2014-06-21 夏至
【Aiden in English】 I was sick and tired of Ocean City, MD, and so was Dad. That's when Dad had a brilliant idea to visit Baltimore and its aquarium, the largest in the nation. I agreed at once, and we bolted for the car. There was so much for a brilliant idea. The price has doubled since my last visit. Walking into the building, I noticed a few exciting activities to do, such as feeding or touching the fish. Instead, there were boards of information that I barely even tried to read. Even the dolphin show was gone, and it was replaced with a training demonstration since the trainers or dolphins had killed some trainers during training routines. It became more controversial than ever before, though. Only a few aquariums in the US are hosting dolphin shows. People also thought it resulted in animal abuse because some animals may not like performing, which I understood. I also felt grateful for those who noticed the animal's rights and emotions. What slapped me in the face was that when I was young, this aquarium was one of my favorite places. Back then, I thought it was filled with wonders of the sea. And I still feel so now, except for Baltimore Natl. The aquarium kinda lost its luster. Probably because I expect more as I grow up, but whatever reason it is, I'm not going back. 【紅霞譯】
我實在玩膩了馬里蘭“心愛之地”州海洋城，老爸所見略同。正在此時，他靈機一動計上心來，何不到巴爾的摩“大房子”城遛達一趟，順便參觀全美最大的水族館，我舉雙手贊成。於是倆人鑽進車裡，旋風般狂奔而去。
雖說主意不賴，但我們為此而付出加倍的代價，門票面值比我上次來訪時正好翻了一番。
我一走進大樓即刻發現，除了餵魚親手觸摸海洋動物之類的遊藝項目外，大房子城國家水族館不再令我興致盎然，我甚至懶得追蹤布告欄上的消息報道，海豚表演也被取消，取而代之的訓練示範可用來畫餅充飢。海豚表演越來越有爭議，由於某些教練員因訓練海豚而橫遭海豚報復致死，現在美國國內僅有個別幾家水族館仍保留這項娛樂活動。與此同時，公眾也認為海豚表演勢必導致虐待動物，因為有的動物未必喜歡登台演出，我深表理解，值得欣慰的是動物權利及其情感問題已經引起人們的關注。 我好像在摑自己一記耳光，回想起小時候，該水族館可謂本人最喜歡光顧的地方之一，年幼的我對大海滿懷憧憬。如今我依然迷戀十萬個為什麼，只是不再着眼於巴爾的摩國家水族館。或許隨着年齡增長，我的期望值大幅度提高，但無論何種原因，我不會故地重遊。 
National Aquarium in Baltimore, in Red on the Left (國家水族館巴爾的摩分館·左邊紅樓 06-21-2014)  Baltimore Inner Harbor, Featuring the Historic Ship USCGC Taney (WHEC-37) Docked @ Pier 5
(巴爾的摩內港·停靠在5號碼頭歷史悠久的美國海岸警衛隊艦艇“塔尼‘金棕色’號” 06-21-2014)  Blacktip Reef (黑鰭礁 09-01-2006)
 Brain Coral (腦珊瑚)
 Jelly Blubber (鑲嵌水母)
Crosslinks(相關博文):
USA(出遊美國)
5th Grade(小學五年級)
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