Mystic Aquarium- Mystic, CT

- February 24, 2015

This has easily been one of the coldest and snowiest winters to date in Northeast American history. And when temperatures are hovering around 0°F, we admit the thought of spending your weekend outdoors has very little appeal. So what to does the outdoor enthusiast (a person who can’t sit still on a couch for longer than an hour), do on the weekend? Our question exactly, but luckily 1.5 hours away, Dale Wolbrink, Director of Public Relations with the Sea Research Foundation, was reading our minds. Dale sent us an email inviting Travel The East to visit the Mystic Aquarium this past weekend and we’re very glad he did. When it’s too cold to go outdoors, what other option is there than to bring the outdoors, indoors!

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Mystic Aquarium, located in Mystic, Connecticut, was an easy hour and a half drive from our house which is slightly south of Boston. The aquarium has both outdoor and indoor exhibits with a wide variety of animal species from all around the world. There were fish of all types, whales, sharks, seals, penguins, jellyfish, reptiles and much more.

When you first enter the park, you are awed by an outdoor pool with over 750,000 gallons of water. Mystic aquarium is known to have one of the largest beluga whale exhibits in all of North America. Aside from 20-foot long underwater windows allowing guests to view the three friendly belugas that swim right up to the glass, there are also above-water viewing points at different spots surrounding the pool.

As you head indoors, there are an endless number of fish species that you most likely have never before seen in your lifetime. The jellyfish in particular are amazing, and probably one of our favorite displays. There are also a ton of interactive exhibits. Some of which are more daring than others, like petting a shark in a pool of stingrays. The sharks and belugas were Matt's overall favorite animal sightings of the day.

Mystic Aquarium is not only an great place to visit, they are also leaders in oceanic research. Their endless dedication to research projects have helped further our learning of these aquatic creatures, and allowed for rescues of animals stranded in the wild.

We'll let the photos below tell the rest of the story on our weekend excursion. However the pictures alone do not do the same justice as the one-on-one experience you get from seeing these animals yourself. A visit Mystic Aquarium is a great way to change up the weekend agenda and also escape the cold this winter!