Last
weekend, I took my family on a short trip to Toronto, and while we were there,
we visited the new Ripley’s Aquarium. (It takes just over four hours to drive
to Toronto from Ottawa, where I live.) I wanted to see the aquarium for two
reasons: I knew my kids would love it, and I wanted to use an aquarium setting for a
scene in my upcoming Christmas novella, The
Christmas Charm.
The
aquarium was crowded, but all the bodies around us didn’t interfere with our
enjoyment of the exhibits. We saw an impressive variety of marine life and spent
hours exploring.
A highlight was the “Dangerous Lagoon,” which had a moving
walkway taking visitors through an underwater tunnel that surrounds you with
ocean fish, stingrays and small sharks.
 |
| Dangerous Lagoon |
In other
areas, visitors were allowed to touch horseshoe crabs and small stingrays,
which willingly glided to the surface of the water to be petted. The kids were
most mesmerized by the jellyfish that glowed with neon colours.
 |
| Horseshoe crab |
My favourite
was the fleshy sea pens, which really look like pink quill pens waving at the
bottom of the tank.
 |
| Fleshy sea pens |
The kids
had a wonderful day, and I took dozens of photographs that I’ll need to help me
work the amazing things I saw into a short scene in my story. For all of us, it
was worth the trip.
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I keep telling people research is FUN - this should convince the doubters! Thanks for reminding me about Ripley's Aquarium, Susan - it's now on my list of things to do this summer.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll enjoy it.
DeleteWhat fun! I'm waiting for my granddaughter to get old enough to enjoy visiting the historical spots I want to research in person.
ReplyDeleteThat will be fun for you too!
DeleteSounds fun. I've been working on a novel for a while with a scene in Machu Pichu, but my husband isn't taking the bait that a research trip would be a good idea!
ReplyDeleteThat would be a fabulous trip!
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