Sting Rays + Sharks + Beluga Whales = Epic Awesomeness

I was thinking about a Brad Paisley song today called "Then". In it he says: "...and I thought I loved you then". (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbZ_OR9exss)

OK. I admit it. I have not yet found someone who could make me feel this way, but to some extent, this song reminds me about how amazed I am about the great state of Connecticut. Sounds silly, but let me explain. I love this state and what it offers. There are times when I think that I have experienced all the amazing and wonderful things this state offers. Then I either find something new or have a new experience at a place I've already been to and love this wonderful place even more. For example geocaching. When I was blessed to be invited to go geocaching, we went to a mountain I was familiar with..but geocaching allowed me to experience the same place in a different way. Instead hiking the normal trails, we went onto other trails. Instead of just walking, we were searching. It brought new depth and new appreciation to the same park/mountain that I've loved for years. Today I drove down to Mystic Aquarium, a place I've been many times in my youth. But this trip was different. I was older, and I now had control of what I saw and did during my visit. To make the visit more special, I signed up to participate in a beluga whale program in which the participants would enter the waters with a beluga whale. The whale i met was Naku. She is about 29 years old and loves people.Playful, funny, and very entertaining. Myself, along with 3 other participants took the opportunity to pet Naku and have her perform cool tricks (mostly noises..very cool). She let us touch her teeth and even pat her tongue. Captive whales seem to like this. Kinda like if you pat your dog on the head, well Beluga whales like their tongue to bet patted. As a matter of fact, even after the session, Naku didn't want to leave. She would act as if she was going to leave us, and then would quickly swing her head back around, open her mouth, and wait for the trainer to pat her tongue. The trainer was more than happy to oblige. The whales get a sense of appreciation when you pat their tongue...but another way you can show them you appreciate them is by feeding them. They eat about 40-80 pounds of small fish a day. Thats about 40 in the summer and close to 80 in the winter. This helps when it gets cold out because the more blubber they have the warmer they stay. Of course their skin is about 100 x thicker than ours, so in the summer, bulking up the blubber (fat) is not always a good thing.

Besides learning about and having fun with a beluga (Russian for the word "white") whale;  I had some other "firsts".  Before the beluga whale program I had the chance to meet some dangerous sting rays. They where placed in a shallow "pool" and as they come close to the surface, I was able to pet them (no patting here). This was a neat experience because I don't recall ever touching a sting ray before. Man, their bodies are smooth. After that, I decided to step it up a notch and went to the shark encounter exhibit where they had a similar set up in which as the sharks swam by, you could reach down and pet them. I think they where some sort of bamboo sharks. None the less it was pretty exciting. Of course the other exhibits where great (sea lions, penguins, etc) but the encounters with dangerous ocean life and a very large fish really made the day simply AWESOME! The pictures I received from the aquarium showcasing me with my giant new friend are not able to be posted (unless I can find someone willing to scan them for me) but I will post the pictures I took while exploring Mystic Aquarium. I will leave the comment section opened for this blog so anyone who wants to comment can do so for this post. If the "comment" section is something you would like me to keep open with further blogs, let me know. I hope this post has exemplified how great Connecticut really is and that there is always something fun and exciting to do. Alright, I'm out and remember...STAY AWESOME!!!!

(remember to check out http://www.mysticaquarium.org/ to see what other programs are available to you and your family for a fun afternoon at the aquarium)

I started the afternoon on a dangerous note

So dangerous...yet so docile. Amazing

This was Epic

Two bamboo sharks

Yeah it was...so close I was in the water with it

Since I need to scan the pictures taking of me with Naku in order to post them, I have posted these 3 pictures of the beluga whales I saw swimming around later that afternoon so you can get an idea of what they look like. Amazing creatures and very intelligent I might add