The second day on Long Island started with a trip to a post office!
FYI: If you don't follow me on secondary Instagram account or read my blog all about writing, I am really into the pen pal hobby and all things snail mail related.
We went to the post office in Holbrook, New York. Now, I didn't take pictures inside of this station, but it was a decent size post office and very modern looking. Made me wonder when it was built - and, no, I didn't look that up, but feel free to! - because it looked fairly new. I went to send off a letter to my pen pal in the UK. I started sending mail to my pen pals on trips as a way for pen pals to see stamps and (hopefully) a postmark from another country or area in America that they might not otherwise see. So, I wrote a letter to my pen pal in the UK on the plane ride over and sent it off from Holbrook. I also went into the station to get postcards postmarked from this specific post office for my pen pals who are postcard collectors and/or postmark collectors. We ended up spending about an hour here after Samantha had a package from them that seemed to be MIA. I was okay with the situation overall, because I did get to snuggle with my buddy, Finn, while Samantha hung out with the postal workers.
Our next stop was The Big Duck in Flanders, New York. I didn't explore the "city" of Flanders, but I can tell you that it seemed very rural, small, and country-like -not a city. I was strictly there to see The Big Duck, which Samantha had told me so much about since I met her. The Big Duck is exactly what it is titled- a statue of a duck that is big. What's so special about it? If I'm being honest: nothing. Though the sign reads "tourist info", The Big Duck is really still in existence due to the loyalty of locals. They love this duck. The duck sits on an open land that just looks like a field with woods in the back, just off the road. There's a very small parking lot and to the right is the duck.
The actual statue is a gift shop and you can go inside. All that's in there is Big Duck merchandise. It's not the fanciest or most artistic souvenirs you'll ever find; its literally just merch with the duck on it that also says "the big duck", but it is something to take home -and, yes, I took stuff home. Interestingly enough, the people who operate this organization only place orders for souvenirs once a year and believe it or not! stuff does sell out. -I'm telling you, locals love this duck!
There was only one woman inside, which was enough. We were the only visitors there for the majority of the time that we stayed. You could ask her anything about the duck and she knew the answer! They had pamphlets, but they weren't necessary unless you wanted to take it home, because she knew the story of the duck inside-out!
The Story of The Big Duck
The Big Duck was an idea from a man named Martin Maurer who went to California and saw a man selling tea out of a teapot shaped building. This made Maurer think that if people wanted to buy tea from a teapot, then they would buy ducks out a duck. -Yup, that's the basis of it. There's no real moving story or great meaning behind it. It was literally just a marketing move. Oh, and by the way, I don't believe that this teapot building still exists. I tried looking it up and couldn't find it anywhere.
The foundation of the duck is wood and then they used wire over that. Next they poured concrete in it to fill it. I can tell you that it looks very solid and the inside is wooden. Though the duck is in Flanders now, it was originally in the city of Riverhead, New York. Today, the duck is really just a symbol to the people who live in Suffolk County and in the area of Flanders and Riverhead. They have a big Christmas lighting ceremony and they decorate the duck to be all festive. -They have postcards of Christmas Duck if you really want to see it and can't get there.
The woman invited us to walk around and spend time in the field. There is a picnic table in the field, so people could bring a snack to eat. She did comment that the ducks weren't out that day, so I believe that building to the right of the duck has real ducks in it. As I stated before, at one time The Big Duck served as a store to sell ducks from a duck farm, so it is nice to think they still have actual ducks. We didn't have time to stick around. The Big Duck was just one stop of a few that day, but upon leaving I did see a group of teenagers pull up. It was very evident that 3 of the 4 teens were Big Duck fans; 2 girls had Big Duck t-shirts on and they were taking pictures all around the grounds. One boy definitely seemed to be a newbie to the place. It was really nice to see the locals out supporting it and bringing others to experience it, just like Samantha was doing with me. - The Big Duck is a unique and cute little spot, but it is far from the main attractions of NYC and even Long Island. I personally would consider it a rarity to tourists outside of New York to be there and while I wouldn't recommend anyone go out of their way to see, I would say that if you ever find yourself near the area you should stop by.
