Aquarium Sleepover Trip Report

Dear Community,

Today's newsletter is an Aquarium Sleepover Trip Report

Who and why

I wanted to celebrate the end of our 30-Day Reset. What a great success that was, by the way! Will most likely do it again. 

5 women said yes. One almost chickened out of the trip (in her own words). Because who has aquarium sleepovers other than 10 year-olds?

And why would anyone even consider an aquarium sleepover?

Because on paper, it sounds incredible. Wouldn't YOU want to share your Dream Space with exotic fish, sharks, octopuses, dolphins and millions of gallons of  water? Wouldn't you want to know what dreams the rulers of your unconscious cook up in a place like that? Well, I would. Turns out, so did four other women (thank you, sisters, for seeing the beauty and the potential in the mild derangement of the sleepover proposal)

The Departure

Three of us left my home in the camper van and were pleasantly dropped off in front of the Aquarium by my husband. We mostly talked about the World Cup and how the whole of the United States (at least the cities where the World Cup is happening) is loving on all these soccer players from all over the world (this made my heart soar). I also learned that the TSA issued a public service announcement, reminding travelers that ranch sauce is considered a liquid and must be put in checked luggage. Because apparently, a Swedish tourist compared ranch sauce to crack and now the whole Europe needs ranch ASAP.

The Arrival

Everyone’s fears were assuaged when it turned out we weren't the only grown-ass women  — not even close! There were two other twenty-somethings in fish pajamas, and the somber parents, well into their 50’s, of a family of four. Everyone else was 12 or under.

We were guided to the side entrance and to the “classroom” where we left our belongings. We were part of the  horseshoe crab group. (btw, thank you Caroline for the information, I know you mentioned some of it, but I was too tired to process at the time, so I looked it up afterwards. Absolutely incredible facts:  horseshoe crab blood is primarily harvested by the biomedical industry to produce Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), a clotting agent. Because its copper-based, the bright blue blood of the horseshoe crab clots immediately in the presence of dangerous bacterial endotoxins and it is the global gold standard for ensuring the safety of intravenous drugs, vaccines, and implantable medical devices).

Rice crispy treats in brown papers were waiting for us in the “classroom”. (Snack of choice when you’re 10.)

Some of us, wisely rejecting the hypothesis that we’re all pre-pubertal, went on to have an actual dinner, with grown up food like quinoa, roasted tomatoes and other grown up ingredients. I do have to say, occasionally,there are advantages to acting your age.

The Tour

The tour started with the dolphins. All the dolphins at the Baltimore Aquarium are born in captivity. And apparently, dolphins in captivity live twice as long as those in the wild.

Dolphins are highly intelligent — by our anthropocentric standards. You can sometimes tell them apart by the size of their rostrums (thank you, Karen for the observation). They're also fascinated by gravity. Archimedes' principle at work keeps them mostly buoyant (they also actively regulate their depth using lung volume and muscle), so when the trainer dropped an object outside the tank, the dolphins crowded to watch and seemed excited (observation based on their head movements- again, more anthropocentric view of the world, but this is the best I can do right now).

My question for the dolphin trainer was about telepathic communicationbetween humans and animals. See P.S.  for more details about this absolutely fascinating topic.

The Movie

The story of Bungee The Sea Turtle that we watched in the 4-D Theatre was fabulous and captivating. I learned more than one thing there (thank you, Heather! and also thank you, Michele, for the memento that will forever remind me of Bungee), but if I were to distill my learning into ONE treasure to keep forever, it would probably be the fact that sea turtles know how to navigate the magnetic fields of the Earth to the point that they can return  to the same place where they were born 25 years earlier. But the real treasure I will forever cherish is the awe — at the fact itself, and at what it points to: all the hidden capacities we carry without knowing it.We are animals too, after all. And there's every reason to believe our bodies hold the same innate wisdom as the sea turtle, the hummingbird, any creature that knows things it was never taught. We used to have the ability to read the earth's magnetic field, to know where we were on the planet without a single landmark, to feel a storm before it arrived, to navigate by star and wind and the temperature of water underfoot.  Then we built walls, roofs,  cities that block the sky, shoes that insulate us from the ground, screens that eat our attention whole. We outsourced memory to writing, navigation to GPS, the sense of time to clocks. And we called all that progress. And it was true progress, in many ways, except there was a cost. Have you heard the saying: “use it or lose it”?. It turns out, the way genetics works (and there’s the blind deep sea fish experiments to prove this) is that what gets selected out over enough generations fades. (Not clear if it sometimes completely disappears).  We are the most comfortable animals that ever lived and theoretically, the most severed from ourselves.

