I think my absolute favorite thing about the beach trip, if I had to choose just one moment or part, was Evie's reaction to the ocean. The undeniable awe as she looked out at the never-ending water and her squeals of "OCEAN OCEAN!" as she ran from the waves were so precious. One of the coolest things about having kids is watching them learn and experience new things. And of course seeing the ocean for the first time was definitely an experience for Evie.
Elly is still too young to really care. Sure, she looked at the ocean. Yeah, she sampled the sand. Literally. But it wasn't really something for her to take in. She did enjoy the experience however. I think traveling, to at least some extent is really important. Especially today, when society is so connected. Kids need to experience life beyond their neighborhood and their community.
I highly doubt that Evie will remember this ever-so-precious first beach experience. She will probably be awestruck and overwhelmed the next time she sees the ocean as well. But that's okay. It's something that will certainly stick in my mind. I have a catalog of firsts in my mind from the babies. Evie's first words, her first steps, her first birthday, her first time at the beach. Elly so far just has first smile and first words. But she'll get there!
The next coolest thing from the beach was definitely the aquarium. Evie was all gaga over the mermaids. But for me the best part was totally the sharks.
In case you don't know me very well, I am just a smidgen obsessed with sharks. I'm not sleeping on shark sheets and snuggling with a plush shark at night or anything like that. But sharks are INCREDIBLY fascinating. And cool. And scary as hell. Sharks ate dinosaurs. And thousands of years later here they still are. Eating...whatever and whoever they want. Cause they're sharks. They are really smart. And really dangerous.
I look forward eagerly to shark week every year. And I set my DVR the week before making sure I don't miss anything. And I spend that week at work glued to the Discovery channel. No joke. Like I said. Just a smidgen obsessed. But I haven't ever seen sharks in real life. Not like real sharks. Little black tips and the such yeah. But never like Tiger sharks or bull sharks and I would absolutely LOVE to see a Great White. I read Jaws for the first time when I was in middle school. And I read it annually about the same time as shark week. I guess I should spend more time going to aquariums.
Anyways, Ripley's Aquarium at Myrtle Beach was pretty cool. I really, really loved the tank that you walked under/through and looked up at all the sharks and fish and even a sea turtle! I really hate that my camera batteries died and I didn't get more pictures. Because it was really cool. There were 6 foot long Tiger sharks and big Nurse sharks. The Tigers just ceaselessly circled the tank with their empty black eyes. I loved it!
Evie liked the little sharks. And of course the sea turtle. But she was much more fascinated by the fish tanks. They have one massive tank that has a replica coral reef and is just full of fish. A diver goes in and does a dive show every hour but Evie was more impressed just watching the fish. Even Elly loved the tank of fish. All of the brightly colored fish darting here and there. She clapped and giggled and babbled at them. But her attention span is pretty limited.
She was more interested in snack time. But I'm sure you just can't believe that girl worries about when she'll be getting her next meal! haha
No comments:
Post a Comment