Endless Ocean

The folks who designed the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach took its name to heart:

The exhibits are divided into geographic habitats of the Pacific Ocean - Southern California/Baja, The Tropical Pacific and the Pacific Northwest. You walk through simulated undersea caverns to view the various fish in their simulated habitats.

Audio tour information is available via cell phone (this is the first time I've seen this feature): a toll free number is posted along with the code you enter to access the information. The only charge is for your carrier's minutes. The only downside we saw for this system was that in most parts of the Aquarium, we were unable to get a signal from our carrier (T-Mobile). Other than that, it's an intriguing idea, and one I think more museums will be adopting.

A good portion of the Aquarium's exhibits are outdoors: There is a water play area that your young children will love, touch tanks, a shark exhibit and pinniped show (you know: sea lions and seals).

The marine life represented at the Aquarium is not limited to fish and mammals. There is also a large outdoor aviary filled with lorakeets and other colorful birds, which fly freely through it (and often perch on your shoulder), and that's actually one of my favorite parts of the facility. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovation on Saturday, so we didn't get a chance to feed the birds.

The Aquarium of the Pacific has a pretty good cafe (where they serve Starbucks coffee) and large gift shops with a terrific selection of goodies for all ages in a variety of price points.

It's funny -- we used to hit the local zoos when my daughter was little, but as she's grown older, we've had less desire to go. However, we never get tired of aquariums. Maybe it's the call of the ocean; the rhythms of the waves are peaceful and relaxing. Watching the movements of sea creatures like fish and jellies can be almost hypnotic. And every time we visit, we learn something new.

Not everyone lives near world-class aquariums, but you can experience the underwater environment virtually through Nintendo's new Endless Ocean game for the Wii.

This is a different kind of gaming experience, where you take on the persona of a diver exploring the waters of the South Pacific.

I wasn't sure my daughter and I were going to like it. In fact, she spent the first 20 minutes complaining of all the preliminary exercises she had to go through to "train" her diver.

Ninety minutes later, she was exclaiming that Endless Ocean was "Really cool!" -- and I couldn't get her to stop.

How realistic is it? Check out this video below:

Sounds like fun? You have until February 29 to enter a contest sponsored by Nintendo and Norwegian Cruise Lines where the Grand Prize is a seven-day Caribbean cruise. Details and entry are located here.