More Tour

We touched (literally! with our fingers!) jellyfish and horseshoe crabs. We looked at puffins, moray eels, longhorn cowfish, sturgeon. Did a catwalk over the shark tank and learned about shark teeth ( they have 200-300 teeth in their mouth at all times!)and  they lose a lot of teeth up to 30k in a lifetime. Their lost teeth were sparkling on the bottom of the aquarium.

We also felt very sad at  the creatures being locked and not free in their natural habitat. I soothed my aching conscience by thinking about all the awareness to water health, ecological issues and environmental issues the Aquarium brings. There is definitely complexity here: the aquarium exists because people pay to see captive animals, AND that revenue funds the rescue, the education programs, and the Chesapeake Bay work. More on this in the P.P.S.

Bedtime

We picked our sleeping spot, started unpacking and took a bathroom break. By the time we were back, it was over. Approximately 20 to 30 rambunctious, sneezing, coughing youths had colonized our corner completely. This qualified as a small emergency- we repacked our gear and  started looking  for another spot (because sleepy time was going to turn into a literal nightmare surrounded by all those young, coughing, sneezing, loud souls.)

Finally, into a cave-like territory, we put down our sleeping gear and got ready for our immersion into Dream Space, fishes silently swimming around us.

Very appropriately, surrounded by all this water, how could have the dreams turned out anything other than a bit wet! (thank you, Caroline, for that insight).

It was breakfast time after this- the voice of the woman introducing us to the food and the recycling was something from “Orange is the New Black”. A  jail guard shouting orders to inmates. But our mood was too high to be brought down by the earthly realities of prison-like atmosphere. We went on with our stories, continuing to weave our connections to each other, talking about future, past, hopes, dreams, fears, with the help of my Universal Waite Tarot card set. (It is one of my great pleasures in life to do readings for people. Even though I’ve been practicing for 8 years-  I am still a total beginner, because I can’t even remember the meanings of some cards to save my life).

The moment to say goodbye came. Aching bodies, soaring spirits.

Remember my friend who almost chickened out partly because aquarium sleepovers are for ten-year-olds?

She was right.

They are for ten-year-olds.

They're also for women who still know how to become ten years old for one night and I have a feeling that's a rarer species than most of the ones we encountered on Saturday.

P.S.: Here’s an absolutely fascinating episode from The Telepathy Tapes where the producers dive into the fascinating world of animal telepathy with renowned communicator Ditte Young, whose work has transformed the relationships between top equestrians and their horses. Two of the other podcasts guests are  Ellen Birgitte “EB” Farbrot, a Norwegian dressage rider who has competed in two World Championships and qualified for two Olympic Games, and Amalie König, a Danish national showjumping team rider with multiple championship wins. Both athletes share remarkable experiences of how Ditte’s telepathic insights have helped them overcome challenges with their horses—ranging from debilitating performance blocks to deeply personal health revelations that their animals seemed to sense before they did. Here’s the link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0CvVjokbCLCCJ63mOTzmLs?si=FId-SbhJQu6rxD7qrDdJqw

P.P.S: What the National Aquarium Of Baltimore  contributes:

Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation — Their Marine Animal Rescue Program has rescued, rehabilitated, and returned to the wild seals, dolphins, porpoises, pilot whales, pygmy sperm whales, sea turtles, and a manatee. Since 1991, the rescue program has operated under NOAA permit, and all rescued seal rehabilitation takes place at their Animal Care and Rescue Center.

Education — Research found that a visit to the aquarium positively influenced visitors' knowledge, though it did not lead to measurable change in conservation behavior — with the authors noting that learning at zoos and aquariums may take time to assimilate. More concretely, sixth-grade students from Baltimore City Public Schools are engaged in researching aquatic species in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including testing water quality in the Inner Harbor.

