Sea going in Park Ridge
Walking into Living Sea Aquarium's strip-mall entrance on Devon Avenue in Park Ridge sort of feels like crossing the threshold into Steven Spielberg's petting zoo. And I'm not talking "Gremlins."
Right there by the door lives a small pond of Living Sea's greeters of choice: the circling, tiny-finned inspirations for "Jaws." Sharks. At least two of them, though their look-alike, non-shark water mates seemed just as daunting.
Oh, and they're hungry, as evidenced by our sharky friends' close proximity to the edge of the high-walled pond (too close for my blood, thank you, no matter how improbable their escape).
You see, they know as well as anybody who's been here before that Living Sea Aquarium is as well known for its sharks as it is for its shark feedings -- which is why I'm here.
The aquarium was bustling on a Sunday, busy with people in post-church fineries and midafternoon slouch attire. They wound their way though Living Sea's impressive stock of freshwater and saltwater fish, ranging from your carnival brand of goldfish to Shedd Aquarium-inspired wall displays of fascinating arrow crabs and neon ocellaris clownfish.
It's no secret why the crowd thickened closer to 2 p.m. That's when the feedings began. Stingrays went first, then sharks.
Right there in the middle of it all, two pint-sized junior fish experts asked us if we needed any help. These are the owners' kids, and they immediately put me at ease.
By "help," they meant: Do you want to see Speedy, another of Living Sea's marquee "pets." Speedy, as it turns out, is a puppy dog of a large blowfish, who's one love in life is shrimp (no fingers around Speedy, please). He immediately became my favorite.
By the time owner Mike Sergey shook my hand, I'd already thoroughly freaked myself out. Thankfully this is a family-friendly facility run by a couple of warm and friendly fish lovers.
Sergey reminded me that little kids do this all the time, and in fact, the Saturday feeding attracted 60 onlookers. "They were three-people deep around the pond," he says.
I nodded and felt better. Sergey is the kind of swim-instructor guy who can talk scaredy-cats through anything and provide real knowledge to anyone who wants to learn. I confidently wobbled between both.
Sergey and his wife, Jan, opened the Park Ridge aquarium 15 years ago and ended up doubling their store front to include expanded arrays of fish from around the world.
They've become local specialists on the topic and not only field questions from Chicago media but do house calls and install aquariums for pretty much any environment.
At last count, the Sergeys supplied fish for five Rainforest Cafes and 196 aquariums for a store in Pittsburgh. They also built three Nano Reef displays for Navy Pier during last year's IMAX showing of "Deep Sea."
"If it has to do with water, we can do it," he says.
True enough. Living Sea is even the official go-to aquarium for installation of the local archdiocese's baptismal fonts.
Looking around at the shark display, aisles of tanks and family photos shot with fish overseas, Sergey shakes his head and admits, "I was the kid with the 20 tanks in his parents' basement growing up."
And just like that, it was 2 p.m. About 15 people and their kids crowded around the stingray pond where Stanley and Raymond awaited their afternoon snack.
Sergey grabbed a container of slimy grubs and gave the group a rundown of stingray rules and facts. Did you know that stingrays sting by shooting their tail upward and that you can actually pet a stingray's head if you're careful? I had no idea. But when Sergey called me over to lower my vulnerable, unprotected hand near Stanley's mouth, it didn't matter.
The 10-year-old who went before me was a knowing pro. I was a shaky mess. I took the grub and slowly, slowly, too slowly inched forward. If it weren't for Sergey's help, I'd probably still be standing there. But lo and behold, I came though un-stung.
On to the sharks. I stood near the far edge of the group while Sergey passed out long tongs to a couple of kids and introduced us to the pond's Lemon and Hork sharks. He grabbed a tub of tarpin and attached the tiny fish to the tongs. The kids lowered them in (Lemon first, then Hork) and bang! Those fish were goners.
Sergey handed me and a few others our own tarpin. On the count of three, he said, throw them up and into the pond. One … two … three … I'm a shark feeder! Nice.
The Sergeys kids cheered. They love this stuff. Jan Sergey left the pond all smiles. "I love it!" she says. "I still love it!"
I didn't know it upon entering Living Sea that Speedy is actually one of Feeding Time's crowd favorites.
Immediately I saw why. Speedy isn't just super cute; he also happens to be a heck of a hilarious eater. Hold a shrimp near the water and -- wow! -- Speedy literally shoots through the water and sucks it up vacuum-style. I couldn't hide from this one. As intimidating as it is to have a football-sized blowfish charge your fingers, you can't help but placate Speedy. I lowered the shrimp and bang! That shrimp was gone.
Turns out I'm not bad at this.
Nice.
Living Sea Aquarium
811 W. Devon, Park Ridge
(847) 698-7258 Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday
While you're there, try
Leaning Tower
6300 Touhy Ave., Niles
(847) 647-8222
Just about half the size of Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa, America's Leaning Tower is 94 feet tall and leans nearly 7½ feet. Definitely a cool photo opp, the tower is open all day and lights up at night.
McDonald's No. 1 Store Museum
400 N. Lee St., Des Plaines
(847) 297-5022
Reopens Memorial Day
The world's first franchised McDonald's was built in Des Plaines in 1955 and was the ninth Micky D's built in the country. It's a museum now and remains a popular summer attraction for road warriors wanting a glimpse of Illinois' stake in pop culture. For the real-deal burger joint, there's one at 3067 Mannheim.
Pickwick Theatre
5 S. Prospect Ave., Park Ridge
(847) 825-5800
pickwicktheatre.com
The Pickwick's circa-1928 art-deco exterior makes the still-operating theater one of downtown Park Ridge's landmark gems and local identities. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the Pickwick maintains its 80-year history while queuing up the likes of "Baby Mama" and "Iron Man."