Alan Ilagan

Our first full day in town began with the bright bust of this Cosmos flower. The condo is currently undergoing a little exterior refurbishment, so we were surrounded by scaffolding and caution tape.

The gardens along the Southwest Corridor Park have really taken off in the last few years. All the neighborhood seems keen on keeping them up, and can be seen weeding and watering every weekend. Here is a white Cosmos.

We were headed to the New England Aquarium, so we went underground on the Orange and Blue Lines.

The T still holds the heady heat of summer – it won’t dissipate until late Fall.

Now the only relief is the rush of the trains, and the inside of the cars.

We are behind the early rush of commuters, but slightly ahead of the tourists – a fortuitous streak of good timing.

After an endless flight of stairs (thanks to a broken escalator), we are back in the daylight and just a few steps from the aquarium.

My first trip to the New England Aquarium was when I was a little boy. We rode the bus as part of a group – the ones whom I remember being there are my Mom, Suzie, and Suzie’s Mom. It was a day trip, and the only other thing I can really recall is the seal group outside, and a couple of vendors selling chinese yo-yos. Oh yes, and the penguins.

The first thing that greets you (after the seals) is the smell. I love the way it smells. Not fishy exactly, more primordial. It is the scent of life (not penguin poop – though at times that is there too). When faced with the models and skeletons of enormous sharks and whales, you are confronted with the most basic questions of existence, if you allow it (and can shut out the screams of excited children).

Something about the ocean has always fascinated me. The life beneath the sea has a strange, hypnotic pull – mostly because of the fantastic creatures and the ways in which they manage to survive.

The obvious ocean inhabitants are all here – a seahorse, a starfish, and the camera-shy octopus (one of the most difficult creatures to keep in captivity – they’re simply too smart).

And the lovely lionfish, pretty and poisonous, armed with venom-filled spines, yet remarkably easy to keep, even in larger home aquariums.

The main draw is the immense central aquarium, in which shadowy sharks glide slowly by the window panes, sting rays fly with gracefully-undulating wings, and a sea turtle playfully poses upon the man-made reef. An eerie peace exists beneath the water lit from above, and in the middle of this city a wet oasis of dim, murky quiet reminds visitors of the world just off-shore.

Next: Lunchtime by the Wharf, and a shopping excursion.