Mote Aquarium October 11, 2018
Posted by nrhatch in Animals, Nature, Travel & Leisure.trackback
We finally had a chance to visit the “new” river otter exhibit at Mote Aquarium on City Island in Sarasota. We adored watching the antics of Pippi, Huck, and Jane from the 2nd floor mezzanine:
Here they are enjoying some non-stop action:
As we walked through the shark exhibit, this brave lad in the Hurricane Simulator blew us away:
We loved the decor in the 50’s diner ~ everything back then was so black & white, no shades of gray:
And check out these giant “Egyptian” Seahorses standing guard:
Perhaps they’re there to protect the flowers in the adjoining lily pad pond:
Our enjoyable, educational, and entertaining afternoon featured a surprising highlight: a small aquarium of mesmerizing jellyfish:
Gorgeous and graceful, they were gliding up and down with gentle and perpetual undulations ~ it was rather like watching a live-action lava lamp!
Aah . . . that’s better!
Spirit Lights The Way 
I love aquariums. There’s something very serene about watching sea life. And otters! How fun…
We enjoyed watching a wide variety of fish, lobsters, manatee, sharks, crabs, seahorses, sea turtles, etc.
But our two favorites = otters and blue jellies!
Jellyfish ARE fascinating. I never thought so until I gawked at them up close and personal on our last aquarium visit….
Yes! Watching jellyfish was a surprising highlight of the day’s adventures ~> they would not have been on my list of Top 10 Must Sees.
Oh, to have the energy of those otters…love them! It sounds like you had a great day. Thanks for sharing, Nancy.
Morning, Jill. Hope by the time Michael makes it to NC that its energy level has diminished.
Frisky otters = GOOD
Frisky weather = not so good
Those jelly fish look beautiful and mesmerizing! Thanks for sharing your day Nancy 😎
My pleasure, Val. I would not have “expected” that watching jellyfish would be one of the day’s highlights.
Life is often surprising.
I like otters so much. They are the epitome of playful and cute. Your day looks like it was fun. Thanks for the glimpse into it.
We sometimes get otters out back in the lagoon. Watching them play on the berm is great. They are terrific fishers too. But their visits have become more sporadic.
So we loved watching Pippa, Huck, and Jane.
The jellyfish are awesome! Aquariums are great, glad you got to go! I want a pet otter. 🙂
With all the frenetic energy, the otters might be a handful.
I’d like my neighbors to have a pool of pet otters. I’ll adopt the tank of blue jellies!
Looks like an enjoyable place to visit. I’m not sure which exhibit I’d like best–the playful hyperactive otters or the serenely sublime jellyfish. But I think I’d spend a lot of time watching both.
The otters were FUN ~> a happy place to be. The jellyfish were calming and soothing.
So bouncing between the two = perfect!
I never get to see jellyfish like that. Mostly they are dead on the beach. They are beautiful creatures.
If I had a tank of these in the living room . . . my productivity would plummet!
I love to visit aquariums, Nancy, and this looks like a delightful place to spend time observing and learning. I love jellies, too! I have some photos I’ll share soon of a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and their jellyfish exhibits! I don’t believe I saw any that looked like these blue wonders. I am always so amazed at the variety of sea creatures and the exquisite colors! Very nice!
I had to take a couple of snaps to catch the vibrancy of these blue jellies . . . just gorgeous.
Yes! Please share your shots from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
I’m playing blog catch-up while out of town. The jellyfish are beautiful!
Thank you for the wonderful photos, Nancy! Looks like a great trip.
The jellies were my favorite surprise of the day. The otters were great fun, but we expected that. I never expected to be mesmerized by such gorgeous blue jellyfish.
Hope you enjoyed your out of town adventure.
Glad to hear your adventures at the aquarium were G-rated 🙂 Last week some guy at the Toronto aquarium stripped down, climbed over a security barrier and went for a swim in the shark tank. For some reason, the aquarium staff weren’t impressed 😉
As much as I cringe at the thought of jellyfish in the water when I’m swimming, I do love watching them in the aquarium!
OMG! That is awful. Those poor shocked sharks! 😯
I agree with you. I don’t want to swim with jellyfish (or sharks!) but these blue baby jellies were beautiful.
hahaha! Your reaction was the same as one person the news outlet interviewed. She felt sorry for the fish 🙂