Starfish

I next stopped in Seaside, OR which has a lovely big beach. The town is one of those "faux" towns that's built entirely around shopping. Like a more low-brow Carmel or Rockport, MA. Anyways, off in the corner of town is a very shabby looking privately owned Aquarium. It's been in operation since the 30s and it shows. But, they did have some very cool animals and a lot of "touch tanks" where I got to touch starfish, urchins, anemones, and crabs. The anemones seem to just kind of "stick" to your fingers - and that's their sting! It's very cool. The strangest and most interesting animal was the Pacific Giant Octopus. It's impossible to explain it - it's like an alien species - it swims like you might imagine a ghost would fly. And it actually looks at you with it's eyes...very strange.