During our visit to Topsail Beach three years ago, New York Corner Deli was our breakfast place on both mornings. Conveniently located in the center of Topsail Island, it was a 15-minute drive from our Airbnb stay. With our stay at Saltwater Suites this time around, the drive was less than 5 minutes. The choice of NY Corner Deli was a no-brainer... for both mornings.
Son and I are sticklers for routine. In every visit to NY Corner Deli, we ordered the same thing: 2 scrambled eggs with toast & potatoes for me, and pancakes for him. In the Surf City visits, I had Mountain Dew instead of coffee. Being a regular coffee drinker five days a week, I took a break from it. My order tasted better than a similar one at Tick Tock Diner. It was great value for money. I always felt that I ate enough to last me through lunch. There was no reason try anything different. Unlike Tick Tock Diner, NY Corner Deli did not have any TVs in the dining area. We go to the beach to get away from the world. TVs keeps us connected to the world and the negativity that comes with it.
Day 3: The Fishes
We left Saltwater Suites before 10am. There was no check-out process other than being out of there by that time. The stay was a great experience. I was happy to give it an overall 4-star review: 5 stars for rooms and location, and 3 stars for service. We would likely patronize this place – as well as NY Corner Deli – in future visits to the beach.
It was a 90-minute drive to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (PKS). Weather forecast for the day was "mostly sunny". No mention of showers, which was good. (Nor were there showers throughout the day, which was better.) The route required crossing the Emerald Isle Causeway to get to Pine Knoll Shores. The Causeway was a much longer bridge than Surf City Bridge. The view was far more breathtaking. I wished I had taken some pictures. Thankfully, Mileage Mike Travels has a video of it on YouTube. After crossing the Causeway, it was another 30 minutes drive to PKS.
Unlike New York Aquarium we visited last week, Aquarium PKS did not have a parking booth for gatekeeping and ticketing. Parking was free. One thing Aquarium PKS had that the New York one didn't was a man-made pond in front of its entrance. Tickets to the former were half the price of tickets to the latter. "Looks like this is going to be a modest-sized aquarium." Or so I thought.
In Entrance Lobby, the sign next to the animal sculpture stated that it was an alligator. The sculpture itself had the color of a crocodile. Orientation Lobby was past the Information desk. Up ahead in Orientation Lobby was an entrance with the overhead sign "Mountains" for Mountain Gallery. Upon entering the latter gallery, we were greeted by a man-made waterfall.
Mountain Gallery was a mostly fishes-only collection. For those that are interested, BerdNerd at ZooChat posted a species list for Aquarium PKS. Bear in mind, the list is dated Feb 2022. The Trout Pool was one of several open tanks. Next to it was a "Do Not Touch" symbol like the one shown on the Aquarium map. I believed it meant no putting of one's hand(s) into the tank.
Adjoining Mountain Gallery was Piedmont Gallery. With a similar collection but different species of fishes, Piedmont Gallery also had some non-fishes and non-amphibians. I saw salamanders, frogs, owls and otters. The otters were adorable, as evident by the crowd.
On the right past Piedmont Gallery was Coastal Plain Gallery. This gallery consisted of reptiles alongside additional species of fishes, most notably pond turtles, crocodiles, corn snakes and longnose gars. BerdNerd's list mentions an American alligator, but the creature in the Journey to the Orinoco tank looked way too small to be gator. Furthermore, the written displays by the tank stated "croc".
In the opposite direction from Coastal Plain Gallery, past Piedmont Gallery, and at the far end was an exit leading to Outdoor Marsh Boardwalk. To our right was Eagle Landing, a habitat area for two female bald eagles. Eagle Landing wasn't enclosed – no nets or walls – because both girls couldn't fly due to wing injuries. So no worries about them coming at us with beaks and talons. Don't ask me which one was Uwohali and which one was Shagoie Watha. Both looked the same to me.
