Searching For Shark's Teeth

The question "Shall we go searching for sharks' teeth?" surely deserves the answer, "Absolutely!"

My friend Kathy suggested we take our children, our sieves and a picnic lunch to Calvert Cliffs State Park, on the shore of the Chesapeake about an hour south.  We would hike through the woods, climb down to the water and then sift through shells, sand and rocks with the hopes of finding a tooth or two.

We were totally up for the adventure!  Our hike began in a picturesque place with rolling hills and welcoming woods.

We soon dropped down in elevation and the landscape changed.

a fascinating ecosystem

Our path became a boardwalk, and we could see that the Chesapeake was just ahead....

As we left the trees, the wind hit us full force!  The Chesapeake is a large, strong body of water, I tell you!  No wonder it was named the "Mother of Water"!

Off went the socks and shoes and into the cool water we went, sieves and buckets in hand.

There's one!  A shark's tooth!  Our friend Peter found one right away! 
(Did you know that sharks are constantly losing teeth and growing new ones?)

 

There are all sorts of fossils in the surrounding cliffs, and erosion is bringing those fossils into the water and onto the shore.  Remember this picture, from our visit to the Baltimore Aquarium?

Those teeth were found at this park, Calvert Cliffs!

When we were tired of sifting and tired of the wind, we headed back up the path to enjoy the large playground.  A few of us had sharks' teeth in our backpacks; all of us had some special shells and rocks.

And can I just show you a few photos of the quaint town we explored near the park?  It was a town I had wanted to visit for a while: Solomons Island.  We drive daily on a Solomons Island Road, and I wanted to follow the road to this town at the end of the peninsula!  I was so glad we did!  Can you feel how very quaint it is?  The town has several cottages and shops to the right, along the shore.

The Patuxent River ahead; it joins the Chesapeake just behind me.

Here's one of the churches.  The other one was named "Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church".




I love exploring!  What a terrific day.  These munchkins had a good day, too...

The Baltimore Aquarium -- All About Dolphins

Ah, yes.  A separate post just for the dolphins.  Well, they really did make our day at the Aquarium extra special.

It used to be that you had to pay an extra fee to see the dolphins - you would come into this large room, choose a seat in the stand and be entertained for twenty minutes.  Dolphin shows are now considered unnatural, and so the Baltimore Aquarium has changed their policy.  Anyone can come to the dolphin hall at any time.  A few times a day the dolphin trainers take the time to talk into a microphone and describe their training program and why they do what they do (i.e. they keep the dolphins challenged, keep them playing and thereby happy, keep the dolphins used to human interaction so that vet visits are easier).  They also demonstrate some of the games they play with the dolphins.

We settled into a spot in the stands - as you can see, it was a pretty quiet day. 

We talked with the trainers and with educational staff, ate our lunch, and did a little sketching.

 

 The dolphin trainers gave a ten minute lecture of their methods and then took a few minutes to show us  examples of the activities they do with the animals.  

going for a walk together...

a little dance....

At the sight of this, Linnea changed her future job plans.... this is the job for her!!!

 We also spent a fair bit of time in the underwater viewing area.

Linnea is doing an ocean report/animal report on dolphins and was thrilled for these leisurely, up close encounters!

The Baltimore Aquarium -- Sea Turtles, Jellies and Sharks, O My

Oh, the Baltimore Aquarium!!!!  What a terrific place. And thanks to government shutdowns, Jon was able to join us!

One of the first exhibits is the black-tipped shark reef.  It's a beautiful set-up, and you can see it from every floor of this buildling.  You can also go down below to catch a view of the sharks and the coral from under water.

Can you get a feel for this place? 
It's a pretty impressive exhibit as you first walk in on the ground floor.

This gorgeous sea turtle lives with the black-tipped sharks in the big exhibit.  She was brought to the Aquarium about ten years ago, wounded and dying.  She needed to have her front fin removed, but has grown here until she's now more than five hundred pounds.  I spent some quiet time (horray for midweek visits!) with this dear creature and just watched her magestic body move through the water.  She would come up for air every so often, once taking an audible breath just a foot or two away from me.  I leaned over the railing.  Some serious eye contact took place.  We're pretty tight.
 

 We went down into the series of shark tanks and watched divers feeding sting rays and other creatures by hand.

Glad there weren't any divers visiting this guy!

The teeth of a megalodon shark! These  fossils were found nearby along the Chesapeake Bay! 

Gorgeous!

 Isn't this fantastic!!!!!?  This is the underside of a ray  (I forget which kind of ray).   He swam toward us and then flipped over to swim away.  So cool!

watching the rays swim by...

Entering Australia!  The exhibits were so well done!

One thing we especially loved about the Aquarium was the high number of employees and volunteers willing to make the experience a rich one.  This lady took the time to let each of our kids feed the archer fish.  These creatures are so cool!  The fish would notice the (live) cricket on the end of our stick and then spit at the cricket with incredible accuracy and knock the insect into the water!

I'm a fan of this artwork!  So colourful, eh?  The whole day kept shouting out
the fact that the creatures of this earth are magnificent!!!!  So beautifully designed.

The rainforest exhibit included many water creatures, but was also surrounded with trees and birds and golden tamarins and sloths.  Very, very cool.

hmmmm... should we obey this sign on the pirahna tank or take this opportunity to rebel?

There was a spot tucked away in a corner where people could create poems or sentences about the ocean and ocean creatures.  The words would 'float' around this huge screen, making the author feel as proud as punch.  Marijka composed many poems!  The circle at the begining of each phrase was a picture, either one taken of the author by a built-in camera or an animal photo selected from several options.

Eeeep!  Aren't you glad to know that this little guy exists!!!!?  And aren't you glad to know that as you go about your day, there is a little gorgeous fish swimming around in the gorgeous coral, la-da-da-too-la-doo, living his little life as a creature while you live your life as a creature??  Love it.  Yup.  We bonded. 

Baltimore!

We were able to spend a lovely October day exploring the city of Baltimore!  While most of our time was spent in the gorgeous Baltimore Aquarium, we also enjoyed several pleasant hours wandering around the downtown area.  May I present to you..... ahem...

Baltimore.  In Ten Photos.