The Shadow Lady and I had a few hours to kill before we were to head over to her sisters' place for pizza and visiting, and we were heading to Seattle anyway, so we took a jaunt through the Seattle Aquarium.  Neither one of us had been there in a while, and we both like that sort of thing, so it was a good opportunity to have some fun, relax, and kill off some time.

They changed the entrance quite a bit... its a good addition, although its not quite done yet.

Most of the aquarium is dedicated to animals found in and around the Puget Sound... leading down the hallway into the Aquarium was a tidepool tank that had a wave generator built into it... it was pretty interesting seeing the "side view" of the critters...

The "Jelly Donut", literally a ring of clear plastic that the water rotates in to show off the jellyfish is a cool stop.

They have a light set up to let you see the delicate structures of the Jelly Fish as they swim in what probably seems to them to be an endless column of water.

I always get a kick out of watching fish pick at the coral... luckily, the Shadow Lady likes it too...

These guys aren't found in the Puget Sound, but - especially after the "Finding Nemo" movie - they HAVE to have at least one room devoted to the tropical fish made famous in the movie.

The Clown fish was surrounded by too many kids... so I passed on trying to get a picture.

The Sea Horse is a very odd animal... I nervously remembered that the males carry the young in their stomach until they are ready to hatch... probably something the Shadow Lady wished humans did about now... :-)

My favorite spot in the Aquarium is the "Dome".

Its below water, allowing you to get a unique view of the typical environments found in the Puget Sound. 

Chinook and Coho salmon were in the tank, as well as several large Sturgeon, sharks, and rock fish, along with a host of others.

There's a bench around the edge of the dome, and The Shadow Lady and I sat there for quite a while, enjoying the view.  You pick up a lot that you'd otherwise miss.  It was nice.

From there, its through the chute to the Mammal pens. The residents include Seals, Sea Lions, Sea Otters and River Otters (who are normally very fun to watch play, but were sleeping when we got there) 

In all, we had a great time, and it was a good way to ensure we didn't show up too early at The Shadow Lady's sisters' place.  We still got there early, but that's another story.

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