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| Nikon and Argus having a good time |
Yesterday we went for a walk around Lake Como and practically had the place to ourselves. The "point" was deserted, so we took off the leads and let the dogs swim and splash. Nikon retrieved a few sticks, and Argus ran and splashed, sniffed and tasted, and checked everything out. Everything! Mr. Curiosity doesn't miss a thing.
We drove through my old neighborhood just north of the park, checked out my parent's ex-house, and drove past the Transportation Building where I am supposed to be working. So deserted. So sad. Am sure the restaurants in the area and the Sears store across the street are really hurting for business. This shut down hurts so many people. Delicious breakfast sandwiches at White Castle, then home to hose off the dogs. The lake smelled fresh and looked clean other than some green algae, but it's always wise to rinse off dogs after swimming in city lakes.
Ron dropped us off at the train station and we took light rail out to Mall of America. It's a great train, fast, efficient, affordable and fun. We visited Sea Life, a huge underground aquarium with enormous marine, Amazon, and North American fresh water tanks. It's set up as a tunnel, so the fish are on both sides of you and swim over the top of the tunnel to get from one side to the other. Sharks and rays are particularly impressive when viewed from below. The seahorse and jellyfish displays were also entertaining.
When we arrived there was a sign saying that laid off state employees should check in at the ticket office. We did and discovered that I could get in free, and Laurie's ticket was half price! Wow, what a nice surprise! It was really appreciated, and just the beginning of a wonderful visit. Because we had saved so much money and had such a great time, we signed up for the behind-the-scenes tour, which was relatively inexpensive and lots of fun.
A small group of us with a tour guide visited the laboratory where the water is tested and any animal injury or illness can be treated, and the ultra-clean kitchen where all food is prepared - the kitchen is inspected just like any other commercial kitchen. Then on to the holding area where sick or injured animals cab be isolated and treated, new animals can be quarantined, and animals too young/small for display tanks can be kept. We looked down on the giant display tanks from above, and learned about the behind-the-scenes maintenance. What a good life those animals lead and it was interesting to learn that many of the display animals had names - all the large turtles, the octopus, and many of the sharks. The endangered giant sea turtles were all injured animals who could not have survived in the wild, but were thriving in captivity What an adventure!
Then off to the Rainforest Cafe for noveltry drinks and excellent nachos. Our table was next to a tank full of wonderful marine fish including a Clown Triggerfish, two large Puffers, and some Unicorn Tangs, one of which kept displaying for Laurie - I could swear he had a crush on her!
Pups are doing well, trim is coming in fast, and Reebok is settling into motherhood. I even convinced her to go outside this morning without a leash - had to lift her out of he box and drag her outside the first day!
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