Our next stop was the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, New York. Yes, Long Island has their own aquarium and it's in the city of the birthplace of The Big Duck. It seems like in today's world there's an aquarium in every area you go to and each has their own niche, and the few that don't are just boring. The theme of the Long Island Aquarium seemed to be "interaction". They had several exhibits and opportunities for visitors to touch, feel, and get close to the animals, including being able to dive in a cage in the shark tank and that was the first time I'd ever found an aquarium that would do that.
The aquarium also had a lot to do before you even paid entry. In fact, if one didn't have a lot of time in the area or maybe had small children that couldn't last through the whole exhibit, they could still do a lot without even paying entry into the aquarium and I found that to be a unique aspect to this particular aquarium only. They had seals you could view outside and not just one or two like at some aquariums I've been too, but a lot. A full exhibit for anyone to view. They were active too, which was very nice.
When you walk in, they have 3 separate feeding stations. You do have to pay to feed the animals, but it's a small price to pay versus the entrance fee if you didn't want to walk through the whole place. Their best and most loved feeding station are the sting rays. So, you feed the sting rays dead fish and that means that if slimy seafood grosses you out this isn't for you. Samantha paid for me to feed the sting rays and I'm going to be honest- it terrified me! The sting rays are not shy! I could tell they were use to being fed and they wanted to be! They come right up to people who stand at the edge of their tank and will splash you waiting and trying to get the food. Some will jump out a bit and that scared me. Obviously, their stingers have been removed so there's no need to be worried about that. For me it was just the feel of them and also the sign that warned that you could get bit. - OMG! What does a bite from a sting ray feel like?! Am I going to feel pain?! - The instructions said to place the fish in your palm and put your hand flat in the water so the sting ray could just swim up and eat it. I basically just dropped the fish in the water as they swam by and hoped they got the fish. I did see some gobble them up. They are very fascinating to watch, because they are so use to people. Even as we left the aquarium and walked by, one swam up to the edge and splashed me. They have a lot of attitude and no fear.
They also had a feeding station for turtles. Most of the turtles were the same as Dora, my pet turtle. They were red earred sliders. The other feeding station was across from the turtles and it was just fish, which I passed on feeding. I have 2 ever growing gold fish at home that gobble up everything you put in the tank for them, so I already felt fulfilled in the fish feeding department of life. -And yeah, all of that of was before we even paid entry into the aquarium!
When you enter the aquarium and walk into the main room the center has the whole story of Atlantis, or their version. I know several exist and there are several theories about it. Apparently, the city of Riverhead was once believed to be the place where Atlantis was, although present day research has squashed that theory. The aquarium use to be called "Atlantis", but later changed its named to its current- Long Island Aquarium. My guess would be that once it was no longer considered the former grounds of Atlantis they decided to change the name. Still, it was exciting for a mythology lover like myself to not only see this story presented, but also to learn a little fact.
They, of course, had a penguin exhibit! They were too cute! Penguins are my favorite animals!
We also stopped and ate at their restaurant, and if you like fries you should get theirs! They're quite good! Overall, the aquarium is a typical aquarium with mostly ocean animals, probably because they're close to the Atlantic Ocean. I feel that if anyone were to visit this aquarium it would be worth taking the time to arrange their schedule to be able to do the all the interactive opportunities available there. Even if sharks aren't your thing, there are still plenty of other animals you can get close to, but it does take knowing the times and availability for each exhibit, and even possibly having to sign-up to do it. Outside of that, it's a typical ocean aquarium. They of course have a gift shop and I of course bought some cool things there, but there wasn't anything that really stood out either. I would say if anything it would be the giant postcards, those were pretty unique. Oh, and if you go there you might as well drive the 7 minutes to The Big Duck next door in Flanders.
That day concluded with just spending time with my best friend and her family. It's really important to me on trips to get quality time with my friends when I see them. To me, that's the main attraction and the biggest reason for traveling to them.
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