After a big day yesterday and last night we had a good nights sleep. We wake to a overcast and showery morning, but still 20 degrees. We have planned out our route to the natural history museum and google said it would take 52 minutes. So we decided to head off at 9.20 to have a bit of leeway before our scheduled 10.30 entry. The showers have stopped and no more are predicted. It is cloudy and humid. We arrive at 10.15 on the Columbus ave side. I guess I am slower than even googles assessment now. We continue on around the building to the entrance. There is a line about 50 metres long waiting to enter.
The line moves along pretty quickly and once we have entered through the scanner we are able to bypass the line purchasing tickets and go straight in as we had reserved our times two days ago. The exhibits are impressive and are as we remembered them from our last visit. It is 11 am and we have an 11.30 reserved time for the planetarium for the Worlds beyond Earth show, so we head to the Big Bang exhibit which is a movie like show where we all stand in a circle and look down at a screen. The show takes us back in time to when the universe was created by a big bang! How, why or who created it no one knows. The effects since last time have improved as has the knowledge and information that was provided. We then had time to view a display on how the earth was formed, with the inner core, the tectonic plates, the types of rock, volcanoes, earthquakes and samples of different types of rock and asteroids.
It was then time to head off to the Worlds beyond Earth show for 12.30. In this theatre you sat round in a circle with the seats slightly reclined, as the screen was above us. This was fantastic as we took off from cape Canaveral on our way to the moon. We then followed various space probes as they travelled to the distant planets, asteroid belts and moons. The liveability of the planets was explained and how earth was the goldilocks planet, with everything going right for it to be able to sustain life. The images of how our magnetic field prevents the suns radiation from doing more damage was fascinating. The graphics in the movie were much improved from last time and obviously added to by our increased knowledge.
We then viewed a few more exhibits until it was time for the Blue Whale movie. This was in a more conventional theatre, but with a huge screen. The blue whales are enormous and have been brought back from near extinction. They are magnificent creatures and according to the scientists are essential for the health of practically all creatures in the sea. They eat huge amounts of krill, but then shit huge amounts of nutrient that phytoplankton feed on that krill then feed on that whales, fish, dolphins feed on and so it continues like a closed loop. To severely damage that loop could affect all living creatures in the sea.
By the time this movie was over it was 1.45. So we had a quick look at the dinosaur exhibits and then it was time to head back. We arrived back on board at 2.50 pm after picking up a couple of bottles of wine along the way and some M&Ms. No one checked us for alcohol so we got them onboard with no corkage. We have now got enough for our run home if we limit ourselves to two bottles at the weekends. We will still have our mini bar for in between.
We set sail from NY at 5.15 pm and now have the next 4 days at sea before we reach the Panama Canal.
I will post photos from the sail away tomorrow.
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