The Aquarium was, in fact, awesome. Great exhibits, great beasties, a stupendous kids’ area, and a Titanic exhibit that made me weepy. Especially when I stuck my hand in 28° water and got an idea of just how freaking cold it is. They had a full-sized set-up that showed you what it would have felt like to be a third-class passenger behind the locked gate as the water came down… Anyway. I’m now in love with dragon fish. Alas, they had no postcards of the dragon fish. I’ll have to find some pics online to print for the scrapbook. Their underwater tunnel was really long, and at one point the water was dark, so I couldn’t actually see the plexiglass above my head and the fish looked like they were floating in midair. However, they had no otters, which made this a non-perfect aquarium.

Oh, BTW, if anyone wants to see what the area we’re in looks like or what sorts of activities we’re wandering off on, go to http://www.curvecowboyreunion.com/

This morning we went on a fantastic nature hike, up to an old homestead. The guide was just excellent. I’ve tasted more unusual plants today than in my entire life, I think. We walked between 2 and 2.5 miles. I was hit on by a male butterfly.

We heard a great clap of thunder as we hiked, and just after we got in the car, it started to rain. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was pouring, with even greater claps of thunder. I would’ve stayed outside in it (big warm drops plopping down), but I had to go potty and I was starving. We ate in the hotel bar (Reuben sandwiches for both of us) with a guy we met the other night, and then he and Ken went a-wandering and I came back up to the room for a much-needed shower. (I had a layer of citronella-based goop and two layers of Deet on my face, because for some reason the bugs liked me today. Usually I’m the last person they come after. Today, it was Dayle’s Eyeballs or Bust as far as they were concerned.) Then I went downstairs and popped e-mail and caught up on journals.

I’ve been nursing a minor headache all day; I think it’s the moisture and pressure in the air. I’m half-tempted to take a nap—but I want to write, too. Irksome.