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Yikes. OK kittens, I've been putting this off but I think the time has finally come. Here for your pleasure is a huge list of things I learned on vacation and in the 2 days since.

1.) Where did the name Shamu come from? According to seaworld.org, "Many stories exist about the origin of Shamu's name. One revolves around the first collected killer whale that was named Namu after a British Columbian town. When SeaWorld welcomed its first killer whale, it was named Shamu, for 'She-Namu.'" That sounds like bull, but whatever.

2.) I learned that blackwater is "a term used for sewage containing fecal matter, in contrast with greywater, which is the waste water from kitchen sink drains, washing machines, and other washings."

3.) Mount Soledad in San Diego is 822 feet high.

4.) I learned that I can live in one of these rad condo things in La Jolla for the low low price of two and a half million dollars. HAHAHA! That's funny. They are pretty sweet though. Why don't I have two and a half million dollars?

5.) I learned that Giverny is this place in France where a ton of impressionist painters, including Monet, lived and worked. They hung out at the Hotel Baudy and painted lots of pictures of haystacks. I saw an exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art: more here.

6.) If you want to avoid stepping on a stingray that's laying on the sand underwater, you should shuffle your feet as you walk. This is especially true in calmer waters.

7.) At the science center I learned about the Horsehead Nebula and how stars form in these nebulae. I watched a cool video on it. Um, I'm like real dumb or whatever, so I don't remember a lot of it, but it was pretty interesting and I did learn some stuff, I promise. You can look here or somewhere similar if you need a simple explanation.