Sometimes I wish I were a Fish...

I'm back with the pictures--a bit later than expected, but are you really surprised? I thought not. Well I kept these pictures because I wanted to share how awesome the Boston Aquarium was. If you have the chance to go..you should. Although you should probably try to go during the week when there might be a few less strollers and small children. I did feel pretty awful trying to push past little kids to get to see the frogs and starfish, so it was a bit difficult to get some good pictures or even a really good look at some of the creatures. I would love to get back in there with a sketchbook and some space.

If I'm ever in another funk and devoid of inspiration, I know all I need to do is get back to that aquarium. The colors were beautiful and the weird little quirks that mother nature has developed are amazing. Have you ever seen a grouper before? I hadn't actually seen one, although I did know about their migrating eye. But to see them in person was great! And sea horses? Definitely my new favorites! They cling to rocks with their tails, wrapping along with the different contours. And then they just kind of float back and forth with the currents. It's so simple but still so cool to me!

Plus I've always kind of wanted to be a fish. Anyone ever get that feeling after seeing Sword in the Stone?
Okay...so I'm mostly just a dork. But you can't tell me that stone fish doesn't look awesome!

Weekend Getaway

Again with the 'holy snowflakes!' The weather out here is crazy! Joe and I narrowly made it back to Bar Harbor tonight after our weekend trip to Boston. We woke up this morning to snow falling outside our hotel window and spent 8 hours driving through a storm that traveled with us all the way back home. Enough snow had accumulated to force us to shovel out the driveway in order to park the car!

Traveling aside, the trip was a really nice break from the quiet lifestyle we've been living on the island. We were in the financial district in Boston, so it was still a bit quiet since it was the weekend, but it still had some great things to offer. Joe and I visited the aquarium and the Museum of Fine Arts during the day and then hopped from bar to bar at night. We ate oysters (surprisingly tasty!) at Ye Old Union Oyster House, which we found out is actually America's oldest restaurant--Joe just found out it was built some time in the 1700s and the King of France actually lived above the restaurant at some point. We also found a really great market out behind one of the streets. Even with the freezing temperature there were tents and tables set up, covered in fresh fruits and vegetables and along the back sides of the store fronts in basements there were small markets filled with all sorts of meat and seafood. It was really refreshing to see such a traditional event in a well built up city.

All in all, it was a really nice getaway. I ate some weird food -- for the record, never order sea urchin, ick! -- I found a new creature to love -- sea horses!!! -- and I got a pretty good taste of a new city. I would say it was a success! yay!