Happily Ever After...

This past weekend we took our family outing at The Deep, an industrial contemporary building in the heart of the city of Hull. This particular part of the city appeared a little shabby and the darkened gray winter sky gave it the appeal of a dilapidated industrial complex. To be fair, i should mention that as we drove home, the shopping complexes and more residential areas seemed to have much more charm than the port like area that we had spent the day in.



As we entered the Aquarium at Hull we noticed quite quickly that the Aquarium wasn't entirely devoted to aquatic life, in fact, it seemed they were quite diversified offering such toys in their gift shop as the "Peppa Pig Puzzle" for children, about ice skating no less. What does this have to do with the Aquarium...um, still trying to figure that out!
We carried on through the meandering walkways and ramps, finding these interesting monitors with trivia and games throughout. Most having to do with building a prehistoric sea animals or asking the reader how they think something was made and other such questions. We did feel there was far more technology than fish, but the point is, the children seemed to have a really good time.


We did see many glamorous displays of fish, walked through a glass tunnel that made it seem we were, like Moses, passes through the depths of the ocean itself.

Probably my very favourite sea creature is the Sting Ray, when we went to the aquarium in Houston they had a tank of wee ones that you could reach in and touch as they went by. Their slick, velvety texture wasn't at all as creepy as you might think, but rather lovely. Here we found Sting Rays happy to pose for the camera and much larger than i had previously seen.

I think the children's favourite part of our visit was visiting the interactive area. Here was an artificial sea floor, where digital fish swam around. The point was to see if you could stamp the fish as they swam by. However, these lightening fast pixellated fish would slip by to avoid the stomping feet of our hyperactive children with their exhaustive enthusiasm.

The children's play area was a bit thread-bear, and the 3D movie was watched from the middle of the exhibit area, sitting on the floor with a projection screen on the wall. The kids didn't seem to mind and i thought this was an opportune time to go have a cigarette. The din in the place was so loud with background noise i didn't hear my husband tell me that to get outside would be like walking miles, so having not heard the warning, i walked the winding paths and sloped, turned corners and followed signs. Finally, arriving at a glass enclosed elevator positioned to ascend up the side of the main fish tank (to peer in), I, in my genius decided not to wait for the queue to dwindle and took the stairs. All eight flights of them. Arriving back at the Cafe where we had just finished our lunch i ask the ticket attendant where i might go to have a cigarette, she pointed to second elevator down the hall and gave me another myriad of directions that made me wish i had brought a map.

Once outside the crisp winter air blew my ski jacket around me to hug my shape as i lit up my cigarette holding onto it so as not to have it swept away on the sea wind.

Having felt I completed my daily workout, I made my way back inside, from the beginning and wound down, down, down the spiraling ramps to where my family waited for me. The children climbed on a display sea snail and i couldn't help but snap a shot!



But we did see some fish along the way and Michael and I were enchanted by what we did see. The children were pointing and shouting through the thick glass as though the fish might suddenly stop and favour them with a wave.


It had been a very long day, from just before lunchtime to just after dinnertime. I still feel thrilled at passing the many landmarks on our journey. One such landmark of note was Killingholme Creek (which when we drove over it had a lot more water in it than the picture shown).

I am told the Mayflower was a very small ship, only carrying 90-100 people, and yet, this Creek is where they sailed from. It is possible that the creek has somewhat filled in due to erosion over the past many years. Immingham, the least charming town i have ever seen, has the great honor of boasting the bon voyage of The Mayflower. I never gave much thought to the fact that our ancestors came to the Americas on the Mayflower, as far as i knew as a child, everyone boasted their ancestors came over on the Mayflower. It wasn't until my mother produced a book in my early teens, our family Geneaology, that proved, indeed our long dead relatives did make this journey. So, it was a bit of an "Ah ha" moment and a brief introspective time for me, as I have been to Plymouth, from where they arrived, and Now I have driven over Killingholme Creek from whence they set sailed.




The children happily played Rock, Paper, Scissors from the backseat of the car and Michael then told me we were approaching yet another landmark. It seems i slept through this particular historical item on the way in.

I looked and there saw a suspension bridge that could make the citizens of San Fransciso weep. I am told (and have verified) that when it was built in 1981 it was the longest single span suspension bridge in the world, at a staggering one and a quarter miles long. It held its record for sixteen years, now in fifth place, the record is owed to Canada, but it remains the longest in the U.K. ...and yes, we drove over that bad boy!


see below for more fish pictures...