So, we woke up in the #SeaTacRestArea on #I-5North with a new water heater and an unclogged drain… We were ready to hit the road once again… We had quite a bit of time to make up but after spending two days addressing annoying problems with #TheMillenniumFalcon, we needed a day of fun…

Both Tracey and I were extremely on edge by this point… The 8 hour fix yesterday was not an easy one… I had to invent hookups through the plumbing with different pipe fittings on both the water source and the propane source… And of course there were tiny leaks happening where the fitting didn’t sit well… So then I would have to go back into #HomeDepot and get another part… The only great convenience of it all is that I can park my house right outside of Home Depot and do all of my work from there…. I couldn’t imagine how much time it would have taken if we had to travel back and forth every time we needed a new part…

This of course was really frustrating for #TheTravelingMac… Not only was I trying to fix a pretty challenging problem by inventing a whole new system of heating my water but I was hitting all kinds of barriers along the way…

But it was done and over with now… It’s a new day and we are prepared to enjoy it!

I was so surprised that this #RestStop had free coffee! A perfect start to the day! I didn’t have to brew my own…

I don’t know if you have noticed but Tracey and I are obsessed with #animals… So we figured the best cure for our pains was to go see a bunch of #CuteAnimals doing cute things…

That’s right folks, we hit #Seattle,Washington and planned on visiting the #SeattleAquarium….

We found some pretty damn convenient parking that was only a ten minute walk away… It was an open prepaid lot… So what I did was take up two spaces, vertically and paid for them both… It ended up costing us around $30 for four hours…

We immediately hit the #Seashore and looked for some #SeattleSeafood… #Ivan’sSeattle seemed like a good place considering they have been here so long…

And this is the first restaurant I have been to where they actually encourage you to feed the #seagulls… lol…

The #ClamChowder was very good!

And we even got a show with the meal…

There were people hanging on the rail, throwing french fries up in the air and the seagulls were snatching them as they flew by… It was fun to watch…

Seagulls get such a bad rap… They can be annoying when you are trying to relax and eat on the beach… especially if you are trying to fish and they keep on snatching your bait when you cast your line…

But if you really look at them, they are a beautiful bird with amazing #SurvivalSkills… And they pretty much adapt to any #OceanEnvironment that’s thrown at them…

What I really hate is the fact that people find it justifiable to torture and kill these birds just because they are a nuisance to them… I have had many guys brag to me how they feed these creatures alka-seltzer just to see their bellies explode in mid air…

Really? How can you tell such a story and not feel like a complete sociopathic dickhead? All these birds are trying to do is survive… I understand we have to regulate their population but do it in a humane way! Just because you don’t agree with a creatures’ natural habits when you have intruded on their territory, doesn’t give you the excuse to torture and demean the creature… How sick in the head are we? And to think I used to be this way… I am so glad I grew out of such immature cruelty…

And this type of justification to be cruel to another creature by making it appear less superior than everything else, is the exact same tactic that was used by the Nazis in Germany pre and during WWII! This type of thinking goes from a large scale, demeaning the Jewish people so they could annihilate them, to a smaller scale, like justifying torturing a bird!

It’s the same type of thinking morons! When you put yourself above any other creature just so you can be cruel when killing them, then you are right on your way to becoming a disgusting Nazi! Hope you are proud of yourself!

The weather was cloudy and windy but it was warm enough to be outside… At least it wasn’t raining… lol…

We were especially excited about seeing the #otters…  We both are obsessed with otters for some reason… they are just so damn cute and playful…

I couldn’t resist getting a picture of this moment above…

The aquarium was everything I expected it to be….

They had this amazing #OctopusExhibit… This creature was enormous… We even got to experience a little lesson on the #Octopus as the #MarineBiologist fed this mighty creature with a pole…

I guess the Octopus is a very #IntelligentCreature… It’s funny how a lot of these #MarineAnimals seem to be smarter than the ones on land… There was actually a case in a lab where an octopus was climbing out of his tank and going over to other tanks and eating the fish…

But any animal would go through any effort to get fed… the shocking thing about the octopus was that he/she covered its tracks and climbed back into the tank he came from… It took the scientists weeks to figure out how the fish were going missing… lol… That type of tactical thinking shows they are very intelligent…

The seminar about the Octopus was really informative… He talked about how they use their many #tentacles to smell, feel and taste… An octopus is like a huge tongue because their senses are spread all over their body, instead of located in just one place…

This was the perfect escape from the past two days of work and worry…

There was even a #TrumpSupporter at the #Aquarium… Sporting an orange hairdo…

Then we got to our favorite part… The #SeaOtters… And we caught them right when they were feeding…

Otters just make me laugh… Even when they are eating, they look like they are having fun…

They snatch the fish from the water and then they play with it… Rubbing it on their bellies as they swim and eat…

They are so curious also… I caught so many moments of them playing with us and the camera…

Otters are like the dogs of the sea to me… They seem so happy and obedient… They seem to enjoy whatever is thrown at them… A good way to live life…

Tracey and I must have watched them for 20 minutes… There were about 10 of them, swimming back and forth, playing and eating… It almost looked like a choreographed show…

That’s why they would make such a great character in a children’s movie… Everything about them is magical, playful and fun…

I don’t think I have ever seen an aggressive Otter… The only time they show any form of violence is when they are hunting for food… I wonder if they even fight over mates… I would have to see it to believe it…

And when you see pictures like this one above… You just want to hug this creature and its hard to believe the Otter would react aggressively… I just don’t think its in the Otters’ #nature…

Then we went outside to be greeted by this extremely content seal… She was enjoying the tiny amount of sun that was peering through the heavy clouds on this gloomy, windy day…

She was so coy and cute… It was almost like the seal was smirking at me… Like she was in on a joke…

The last couple days of troubles were completely gone by now… I was just smitten with these #creatures… They just seem so happy and enjoying life…

I wanted to jump over the glass barrier and cuddle with this gal, she was so cute!

