It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!

Last the week, my friend Jenn and I had been discussing the raptor show the aquarium has on from now till September and I mentioned that I wanted to take my husband because he loves eagles. Jenn arranged via her generous boyfriend Matt for my guys and I to have free admission to the Vancouver Aquarium. (Matt works there, lucky guy!) We decided to go yesterday. We couldn't have picked a better day-the weather was gorgeous!

Here's a slide show of some of the photos I took while we were there: (Mouse over the image to read caption.)

I always enjoy the Jellyfish-it's so relaxing to watch them floating gently, like some weird creature from outer space. I think if I ever win the lottery, I am going to have a tank of jellyfish. Watching them is like a Zen meditation.

The dolphin trio was amazing. I love the shot I got of Spinnaker in the air, high above the rooftop of the dock. (The sport multi shot setting on my new Rebel is fabulous for capturing the speed and power of these beautiful animals.) At one point, when each of them was asked to vocalize three of the different sounds they make, it brought tears to my eyes. I can't help but love them-they are so intelligent and charming. The dolphins at our aquarium are rescues-each one was tangled and injured in fishermens' nets off the coast of Japan.

The raptor show was abbreviated because the turkey vulture they brought out first, Judge Dred, didn't want to return to his handler. They can't bring out other birds of prey until the previous one is gone, so we just got to see one bird, unfortunately. Sometimes the birds run the show! We did enjoy seeing JD though, he was pretty interesting.

The other fabulous thing we did was attend an Alfresco dinner party. It's a "flash mob" sort of thing where you get an invite and then RSVP to sign up. 24 hours before the event, you get an email revealing a location somewhere in Vancouver. Each person brings either an appetizer, entree or dessert to share with everyone else, along with their own plates, cutlery and beverages. The organizers provide the "table" and "seats". (The table is this funky accordion type thing made of tyveck. It's very environmentally friendly, as it can be reused and transported by bicycle. The seats are little round carpet mats.)

It was our first time going-I signed up late last summer after seeing a story about it on the news. I'd forgotten all about it until I got an email last week about the first one of the summer. It's a lovely way to meet people you'd never met otherwise and to share some fabulous food in a beautiful setting. The people we sat with were super nice and amazing cooks. (And artistically inclined! I happened to sit with people who love art!) They brought these bacon tarts that were a pecan type tart with crisp bacon in it. I know it sounds a bit odd, but I can tell you they were the hit of the party and utterly delicious!

I made Japanese chicken drumettes which were marinated in soya sauce, ginger and garlic and baked in the oven. People kept wandering over to where I was sitting to ask "Where are those chicken legs?!?" and I came home with an empty dish, so I guess they were good!

My husband said he didn't care what were were doing the next time an invite pops up-he'll go no matter what. I am just so pleased he had a good time. I figured he would-he likes meeting new people and going to picnics/potlucks, so I was pretty sure he'd want to do it again. It was so much fun!

After a whole day outside in Stanley Park, we slept like rocks. It was a Sunday well spent-the best one of the summer, so far!