A penguin please...with a cherry on top

 As you already know from yesterday's blog, be it Polar Vortex or braking problems, there's no "stopping" our perky protagonists on their cold Connecticut quest for adventure. "I was able to get discount tickets to the aquarium," Savannah suggested. "Well...I did want to go on a hike," I sighed, ignoring the rolled eyes that swept the room, "but I guess a day playing with penguins would be fun, too."

Unlike my non-animal-loving friend Sarah (her only flaw), I love love love the New England Aquarium with their plethora of penguins. The aquarium also boasts a spectacular jellyfish exhibit. Sydney and I were disappointed when we learned that a group of jellyfish is referred to as a smack (or bloom or swarm). We made an executive decision and changed it to the more appropriate "jam" of jellies. Anyhoo...Savannah's discount aquarium made an excellent first-impression with their well-lit, pulsating pillows of protoplasm. Turns out, unbeknownst to me at the time, the similarities to my beloved New England Aquarium ended there. After I spent an hour in a hypnotized trance, Savannah and Joan were able to coax me over to the seahorses. "The male seahorse is the one to have the babies," I murmured to Savannah as we watched them languidly lunge at floating flotsam. Again...the eye-roll. "Mom...everyone knows that." "Well," I returned as we watched the spectral figure of a beluga whale drift by, "did you know that the beluga whale, also known as the Canary of the Sea..."(ignore eye-roll)..."is the only whale that can swim backward?"

"Ma'am," a timid voice interjected, "Would you like to take a survey?" The irritation that I felt about being called "ma'am" melted. I have a strange sympathy for survey-takers. "How would you rate the aquarium," she asked, pencil poised. Fresh from the jellyfish exhibit, I enthusiastically awarded the aquarium an 8.5 rating. It turned out to be a somewhat pre-mature decision. The rumored alligator was guarded by armed (meaning that they had two arms, crossed, and were frowning) guards and the penguin (singular) was unavailable because the weather was "too cold." No...I am not kidding. We learned that many species of penguins actually reside around the warmer waters of South America so this wasn't as super-stupid sounding as we initially thought. "But wait..." I protested, "the Buffalo aquarium has penguins and they're always accessible!" I began to scan the crowd for my survey-taker to change my rating. "No penguin for you," laughed Joan, referring to the aquarium-Nazis. "No 8.5 rating for an aquarium located near the ocean," I growled. It was time to go...I was as mad as a Moray Eel (cue photo).

It was also time to salvage the day. "Have you decided yet," our calmly charismatic waitress asked. I frowned, debating. "I'm torn," I admitted, "between your chocolate-covered cherry drink special and a hot chocolate." She smiled. "How about I combine the two," she suggested. Day...saved!