Cabrillo Marine Aquarium- December 30

It has been a cool day, with either a mist or a heavy drizzle of rain coming down. I want to see the sun all the time out here but, hey, I know that southern California needs the rain!  So,even though we have already seen several aquariums this past year, that is were we headed this afternoon. The Cabrillo Aquarium is located in San Pedro, which is southwest of Los Angeles. We  first walked through the historic section of this town, which has many different shops and restaurants. Then, as we were headed back to our car, a tall tower on a corner caught my attention, as the top of it seemed to be rotating. After watching it for awhile we concluded that it was a security camera with a motion sensor. When someone passed under it, the camera would change its pattern of rotation, peer over at the person and follow them until they moved away from the building. It seemed so human-like in its actions that John and I were soon laughing at it. We asked a passer-by if he knew anything about it. He looked up at it ,laughed and said: " I didn't know that it was there-must be a snitchbox!"

We enjoyed the Cabrillo Museum.  Immediately upon arriving there we first viewed the film Blue Planet narrated by David Attenborough. It was an excellent film showing how tides affect the feeding habits of sea creatures.  In our tour of the acquarium I especially enjoyed the breakwater tank in the Exploration Center, where there was a shark embryo in a sack called a "mermaid's purse" (because it had strings on it which kept it anchored to a rock). When a staff member of the acquarium shone a light on it, the tiny embryo could be seen with its attachment to a yolk sac.  The aquarium also had a tidal pool tank. Quite a number of sea stars and sea urchins could be seen and touched there.