Fish Petting

We were afflicted today by another rainy day which comes with a variety of threats when in charge of a seven-year-old who holds you personally responsible for her entertainment. Great Aunt, as she is wont to do, came to the rescue with an idea. She had last been to Biomes when the Namesake Nephew was in pre-school, so a few years ago. It was still fondly remembered and she learned it was still open. She mentioned this to the FBR on Sunday and when that young worthy heard about the opportunity to pet a shark, that was all that was needed. Biomes Marine Biology Center is a private marine education facility and boasts a hands-on aquarium. It’s located a few miles from Great Aunt’s Rhode Island home.

Lunch with Great Aunt

We drove down around midday only to have Great Aunt treat us to lunch before heading to Biomes. The FBR was enchanted from the minute we walked in and she was petting a large turtle. It turned out petting the shark involved sticking your hands in the water which the FBR wasn’t that thrilled about. She soon realized Great Aunt was almost as easy a mark as her grandfather is. As they walked around the many aquariums, invariably she would ask Great Aunt to do the petting. It was a very cool place dedicated to preserving marine life so the FBR actually received some education, although we kept that on the down low.

Turtle Petting

Great Aunt and the FBR at the Shark Tank

Considering

FBR Showing Great Aunt Where the Fish are to Pet

FBR Acting Submerged

Transfixed

Good Buddies

After leaving Biomes the FBR requested some play time with Remy, Great Aunt’s hyperactive lab (I know, saying hyperactive and lab is redundant). Remy was initially all for the play but I don’t think he used to that level of activity for as long as the FBR was ready to. Eventually he coaxed her into some couch time. On our way home from Cranston, we stopped by the house we lived in while I was stationed in Rhode Island to take a picture. The FBR’s mom lived in the when she was the same age the FBR, her daughter, is, right now. Some serious nostalgia was at play for my Favorite Panamanian and I as we imagined our daughter, who looks so much like her own daughter, in front of the same house. Another good day.

Remy Time

A Tired Lab

Our Old House (1989-1992)

This is the FBR's TV Watching Position in the Man Cave
Unexplainable but Very Cute

One movie fell in my A-Z watch, a keeper, Focus, lots of twists but uber-star power.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course