Invasion of the Jellies with Market Friday

over 2 years ago (Edited)

Welcome to #MarketFriday! I'm taking you to the National Aquarium, which I still call the Baltimore Aquarium. Either name works. The non-profit public aquarium is located at 501 East Pratt Street on Pier 3 in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland. The location is considered the heart of Baltimore, a very trendy part that is littered with the history of its industrial and maritime heritage.

Atlantic Bay Nettle

You'll find these graceful invertebrates housed in the Jelly Invasion Exhibit. They are easily my favorite here, with the long tentacles three to four times their actual length. As docile as they look, they can sting you, which can range from moderate to severe. More like a burning than a sting, it is still rather unpleasant.

Today is #MarketFriday, initiated by @dswigle (Denise, that's me!!) Join me as we share our markets across the globe. I always look forward to seeing what you send me! It is amazing to see the different markets and cultures of our friends here on Hive. The location is considered the heart of Baltimore, a very trendy part that is littered with the history of its industrial and maritime heritage. There is plenty of time to wander through the streets! If you notice below, when they were giving life to the Inner Harbor, they repurposed the Power Plant to a few nice places. The entire downtown area is beautiful. We can walk around later. Right now, let's go to the Aquarium!

In keeping with the area being a hub for sightseeing, it is also home to Maryland Science Center with a planetarium and observatory, National Aquarium. The Top of the World Observation Level has great views of the city, while a collection of historic warships is docked below. This was beyond pleasing when I walked past them to get to the aquarium. Power Plant Live! is a complex of bars, different places to eat and music venues in a former power station. As you can see from the map below, there is an assortment of things to see and do in the Inner Harbor. source

This is to give you some idea of what the inner harbor looks like, giving you an idea of the eateries or even the Children's Museum. Makes it an easier way to strategize!

But, it is this sign that draws us in this day. I have been here
before, so I will head right to the Jellie tank. No need to rush the whole thing when all I really want is the jellyfish.Step right up and pay the admission price:

Admission:
Adults: $39.95
Seniors (65+): $34.95
Children (3-11): $24.95
Children 2 and under free

The cafeteria and entryway for the Jellies exhibit. You can just look up and see all the different kinds of jellyfish out there, or under there, whatever the case may be. The view from the bottom is so much more fascinating.! It really was an invasion of the jellies!

The Chesapeake Bay is a major waterway here. It has three different jellyfish in it. The moon jellyfish is the Bay’s largest jellyfish found there. It can grow 10 to 12 inches, for the diameter, Literally hundreds of short tentacles hang like fringe from the bell’s edge. She's a beauty, n'est pas? I used the same article as above to glean information.

I ask you...What is the difference between a jellyfish and a sea nettle?

Jellyfish have a transparent, gelatinous body and an umbrella-shaped bell called a medusa. Tentacles with stinging cells hang from the bell. The stinging cells are called nematocysts. Sea nettles have a smooth, milky white bell that grows to about 4 inches in diameter. source

The Atlantic Sea Nettle is the most common jellyfish on the East Coat and especially in the Chesapeake. Below: These are called Moon Jellyfish. It is easy to see why. They are most commonly found on the coasts of North America and Europe as they like the temperature of the water. Their life span is about one year, from beginning to end.

So many different jellies here in this one tank. The Jelly room is amazing. It is literally filled with tanks and you can spin a 360 and watch as each tank has a live ballet being performed at that very moment, trailing her tentacles behind her.

Do you know how jellyfish move? They squirt water out of their mouth and contract and relax muscles to push them forward. Isn't nature amazing? Seriously.

Little know fact: A group of jellyfish is called a bloom.

United States lightship Chesapeake (LS-116/WAL-538/WLV-538) is a museum ship owned by the National Park Service and on a 25-year loan to Baltimore City and is operated by Historic Ships in Baltimore Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. A National Historic Landmark, she is one of a small number of preserved lightships. Since 1820, several lightships have served at the Chesapeake lightship station and have been called Chesapeake. Lightships were initially lettered in the early 1800s but then numbered as they were often moved from one light station to another. The name painted on the side of lightships was the short name of the Light Station they were assigned to and was the daytime visual aspect of the many Aids to Navigation onboard lightships. The United States Coast Guard assigned new hull numbers to all lightships still in service in April 1950. After that date, Light Ship 116 was then known by the new Coast Guard Hull number: WAL-538. In January 1965 the Coast Guard further modified all lightship hull designations from WAL to WLV, so Chesapeake became WLV-538.

Chesapeake had many redundant systems in order to maintain her position through most storms. The 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) main anchor was backed up by a second 5000-pound anchor attached to the side of the ship. The 30,000 candelas main light was also backed up with a secondary lamp and the Radio-Locator Beacon also had a backup system. On more than one occasion (in 1933, 1936, and 1962) the main anchor chain snapped during violent storms and the ship had to use her engines to stay in place and drop her second anchor.source

She sits outside the Baltimore Aquarium, keeping company with all the other historical ships, which I will wait until next time to show them off.

Rules of the Road

Go to the market, or anywhere that you pay money for a service.
Take pictures! Be creative!
Tell us a little bit about the market or the event. What brought you there? What did you buy? How much did it cost?
Post the picture(s) Of course, you should tell a little bit about the ones you post
Use the MarketFriday Community Platform to post #hive-196308 (this is not required, but appreciated)
Drop the link into the MarketFriday comment section so I can find it
Following me and reblogging the post so more see it would be appreciated !! Not a rule, just appreciated, more vision for more views on your posts!
You must put #MarketFriday by @dswigle somewhere on your post. If you don't and someone reads it, there is nothing to tie #MarketFriday to that post.
Please only one post each week. Believe it not, I run out of voting power if you put in many more than that.

Please leave the link to your post here so it can easily be found by others. It helps you and me to have them in one place. Where else can you take such a quick trip around the globe? Thank you so much for joining us!! ❤

And just like that, this post is done. I want to thank you for taking the time to visit and I hope that you too learned something along the way. Just remember, #MarketFriday loves you! Thank you for supporting the challenge! Have a most fabulous day! Cheers!!

As always, there must be flowers to color my world. #alwaysaflower

The jellyfish ballet. Simply beautiful. Every time I stand in front of the jelly tank, the music plays in my head.

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Thank you for visiting my post 💖 Don't ever forget what an amazing world we live in, people. Some days, it is not so easy to see, how truly wonderful it really is. Always remember, kindness counts. Wherever you go, whatever you do.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost