giant glass atrium. You get onto the escalator and it's dark like a tunnel. Up ahead, you see light and when you come out ... you're inside a rainforest.
I can't even begin to describe how amazing it was. You're totally NOT expecting to see this tropical setting and then all of a sudden you're right in the middle of it. There were birds flying around, little tamarin scampering through trees, platforms to get on so that you can look out over the entire scene. Absolutel breathtaking.
Then, you leave the atrium and go down to the shark exhibity. THIS was really neat. It's set up kinda like a parkin garage ramp, the ones that spiral down and down. At the top, you go through tanks full of coral and fish and other sea life that lives in the shallows. But as you go lower and lower, you go deeper and deeper "into" the ocean. The lighting gets dimmer and the fish become stranger ... and then you see the freakin' sharks.
Now, the sharks here aren't as big as some of the others I've seen, but they're still big enough to make you go, "Holy crap..." And you don't realize this as you're walking through, but you're actuall on the opposite side of the aquarium, right across from the stuff you've already seen. I've never seen an aquarium structured like this before, but it was so awesome.
After that, we had lunch at an Irish place called Tir Na Nog and walked around on the Inner Harbour area for a bit. I got a pair of new fingerless gloves that are really cool, plus this headband thing that has feathers on it a la 1920s. It was kind of cold, but we still had a wonderful time. I just wished we'd gotten there earlier so that we could try and do a boat tour of the habor and all that.
So, that was my weekend. What have you guys been up to?
So, for today we're gonna forego the drink recipes. There was a little too much imbibing on my part to wanna share any this week.
This time of year is ALWAYS insanely busy. Sweet mercy, but I feel exhausted. And the sad thing? I have got sooooo much stuff I still need to do. I should probably be doing it now ... don't feel like it.
Anyway, on Friday I went to Baltimore with two of my sisters, one of their boyfriends and their two friends. We got there later in the afternoon and it was cold, but we still had fun.
I love Baltimore. I've been there several times, but this was the FIRST time I've ever gone to the aquarium. Not for lack of interest or trying, mind you. It's just never worked out.
This has to be the COOLEST aquarium ever built. When you walk in, there's this giant pool area filled with stingrays, a shark that lays eggs (most of them are live birthing creatures) and this adorable sea turtle who was missing a front flipper. The way it's set up, there are out croppings and walk ways over the water so that when you look over the edge you can't see the animals coming. It is the coolest thing to be leaning over, looking at the pretty water and then BAM! Big freakin' stingray's zipping by.
The way the aquarium is built is so well organized and easy to follow. You know how in some places you just wander around aimlessly? Not here. You just go straight up and up and up, following the exhibits and the escalators. Each level goes through the different aquatic life you can find in Maryland and then it branches all the way out into the oceas... it's really neat. Then, you come to the top of the building.
The entire top is this giant glass atrium. You get onto the escalator and it's dark like a tunnel. Up ahead, you see light and when you come out ... you're inside a rainforest.
I can't even begin to describe how amazing it was. You're totally NOT expecting to see this tropical setting and then all of a sudden you're right in the middle of it. There were birds flying around, little tamarin scampering through trees, platforms to get on so that you can look out over the entire scene. Absolutel breathtaking.
Then, you leave the atrium and go down to the shark exhibity. THIS was really neat. It's set up kinda like a parkin garage ramp, the ones that spiral down and down. At the top, you go through tanks full of coral and fish and other sea life that lives in the shallows. But as you go lower and lower, you go deeper and deeper "into" the ocean. The lighting gets dimmer and the fish become stranger ... and then you see the freakin' sharks.
Now, the sharks here aren't as big as some of the others I've seen, but they're still big enough to make you go, "Holy crap..." And you don't realize this as you're walking through, but you're actuall on the opposite side of the aquarium, right across from the stuff you've already seen. I've never seen an aquarium structured like this before, but it was so awesome.
After that, we had lunch at an Irish place called Tir Na Nog and walked around on the Inner Harbour area for a bit. I got a pair of new fingerless gloves that are really cool, plus this headband thing that has feathers on it a la 1920s. It was kind of cold, but we still had a wonderful time. I just wished we'd gotten there earlier so that we could try and do a boat tour of the habor and all that.
So, that was my weekend. What have you guys been up to?