Hugging the Fishies

Bob has a thing about stingrays.  Yea--that's different.  But I've learned that if we ever go to a zoo or aquarium that has a stingray pool, I had better drag him around to see everything else first because he'll be hanging over the pool trying to pat the rays until the place closes (OK--I'll admit that they do feel rather nice, sort of soft and velvety and not like their sandpapered skinned shark cousins).   And although he's normally a properly frugal sort of guy, he doesn't hesitate for a moment to drop $5 for an ounce of fish (or $10 or $15) to feed them  (and, yeah, I'll admit that it's kinda fun to do that because they just sort of Hoover it out of your hand).

So when our friend Kim let us know last month that the Gulf World Marine Park at Panama City Beach (where we've fed the rays before) will now let you actually get in the pool with the rays, we of course had to set up a date right away.   Bob wanted to wait in the line immediately when we got there--Kim and I pointed out that we already had the reservations and the swim is limited to six people so there wouldn't be a line, so we really didn't need to be waiting an hour early.  The compromise is that we got to look around for about 45 minutes.

Of course, as a "zoological professional" I had to assure myself about the welfare of the fish.  All was well--we had to shower beforehand, and the fish were not harassed.  Quite the opposite--we all got to pose for a photoshoot where the rays on command would swim into our arms, give us a hug, and stick their heads out of the water for a kiss.  Being as there was a fish reward involved, the rays were mobbing for a chance to pose.  Afterwards we got to swim with them for about a half hour (armed with fish).  The water was lovely and cool on a hot and sticky day and I'm not sure what Kim and I enjoyed more--playing with the rays ourselves, or watching Bob being so happily enthusiastic.

As I am also a properly frugal person (OK, people say I'm a cheapskate) I wasn't going to bother looking at the photo op pictures because they charge an arm and a leg for them.  But Kim wanted to at least look at them.  And when I saw this . . . well, I just reached for my credit card.  Because how often do you get to see a 60-something dude looking like an 8-year-old?