Small steps....

On Monday, Rainer and I drove down to Point Pleasant Beach with the Sabatinos: Doreen and her kids, Jilian and Joshua. It's become an annual summer event for us; in the past, we've also taker her day care kids, but she doesn't do that any more, so it was a much more relaxed outing. We went to Jenkinson's Boardwalk ( http://www.jenkinsons.com/ ), which is a wonderful place. Clean and family friendly, it has rides for younger and older children, an aquarium, mini golf, a fun house, loads of games and food, and a lovely beach.

The main reason we go there is for the aquarium. It's very small, but it has loads of stuff in a tiny space. Downstairs, there are several large tanks, including the Atlantic and Pacific shark tanks, and many smaller ones with reptiles, frogs, and smaller fish. There is also the model of the Bounty that was used in the Marlon Brando "Mutiny on the Bounty" flick, and Rainer of course LOVES that.

The African penguins are always popular, and Jilian and I tried to ID them all by the beads around their flippers.

Upstairs, we saw the harbour seals, including Rainer's buddy LuSeal, being fed, saw the other exhibits... but my favorite part of the day was something that most people would probably have shrugged their shoulders over. I have, for years, been trying to get Rainer to touch the animals in the touch tank. However, he has issues with texture and surfaces; that's one of his Aspie things. He can't stand certain textures, and having dirty or sticky hands makes him agitated. I mentioned once that maybe he should try it, but I didn't push, and didn't expect him to, and he said that he would pass. He saw a younger boy doing it, though, and suddenly marched off to the sinks to do the required hand washing, then came back, and tentatively put his hand in the water in the stingray tank.

You have to understand that these stingrays BEG to be petted: they follow you around, and stick their heads up out of the water, trying to get attention. I think that's what finally got him; they were being cute. So Rainer touched one on the "nose", and a smile spread across his face. They weren't slimy at all; they were soft on their heads, and the wings were kind of leathery! He petted them both several times, and then became their champion, encouraging younger kids to give it a try, becoming the "little professor".


After the aquarium, we played the pirate-themed mini-golf, the boys and Doreen braved the funhouse, and we had some very nice ice cream. We wandered the boardwalk, enjoying the people-watching opportunities, too. A very, very nice day, with some very, very good friends.