But the Aquarium was soon closing and we had more to see… So, I had to regrettably say my goodbyes…

Look at that face above! How can you say goodbye to that without your heart melting? It’s like she is asking “Where are you off to?” lol…

Then when we went back inside and there was a tank to view the under water area of the #SealExhibit we were just admiring outside…

I’m one of those guys who is all about #freedom but I have to say I get conflicted when I view aquariums like these that obviously go above and beyond to make these creatures comfortable and happy… I hope no one ever mistakes these great places full of knowledge with anything like Sea World… You can see that profit is the last priority of this place…

But again, why would anyone want to profit off of these creatures’ misery… What for our own entertainment? Again, are we really that sick in the head?

Animals really grab your imagination and emotions… Their innocent curiosity and their submission to the rules around them like its an everyday thing, just really lifts your heart… They make you realize that there is a much bigger, more sensible story out there, while we blow each other up and kill over money and who’s god is better…

The innocence of it all really grabs me…. You realize the ever volatile environment they have to deal with yet they do it with such enthusiasm and what almost seems like a level of ignorance… Because every animal could sit and worry about the ever violent environment they have to deal with but they realize time is short, so there’s no time for worry… What will happen will happen… You can either tackle it depressed and worried or you can conquer it with happiness and enthusiasm… Either way, the environment never changes it tune really… It’s the way you receive it that will determine how your life will be…

This huge fish was giving birth above… Unfortunately the aquarium was closing or I would have stayed to watch this… I mean, you don’t see a fish giving birth everyday… Especially one this big… lol…

Folks, I used to be one of those idiots who took pleasure in attacking things that I didn’t understand and perceived as beneath me… I used to be that guy who thought it was cool to throw trash out of my car window, tipping cows and demeaning any creature I felt was put on the earth to serve me and my needs… People act in this way because they are insecure and don’t know what to do with the aggression that has built up over the years in result of this… So we lash out and attack things that are weaker than us or things we feel threatened by and don’t understand… It’s called power, which us humans are so attracted to we will do anything to have it…

But it’s never too late to change… Don’t beat yourself up, beat yourself off (As my acting teacher in Manhattan liked to say…)

Realize you are a human with feelings and problems.. All you have to do is go out into nature tomorrow and just give yourself to her… Forget about your gods and your own life and just admire the simpleness around you… Examine the smallest blade of grass and notice all of its intricacies… Examine how complex this single tiny blade of grass is and how when combined with all the other grass, it performs a very needed task on this planet… We all do… No matter how small and insignificant we appear to be… Even the things that don’t have the privilege to live should be respected because even though they don’t have our so-called superior thought or the tools to be alive, they still serve a purpose here and should be respected!

Well, we still needed a good curtain call for an amazing day… So my trusty #co-pilot picked out a nice magical chocolate, boozy place called #HotCakes,Seattle…

They used all organic, fresh ingredients and oh boy, was there one hell of a selection… It took us both like 20 minutes to figure out what we wanted in the first place…

We ended up getting two delicious chocolate boozy drinks that were all so decadent and some homemade chocolate treats with toasted marshmallow on top… Yummy!

Tracey and I enjoyed a nice walk around Seattle and ended up here, discussing our adventures of the day and the adventures soon to come… Yesterdays problems were completely gone!

I know I like to beat this subject to death but I do it because it’s such an important lesson to learn if you have not already learned it… It took me 40 years to learn myself… Now that I get it, I want everyone else to discover this freedom… And the first step is going out into nature… Do it once a week, at least… Pick your favorite place to go… The beach, the woods, the mountains… Who cares as long as you are out in nature, with no civilization to be seen… And if you don’t have a favorite place then that’s a real problem… So just pick a different one until you find your ideal outdoor adventure…

Don’t have an objective… Don’t have any plans… And do it by yourself for the first few times… Go out there for at least 4 hours and just observe… Ask yourself questions… think about the Universe around you or the one inside you… Just take the time to understand that you came from all of this around you… Any of this could have changed and possibly affected your existence… Every little particle to the gigantic sun, all have a purpose that allows you and everyone else to exist… We all matter… No one owns or rules this planet.. We are just creatures trying to survive on it…

And one creature was lucky enough to evolve… developing the ability to think intelligently and feel… So now we have the responsibility to not only respect this planet but to protect it from the insecure who want to destroy it… But the only way you do protect this planet is you have to understand it first… Just like every animal understands and respects it…

We should be protecting this land in which we sprung from not trying to find excuses to destroy it and the creatures that live on it… Instead we should worship it and treat it like a god… For if this earth got even half of the respect our gods do, we wouldn’t be in the predicament we are in now…

The Universe is my god and the earth is an angel who serves under the Universe… And her purpose is unknown yet an important one… Especially to those who live on her…