We started off really early this morning and walked to town for the weekly farmers market. We bought fresh breads to share and some really yummy cinnamon twist sticks. There were many crafters and lots of food places. Dad went back later and picked out more things for lunches for himself this week while he works from the motorhome while we explore.
This was what we saw when we got to the market area. The tide was really low. You can see the boat again that we will go whale watching on.
We started next at the Huntsman Marine Center. We played in the AMAZING touch tank.
We learned about lobster variations and mutations.
We saw them feed seahorses. Did you know that when a sea horse ears since it doesn’t have teeth it spits parts back out of the back of its head. It was weird.
We watched (along with a zillion school kids) them feeding salmon.
We had a fun time playing int he hands on area while the field trip kids screamed and yelled in the tanks area. It was out quiet refuge.
Up next was the harbor seal feeling of Loki and Snorkel. They were super silly and playful seals.
After it shined out a bit we went back to the touch ponds. I held a sea star that was as big as my head!
I was also the only kid brave enough to pick up an urchin. They really aren’t that pokey.
We took a behind the scenes tour and had to wear boots to go into the back tank rooms.
We saw lots of retired sea horses and even got to help feed them.
In the lab we looked at zooplankton under the microscope.
We learned about their animal swap program where they trade critters with other aquariums. They were trading all the stuff in this tank for some fish.
We got to see the water filtration system. They pump up local seawater and filter it to use in the tanks.
We saw a giant lobster! He was 8lbs!!
Next we went to the St. Andrews Blockhouse. We learned about the War of 1812 and how the Canadians feared US attack. You couldn’t enter the harbor without being in shot range on this blockhouse. They had neat holes cut that you could fire a musket out of.
The living quarters were quite large.
They even had a mini cannon up stairs that was used to defend the blockhouse.
These are 18lb cannons. They could shoot all the way to Navy Island and hit any ship in the harbor.
We visited a local playground. I love these castle playgrounds. This one is part of the elementary school but it is open to the public at all times. How neat!
Our last stop of the day was at the Wild Salmon Nature Center. We learned about how they farm raise salmon and how it is illegal to fish Atlantic Salmon. You can only harvest them via fish farming.
We took a long hike along the river and saw where the salmon used to run before they dammed all the rivers in the area.
We found a grinding stone tucked across the river and explored that as well. The lady at the center was super awesome and gave us a goodie bag after our visit. They technically don’t open for a week but were kind enough to allow us to come in and watch the videos and explore.
