ALIEN LIFE FORMS

Lighting courtesy of the St. Louis Aquarium. This is a photo stop every time I take the kids through but the colors are always different.                

PILE ON

Our aquarium's inhabitants are not limited to fish. Anything approximately wet is within its scope. I don't know what species of turtle these are but they they seem to equally like company and a heat lamp.              

STEAMPUNK SUBMARINE

St. Louis Union Station has had an aquarium since its last redevelopment. It's not on the scale of, say, New York or Chicago, but the kids like it.  The entry area is full of LED screens which, at least at the moment, are made to look like a scene from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.                  

DEEP BLUE

Continuing with the fishy theme since my camera and I haven't gotten back out on the street. I don't know what the species are here but the small ones form a remarkable group. Like some flocks of birds, they move en masse with amazing coordination. I know nothing of the biology of the behavior.            

BITE ME

Not in the best of moods so I thought I'd post a picture of a piranha at the aquarium. They've got a bunch of them but they are. shall we say, segregated.           

IT'S TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down

Seen at the St. Louis Aquarium.                    

MADELEINE MONDAY

I took this picture of my granddaughter at the St. Louis Aquarium a couple of days ago. She's 9, but somehow this gives me an idea of what she may look like as a young woman.              

ANOTHER WORLD

There is a jellyfish tank at the St. Louis Aquarium. Nothing else in it besides the creatures and dark walls. They often shine colored lights on them for an oh wow effect--the original of this picture was in blues--but to me nothing captures their fine structure and other-worldliness better than simple black and white.             

MADELEINE MONDAY

Not the usual pose for a beginning of the week pic of the kid. The aquarium has a pool at child height containing what are sometimes called doctor fish, or, more properly, garra rufa, found in parts of the Middle East and Southeast Asia. They have no teeth and will nibble dead skin from humans, leading to their use  for pedicures in some places. This may not be such a good idea and the practice is illegal in some countries and several U.S. states (but not this one). https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/fish-pedicure#safety-issues     

It feels like tickling to most people. Ellie thought it was a hoot and could hardly pull herself away.      

HOUSEKEEPING

Our aquarium is not up there in the rankings for size and scope. There is one main tank with lots of species, along with several smaller containers. Ellie and I spotted these divers who had what looked like a vacuum and scrub brushes. She wanted to know what they were doing. A staff member told us they were cleaning food debris and fish poop. It's a tough job but someone has to do it.                  

BFFs

BFF is an acronym that my granddaughter and children her age use for Best Friends Forever. It may be aspirational but it's a sweet sentiment. Now that school is out for the summer, when her mom has to work and she is at our house it sometimes falls to me to keep her occupied. On Thursday, she and I went to St. Louis Union Station, once one of the great railway junctions of America. That went kaput, of course, but it has been redeveloped into a fancy hotel and a large, overpriced, entertainment center catering to families.  

The first thing she wanted to do was the aquarium. Not huge but fun for kids of her age. She was fascinated by these very friendly turtles who perhaps intended to be BFFs.              

NO SOCIAL DISTANCING IN SCHOOL

And what's the point of masks under water? I guess you can't get a lung disease if you don't have lungs, only gills. And do they always go counter-clockwise from this point of view, and why?                

I'LL HUFF AND I'LL PUFF

Still at the aquarium because what else have I got to post this miserable winter? This, I am told, is a puffer fish, and there is a wide variety of species (you could look it up). Ellie and I waited and waited for it to inflate itself. Move along, folks, there's nothing to see here, it seemed to be telling us. I guess there was nothing to threaten it,.                     

ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE

More underwater adventures. The evolutionary development of this creature is remarkable. I assume all the frills are to make carnivores think this seahorse is a plant. No dangers in its current environment.              

OTHERWORLDLY

Jellyfish at the St. Louis Aquarium. The light was a gift. You need the brightness on your monitor  up fairly high to appreciate the color and detail.                 

WE FINALLY GET TO THE AQUARIUM

A century ago our main railway station was one of the great junctions of North America. We all know what happened to passenger rail service with the coming of the automobile and airlines. Union Station was a work of magnificent urban architecture, something like a fantasy German castle. The last train left in 1978 and the place went dark.

There have been a couple of attempts to repurpose it. The headhouse became a gorgeous hotel, which endures. The area out toward the train shed was turned into a dining and shopping venue. It failed after the novelty wore off. Now it is full of unusual entertainments and doing well. There is a grand Ferris wheel, seen here before. I won't mention all the other attractions but the main one is an aquarium, something St. Louis never had. It's about three years old and we had not visited. Reviews were mixed: not that big, overpriced (that's for sure).

Ellie and I went yesterday because the kid needed something to do. There were many children's activities. It was great for a seven year old and her photographer grandfather. Maybe not so much for adults by themselves.                

I COULD USE SOME OF THAT

Part of what has become of St. Louis Union Station, once one of the grand railway junctions of America. It fell into disuse and great disrepair, after which it was remodeled into a restaurant and rather cheesy shopping center. That did okay for a while but after a time it  stopped drawing people from the suburbs and failed. The current iteration has a variety of entertainment attractions, a big Ferris wheel, mini golf, a rope climbing course and an aquarium. All quite overpriced but it was doing well enough until the pandemic. The wheel is open but I wouldn't go in it unless each car was fumigated between groups of passengers.

There is a restaurant simply called The Soda Fountain. It has a retro look, plays 50s and 60s music, and has a huge variety of ice cream concoctions. Apparently  you can get them laced with vodka or a liqueur. I might try that when it's safe to eat indoors.