Across from Eagle Landing were marshes with two overlooks to view from. The above photo was taken from Bogue Sound Overlook. Further down the boardwalk was a shelter called Snakes of the Maritime Forest showcasing more slithering friends (or fears to those that were ophiophobic), both venomous and non-venomous types. I recalled visiting San Diego Zoo back in the early 2000s. Its collection of snake was at least five times more.
After Snakes of the Maritime Forest was Tree-mendous Nature Play, a play area for kids and the young at heart. Wife observed that the surrounding woods reminded her of childhood times growing up in a similar environment. We continued onto Alice Hoffman Nature Trail for a short distance and then headed back. Slideshow of Outdoor Marsh Boardwalk and Coastal Plain Gallery in the video above right.
We returned to the building and continued on to Tidal Waters Gallery. Judging by the extra-large model of a hermit crab and the two turtle seat sculptures for visitors to chill, we were in a foyer of a separate section... for saltwater species. This section was divided into two galleries of species exhibits. Tidal Waters Gallery was the first. Its collection included stingrays, seahorses and turtles, as well as fishes swimming in tanks with undersea decors. One such decor was a replica of Blackbeard's ship Queen Anne's Revenge shown in the video below right.
Ocean Gallery was essentially a continuation of Tidal Waters Gallery with more saltwater creatures supposedly dwelling in the further depths of the ocean. There were two large tanks, each with a replica of a shipwreck. Of the two, The Living Shipwreck was larger and more prominent for another reason: sharks. Last week at NY Aquarium, I saw them swam over my head in the underwater glass tunnel. This time, they were swimming in front of me. The feeling was indescribable.
Continuing on, there was a lobster in a smaller tank. The display stated "Lobsters" but I saw only one. Even though I’m not a lobster eater, seeing
it made me think about how delicious it would taste. There was no mention that
it was poisonous.
At the far corner of Ocean Gallery were two tanks of jellyfishes. In every aquarium with one exception, there were at most two to three tanks of jellies on display. The one exception was Aquarium of the Pacific, which I visited twice also in the early 2000s. That had at least 8 to 10 tanks – of various sizes and color lightings – of various species of jellies. I recalled at least one tank having over 30 of them!
The final highlight of Ocean Gallery was a circular tank of lionfishes located across from the two tanks of jellies. Their placement of the tanks close to each other was no coincidence, as the jellies and the lionfishes were the most venomous species in the saltwater section. We did not see any lionfishes in NY Aquarium so seeing three here was quite a treat.
The species exhibits have concluded. Next was Future Waters Gallery (located in Changing Exhibit Gallery on the Aquarium map). The tanks by the walls contained various forms of aquatic non-swimmers (plants, shells, etc.). In the middle of the gallery was an exhibit of poster displays surrounding by models of aquatic plants. Imagination Bay – the final area –was a play space geared towards young children, though there weren't any when I took the photo below. Adults however found it a good place to relax. The dimmed lighting certainly helped.
In hindsight, I should have gotten a picture of me standing behind the megalodon's rows of teeth. They were big and sharp. Our last stop was at the gift shop where I got me a t-shirt bearing a quote from J. R. R. Tolkien (it appeared as part of a poem in The Lord of the Rings). The t-shirt was the only souvenir at a reasonable price (and color). After that, we went on our way – a 3-hour drive home. Enjoy the slideshows below.
Aquarium PKS was one of the better aquariums I've been to, and certainly not as modest as expected. It didn't have an underwater glass tunnel, yet it was better value for money than NY Aquarium for the price we paid. I'm guessing that Aquarium PKS' size of collection was probably two-thirds that of the latter, yet we spent the same amount of time – 1.5 hours – at both aquariums. I definitely recommend Aquarium PKS. It was worth the trip, had free parking, and brought back memories of past visits to other animal exhibits. It's high time I return back to the Golden State and make a thorough visit to both Aquarium of the Pacific and San Diego Zoo.
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