Seals, Crabs & Salmon

Saturday, June 3

We arrive at the Woods Hole Science Aquarium just before 11am. Two seals are cavorting in an outdoor pool. The sign tells us feeding time is 11, and we quickly learn that these 2 are supposed to earn their meals. This isn’t SeaWorld, however. LuSeal and Bumper are both non-releasable rescues. The “tricks” they do are part of their exercise & therapy. And there’s no coercion. LuSeal had no interest in showing us how to “porpoise,” so she just swam around while Bumper (he’s blind) played fetch, pirouetted, slapped his belly and slid onto a rock on command. He also got 2 or 3 fish for each performance. (I’m sure LuSeal gets her share too.) I believe they each get 7-10 lbs of fish a day. Afterwards we enjoyed cruising the inside tanks. Nothing elaborate, but fascinating all the same. And it’s all FREE. The University of Chicago also has a marine studies center here (as I believe several other schools do at other locations along the New England coast). 

Free Wee Willy?

Skate and Friend

Giant Sea Turtle (model)

Seahorses (not as clear as I'd like)

Lunch in town, finally!! We skipped the pricier places and opted for Quick’s Hole Taqueria – and we chose well. Homemade chips and a fresh salsa bar, and both our orders (pulled pork quesadilla & crispy cod tacos) were excellent (and wickedly fresh). There was a line at the door when we left.  (The Taqueria and sister venue Quick’s Hole Tavern are relatively new, owned by Hollywood folks happy to have escaped that hustle/bustle, and located very near the Martha’s Vineyard ferry landing. I imagine both are turning an excellent profit.

Tummies full, we drove west to the canal. Our fold-up bikes were in the trunk, but the sky was clouding up fast so we went to the Visitors Center instead. Good film on the canal's history. The most important thing I learned was that the US govt actually purchased the canal in 1928, rebuilt it (deeper, wider? - better!) and removed the tolls. Work was done by the Army Corps of Engineers (another "benefit" of the depression). Our camp host says that major repairs are currently being done every couple years and he expects new bridges soon. Your highway taxes at work.

Interesting Clouds (they darkened quickly after this)

Visitor's Center in the Rain (duh)

BlogThought... I tried to find the origin/rationale for Quick’s as the name. No luck, even though I read the entire history of both this and the previous restaurant housed here. I imagine Q’s Hole is either a pun or homage to Woods Hole. I did get an explanation for the horseshoe crab: blood banks extract amebocytes from the blood of horseshoe crabs and use them to detect bacterial endotoxins in human blood. (Good news: only 3-15% of the crabs die; the rest are released to live happy, productive lives.) Anyway, the connection is that the discovery of this medical benefit was made in Woods Hole. 😃

P.S. Dinner was good too.