So, we made it to Boston this weekend, and the weather did it's best for us. I guess I should have also put "healthy kid" on the wish list, because Little Man was fighting a cold which made for a fun little variable on the day/night. Anywho, Little Man had no problem loving the aquarium. I, on the other hand, was a little claustrophobic and overstimulated.

Clearly, I should have expected a ton of people at an aquarium on the weekend in the city. But, jeez...it was CROWDED. Yes, it has a lot more displays/tanks than Mystic Aquarium, but all those people really stressed me out. The giant tank can make the whole trip worth it, because the sharks and sea turtles were AWESOME, but the rest of the aquarium was kind of dark and...well...like I said, claustrophobic. As I expected, Little Man loved the seals (there are the harbor seals outside the front entrance and there are fur seals in another outside display). The fur seal display felt like the most up-to-date part of the aquarium, with an open-air display, bright, airy and most importantly--not that crowded.

While Mystic Aquarium is definitely smaller, I really have to come to appreciate the outdoor exhibits and the openness (is that a word??) of the inside layout. I can also definitely say that while the jellyfish display is smaller at Mystic it is definitely BETTER.

Do I regret the trip? Absolutely not. Little Man loved it, and that is all that matters. Will I take him again? Well, sure--New Baby is going to need a turn--but you better believe that it is going to be on a weekday. I also got to see my best friend, which makes pretty much anything worth it. But next trip to the city, we will probably be hitting up the Children's Museum.

And we will be hitting up the Mystic Aquarium either this week or next week, because I REALLY want to take Little Man into the new (again) Australian (I think??) bird display--it is free for members through May 20. I CANNOT WAIT to see his reaction to birds flying around him. Could go either way...