Monday, Fun Day

Monday has become our ‘take Jackie somewhere fun’ day. 

Last week was the Channel Islands National Park visitor’s center, which is usually great for kids.

But it was being remodeled - the cool fish tank we wanted to see was empty - so not as much fun for Jac as we’d hoped.

This week was different.

We headed north to Santa Barbara and the Sea Center on Stearns Wharf.

  ”He’s right behind me, isn’t he??”
The Center is fairly small compact 

 ”Whale? What whale??”

and just the right size for the toddler crowd. 

 Petting her first shark

Best of all, almost everything is touchable

and the college-age docents are enthusiastic and wonderful with kids.  

Jac loved the tide pool exhibits,

especially the touchable(!) starfish and sea cucumbers,

but the best part of the day

was the wet deck.

Jac was the only kid there at the time, so she got to help with everything,

from lowering the collection bucket, to rinsing off sea-floor sand,

and discovering treasures from shells to tiny living creatures. 

She was enthralled. 

 An intact sand dollar!

And there were so many more things to see and touch

when the next basket, with larger creatures, 

came up on deck.

Jac actually discovered a small spiny starfish that had gone unnoticed in the collection bucket and ‘supervised’ his relocation to a safer spot. Yay!

 Octopus
We didn’t realize how lucky our timing was

 Moon jellies

until we finished our walk-thru of the upstairs exhibits

and Jac went flying back to the wet deck only to find school groups crowded around and everyone having to take turns. 

She did managed one last exploration before we left. 

Such concentration!

It’s absolutely exhausting.