Day Trip

Hubby and I had a bad case of "gotta go somewhere", so Tuesday afternoon we packed up Leia and headed for Long Beach. 
 
We timed it almost perfectly traffic-wise, hitting just a bit of rush hour madness before reaching our goal - Aquarium of the Pacific - just a few minutes after half-price admission rates went into effect.
 
Leia loves the aquarium - especially petting the critters -
 
but seldom wants to stay more than 2 hours. The 5-8 pm window was perfect (did I mention it was half price?)
 
We had plenty of time to see my favorite sea dragons -

and discover that not only do they have Leafy Sea Dragons

but also Reedy and Ribbon sea dragons. So cool!!

Jellies were in abundance -
 
 
including some with crazy flashing lights.

A quick stop at Bubba Gump's to feed little Miss Grumpy
 
and we were off to our final destination -

an overnight stay on the Queen Mary!

Leia loved that she had her own little room within our stateroom.
 
She also thought the choice of bathwater - fresh or salt - was pretty cool too. (I might have told her the salt water came straight from the ocean . . . sea creatures and all . . .)
 
We did a bit of exploring that night
 
but saved most of our adventuring for the following day.
 
We happily wandered for several hours, 
 
from the bridge,
 
through all the decks
 
and even "under water" to view a propeller.
 
Leia even learned what these red things were for -
 
photo props, right?

A fun, relaxing, slightly educational trip. (Don't tell Leia that last "educational" part, ok?)