Connecticut Adventures

We traveled to the tiny state of Connecticut this weekend (that's right, I just called it tiny) to visit my friend M. We rode Metro North, and even got a train with a bar car, but as it was before noon they sure weren't serving.

We went to Connecticut to see the meerkat exhibit at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk (actually Southern Norwalk which I've been informed is referred to as SoNo). You may be asking yourself, "Since when are meerkats aquatic?" There is no good answer to this question, but it should be noted that meerkats are ridiculously cute and the stars of a show called Meerkat Manor which I believe is popular with the under-10 set (and me). Clearly bringing these little weasels to the aquarium is a good way to drive up attendance rates in the summer. (Note on scientific inaccuracies in this blog: meerkats are actually a member of the mongoose family, not the weasel family.)

Turns out meerkats move WAY too quickly for my camera, so this picture of the giant inflatable meerkat on the roof of the aquarium will have to suffice for this blog.

Okay, so I was a big fan of Meerkat Manor for at least the first season until my favorite meerkat died after bravely defending the baby meerkats from death at the paws of the neighboring tribe. I wasn't able to watch again after that (it was really upsetting, shut up), but I have maintained an appreciation for meerkats. I was really surprised at how tiny they are! In the show they keep the cameras at about ground level, so the meerkats seem pretty tall. They were only probably a foot long counting their tails! And so adorably rambunctious.

There were a lot of interesting things at the aquarium. One of our favorite exhibits was the jellyfish, which were AWESOME.

Jellyfish are just the WEIRDEST creatures ever. I do not understand them at all, but I loved watching them float around in their tanks. It probably helped that the aquarium was piping in a mix of psychedelic Enya and fantasy movie theme music in this exhibit. We watched the jellyfish for a long time.

There was also a giant sea turtle. I did not know that sea turtles could get that big, and I'm honestly a little freaked out now and unwilling to talk about it.

I would like to end this post by stating that I spent the rest of the evening in Connecticut kicking ass at James Bond on Playstation 2, but that would be a lie (the part about me kicking ass, I mean).