My husband and I visited the Sea Life Aquarium in Auburn Hills, MI today in our ongoing quest to see an octopus. Since it’s one of our favorite animals, and the mascot for our trivia team Miskatonic University Fighting Cephalopods (look for us on Facebook here – we felt it was our mission to see one of these lovely animals in person! We’d failed in two previous attempts to see an octopus in captivity. The first time was in April, 2017 at the Toledo Zoo, and the second time was at the Virginia Beach Aquarium in October, 2017. Nope, no octopus sightings for us!

So we went up to the admission desk, showed our tickets that we’d purchased online, and got into the joint. It started out WEIRD. We were ushered into a darkened room, and the doors closed behind us. And closed in front of us, too. And we stood there with a family of four – watching a silly video involving an animated sea horse – and an animated sea turtle. I think they are mascots for the aquarium, since you can buy plush versions in the gift shop. For a second there, I thought we’d accidentally booked an escape room and started wondering if we had to look for clues to get out! It was actually kind of awkward. But we learned later that the staff will let you bypass this room if you ask (which we did the second time we got in).

All of that was worth it, because WE GOT TO SEE AN OCTOPUS!

This shot was taken at feeding time for Mera the Giant Pacific Octopus. Here she is showing one of her lovely, lovely arms. She weighs about 35 pounds soaking wet (see what I did there) and is about four feet long.

We couldn’t get great shots, because, well, cephalopods – octopuses, squid, cuttlefish, nautilus –  kinda dig the darkness. In their natural habitats, they live in the dark depths of the oceans, where very little light trickles through. So this is kind of how the aquariums like to keep things for them – nice and dark – and with cold, cold water in the tank! People are advised not to take flash photos of these marvelous, marvelous creatures. What’s not to like? They’re super smart, they’re strange, true to themselves, and beautiful in their own, bizarre way. And so mysterious! No animal does “lurking” and “gloomy” better than an octopus! Sure, you can imagine these things swimming around like crazy in their tanks, but nope. They just tend to find a cozy corner – usually one that is least convenient for prying human eyes to see – and they hang out there.  They are nocturnal, and apparently get a bit more lively at night. If you have the opportunity to visit an aquarium with an octopus later in the day, do it! We did not want to drive 50-plus miles home – after dark (especially when metro Detroit traffic is involved…ugh). I think I kind of understand these creatures a bit! I have found myself perking up in the the evenings more times than I can count (especially if I plan to go out for a trivia game). I love the hunt for prizes just like an octopus loves the hunt for…food! We’re not that different, after all (LOL)!

 

A peek at the Sea Life Aquarium interior. Here, my husband catches me taking a selfie…which I could not resist doing while I had fishes swimming around above my head!

And here is that resulting selfie…

I’m not huge on selfies…but if the backdrop beckons!

One of the aquarium workers served up a “tentacle talk” (yes that is what they called it) while we were there, basically telling us various facts about the octopus, most of which we knew already. They can change color, they can squirt ink, they’re nocturnal, they have copper-based blood so it’s blue, yada yada. Since these “tentacle talks” have to be kid-friendly, there was no mention of the freaky things they do when they’re getting it on (see my blue-ringed octopus blog for more about those facts).  She also had an octopus beak, which is essentially the only “hard” part of their bodies. Whatever space the beak fits through, the octopus shall go!

This is not the actual beak shown to us today, but it’s very similar.

A couple of facts surprised us (though didn’t TOTALLY surprise us). One, their saliva is a bit venomous. Which makes sense, after all, they can’t just walk into Aldi or Costco and buy their food – they have to HUNT for it – which means they have to use their own bad-ass techniques to subdue the creatures they want to eat. And then, if the creature doesn’t kill them and eat them first, they eat ’em. Crustaceans are among their favorite delicacies. This means lobsters, crabs, shrimp…they also like herring (though herring is not a crustacean, it’s a fish, but you knew that, right?)

Another notable fact is each individual “suction  cup” on an octopus arm can lift the equivalent of about 35 pounds. A woman and a couple of her small children were listening to this fact being read aloud, and I said to the woman, “So how much do your kids weigh?” She kind of pointed at one of them, indicating that the kid probably weighed about 35 pounds! All that aside…that’s pretty amazingly strong! Speaking of kids…

 

Lego giraffe standing by the entrance to the Sea Life Aquarium, which is a great place to bring kids – there are plenty of staff members on hand to help teach kids about marine life, and there is even a tank where big and little kids alike can touch various animals, such as sea stars. As for this photo…I like posing with things that are taller than me. Funny, we just had a trivia question about this animal in our game on Wednesday!

The Sea Life Aquarium and Legoland are both owned by the same company – and located in the same shopping center. Combo tickets are an option – buy a ticket that will get you into Legoland and the Aquarium for the day. If you’re a parent, your kid is bound to be entertained by at least ONE of these options! We did not go into Legoland’s building/workshop area (which charges an admission fee), but we did check out the retail store a bit. The upbeat instrumental music that was playing would probably make me “stabby” within about 15 minutes, lol. And if I get “stabby,” it would probably be best for me to not meet that Legoland employee whom, as rumors tell, could be my younger doppelganger.

Here’s how I imagine this going down if I meet this woman (if I am NOT in a stabby mood):

“Hey, I don’t know how you managed to get my DNA, but as of now, the jig is up.”

Maybe I’ll have to buy an ticket for Legoland, lol…