Local Community Access — The aquarium welcomed 109,156 guests for free or reduced admission in 2025, matching a record-setting year, and through programs like Read to Reef, brought thousands of young Baltimore readers in for free.

Chesapeake Bay Conservation — From early on, the aquarium was involved in studies of Chesapeake Bay water quality, emphasizing the importance of pure water to ecosystems. More recently, they hosted the Chesapeake Executive Council for a historic vote to approve a new Bay health plan through 2040, with membership including governors of six watershed states.

Evolving on Animal Ethics — This is worth noting. In 2016, the aquarium made an unprecedented move by announcing plans to retire all its dolphins to a seaside sanctuary — a sign the institution is capable of self-correction. As of late 2023, the aquarium had narrowed potential sanctuary locations to either the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico. However, as of mid-2026, progress remains slow, with the interim CEO saying they are "actively working" to figure out what that looks like.

P.P.P.S.: Thank you for the beautiful responses I received after last week’s newsletter. As promised, I am featuring responses here. 

Emma’s “free” pleasure list:

The feeling of sand beneath my feet while listening to the soothing waves 

Running through the sprinkler with my children

Watching my children learn/discover/conquer something new 

When my husband comes home from work 

To be shown by someone that you are known (for example when you offered me sparkling water because you knew me well enough to know I probably wouldn’t want to be adventurous)

Getting to fall asleep next to my best friend every night 

Taking a hot shower and then turning it all the way cold right before you’re done

Eating a piece of dark chocolate once the kids go down for a nap

A good hug from my husband after a long day

Kim’s pleasure list (she said: “I have to admit when I first started I didn't feel like I could go past 5 or 6 but it's nice to have that quiet time to really think for a few minutes and get the creative juices flowing!”)

1. Walking outside (as opposed to on a treadmill when the weather isn't ideal); even in the cold! I'll walk in just about every type of weather except I don't enjoy the rain unless I have nowhere special to go

2. Getting a fresh haircut (I'm doing this tomorrow ;))

3. Taking a nap - I wish I could do this every day but I tend to sleep for 1 to 1.5 hours

4. Reading a good book (no specific genre)

5. Organizing/de-cluttering a room

6. Grocery shopping - I love to pick out ingredients to make fresh meals

7. Going to the farmers market. I only go sometimes on Saturday but I am energized by the enthusiastic vendors and fresh food!

8. Walking and getting lost to discover a new place and having a conversation with the locals

9. Making a new recipe with success (sometimes I try my own variations and they don't always work in my favor)

10. Watching my kids achieve one of their goals

11. Shopping for other people (someone mentioned today finding the perfect gift for someone... I LOVE when this happens!)

12. Teaching a class where the students find the discussion engaging and worthwhile

13. Making a craft (I never do this on my own but want to start... nothing too fancy!)

14. Making my Nana's poundcake recipe when it doesn't stick at all to the pan

15. Going to a concert... lately I've enjoyed the nostalgia of 70 and 80's music... I miss those days and lots of bands are touring again from those decades

16. Getting a massage - gives me energy/joy/enchantment EVERY SINGLE TIME

17. Sitting by a fire

18. Candlelight in my house

19. Watching the lights on my Christmas tree (especially when everyone else has gone to bed)

20. Watching the snow fall AND being outside at night after a significant snowfall

21. Watching ocean waves

22. Live theater performance - I'm so in awe of actors/singers/musicians

23. Swimming in the ocean (someone else said that today and ... YES!

24. Doing community service when the recipients can participate too

25. Looking through old photos

26. Playing cards with family

27. Having dinner with a very small group of friends - we only do it 2 or 3 times a year but it is priceless

28. Reaping the benefits of Eric's garden - I have a BLACK thumb but love what he grows outside every year

With love, (a tiny sprinkle of) rage, and reverence,

Your disorganized, recovering people-pleaser, community-dreamer, hope-filled activist in the making, deep-sleeper, clean compliment giver and receiver, not-a-true-exhibitionist, 21-day resetter, recovering prostitute, courageous by practice, trusting by skill, always with my head in the clouds, but loving my feet on the ground, soul worker (!), inner voice listener, pleasure list maker, Aquarium sleepover organizer

Corina