Image used under Creative Commons license from Wikimedia Commons.

See how I did that?  There’s a “Q” in aQuarium, right?  So it’s a Q word.

So there.

But really, I have an ulterior motive:  one of my favorite parts about Chicago is its museums.  And the Shedd Aquarium is one of three on the “Museum Campus,” the other two being the Field Museum and the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum.  You can even craft a special memory with Extraordinary Experiences, behind-the-scenes adventures.

One of the earliest aquariums in the U.S., it is home to many species of aquatic life.  They have a large section devoted to Pacific marine life, but I’m spoiled by having grown up on the west coast.  What I love is the enormous aquarium tank right in the front of the place as you walk in, filled with all sorts of fish.  I think I like aquariums because they’re generally fairly quiet and softly-lit.  Fluorescent lighting gives me a headache, and typically places like this don’t have a lot of it and what there is, is pretty muted.

One interesting tidbit is that when you visit the aquarium, they give you a handout on what fishes are safe to eat because of mercury contamination.

Tomorrow, check back for R – because you’ll be as surprised as me, since I still have “Red Rock Canyon” on my list from when I’d originally planned to do both Chicago and Las Vegas.  Oh dear, what to do.  Hmm.  Chicago with an R…

Thank you for joining us for the A-Z Blog Challenge.  If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave us a link so I can come visit you too.  If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

The theme at Noony’s blog, Explore the Worlds of A. Catherine Noon, is The A To Z of the Zoo.  Join her as she explores Brookfield Zoo and finds animals, birds, and insects from A to Z.

Noony’s theme on Knoontime Knitting – One Writer’s Journey Into 3-D craft blog is Letterforms In Nature and the Built Environment.

The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year.  Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12^th to the 17^th, you’ll be getting live convention reports.  Join the conversation!

The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from Noon & Wilder; the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland.  Check it out!

Our friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and we’ll add you!):

• Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
• Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!