Nickel the turtle

Today, I went to the Shedd Aquarium for the first time since the early 90s. The lobby reeked of something so vile that I had to hold my breath to avoid losing my lunch all over the floor. I believe it was a combination of popcorn (from the popcorn machine nearby), baby poop, puke, homeless people, and god knows what else. I even had to question my strong gag reflex after today.

However, the presence of the ungodly smell in the entire museum (never underestimate the power of diffusion) was hardly surprising, seeing that the whole place was crawling with dirty little kids whose parents didn't seem to mind that their precious little angels were banging their applesauce-covered hands against glass tanks and wiping their boogers on the handrails. Every time I go to a tourist attraction, I leave with the intention of never, ever having kids (but if I end up with one, they will be so much better-behaved than the little brats I see running and screaming all over the place).

With all that said, I had a great time hanging out with an old friend from college! She's the cat's pajamas.