Day Two on Long Island

Today, Aunt Beverly got out of work early and we all (including Grandpa, of course) went to Atlantis, an aquarium that has really come into its own. We went to the same place maybe three years ago with Elizabeth, and it was kind of rinky-dink, like the newly opened Portland Aquarium. But now, Atlantis has come full flower. It has a hotel and schmancy restaurant attached to it, and it has expanded significantly. I've always liked the place, but now it's earning its exorbitant entry fee.

The weather continued its mercurial pattern. When we were getting ready for lunch, there was some debate about whether to eat indoors or out. We decided on indoors, and watched as a metric ton of water fell from the sky on those outside. But then it cleared up, and we enjoyed the outside exhibits. Then it rained again, as we left.

Suzanne in her signature look: upside-down sunglasses.

Elizabeth, at 5, has mastered the art of the sunglasses.

Atlantis has added a butterfly area (lepidoptary?) and an aviary (see below).

Princess Elizabeth looking at a butterfly in flight. (You can just see a bit of its wing, top left.)

You could pay a buck to get a little cup of birdseed, which guaranteed that you'd have one of these birds sitting in the palm of your hand. Elizabeth was disappointed that we didn't pay the piper, but luckily the birds found Daddy's ball cap top button and watchband extremely alluring. At one point, I had three birds on my hat! When we put the cap on Elizabeth, the birds were all over her.

Just to prove it was really an aquarium: shark!

That afternoon, we went to Tides for a swim. The girls were absolutely thrilled by the tiny waves and the (relatively) warm water. Plus sea shells, sea glass, crabs, sea robins, and that old standby, sand.