Seattle Aquarium

I wanted to head to the Seattle Aquarium one last time before we depart Washington in a month. Kaylee is pretty much at the start of perfect ages to really enjoy and appreciate what she's seeing. It was such a fun day. I carpooled down with my friend T and her two kids, O (who is 4 months younger than Kaylee) and her 3 month old B. We had a blast!

I have a degree in marine biology, so a trip to the Aquarium is always fun for me. This time I brought my new waterproof camera to get some underwater shots in their tide pools. You can touch the sea stars, anemones, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins!

With fronds like these, who needs anemones?

Sea cucumber

Close up of an anemone. Each little tentacle has many somethings called nematocysts. These are tiny coiled harpoons that are released on contact and contain a mild (to humans) paralytic. The anemone paralyzes fish and eats them! Human skin is too thick, so you just feel like the tentacles are a bit sticky.

Invasive, deadly yet beautiful Lionfish

Elliot Bay from the Aquarium.

I love this photo

Our friends T, O and B

Watching the sea stars

The giant clams are one of my favorites

Pretty corals

Clownfish with a very short field of focus. 

Kaylee at the cuttlefish tank, my MOST favorite! They're so cute!

Giant Pacific Octopus. Once upon a time I was a volunteer at this aquarium and was trained to feed this animal. SO MUCH FUN.

Kaylee and baby salmon

Staring up at the fish ladder above us. We are underwater!

Fish dome. The architecture allows for some really nice abstract photos

Northern Fur Seal

We ended the day with a walk through the market. I pick up two more leather bound handmade journals and a handmade stool that will be a nice piece to have forever.

The ferris wheel on Elliot Bay