On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether youâre traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
ema
Chuck is a giant Pacific octopus who lives at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island (22:36). He knows how to hop into a basket for weigh-ins, is a master of disguise, and, on occasion, can be a bit naughty. At feeding time, he tends to get impatient and has been known to try to snatch food straight from his keeperâs hand.
How do I know all this? I happened to be standing near an aquarium guide who was leading a private tour for two women. I was filming Chuck with my back to them while he took a quick nap, his skin a soft whitish gray. As this was happening, a peasant person turned on his phoneâs blinding flash to take pictures of Chuck.
The guide politely asked him to turn it off, explaining that it bothered Chuck. He did, eventually, though not before keeping it on just a little longer to finish taking his photos.
The thing is, you could see the effect in real time. Chuck woke up, shifted dramatically to a deep red, and retreated to the back of his tank to get away from the disturbance. The more I see of humans, the more I love non-human animals.
Chuck lives in the Spineless exhibit, easily my favorite part of the aquarium. On this visit, there was also a baby cuttlefish with a cuteness score well beyond any reasonable scale. And if invertebrates arenât your thing, thereâs no shortage of fish, penguins, rays, and sharks to admire.
One piece of advice: do not, under any circumstances, wander into the gift shop afterward. I went in purely to, you know, âfilm,â and had to make a quick exit. Buying the entire store would have been neither appropriate adult behavior nor a wise financial decision.
So relax, marvel at these remarkable creatures, and join me for a soothing, enchanted stroll under the sea.
Baud
I was wondering why Chuck Shumer was being featured in On the Road.
The fish is much cuter.
EarthWindFire
Preach.
WendyBinFL
ema, I highly recommend reading “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” by Shelby Van Pelt, if you haven’t already. It’s a novel which takes place primarily in an aquarium, and the main character is a remarkably bright giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Great pictures
Booger
That’s a Moray!
pluky
@Baud: Mollusk, not fish /pedant
sab
@pluky: I did not know that.
Just look at that parking lot
Iâve been captivated by octopuses sine I saw the 1955 film It Came From Beneath the Sea when I was 10 years old. That iconic scene of the tentacles wrapped around the Golden Gate Bridge & pulling it down has alway been one of my favorites. Also up there is the giants squids attacking the Nautilus in Jules Verneâs 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
There are some nice jigsaw puzzles of  giant octopuses & squids attacking ships, if you like jigsaw puzzles of giant octopuses & squids attacking ships. That might be a niche market.
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
For a moment, reading that, I thought you were discussing Congressional Republicans.
J.
@EarthWindFire: Same.
J.
@WendyBinFL: Great book. Was also going to mention it. đ
eclare
Hi Chuck! I promise not to use a nasty flash around you.
pieceofpeace
Enjoyed these photos enormously, thank you for sharing your expertise so we can see and follow our curiosity of these beings.
MCat
Thanks for these marvelous photos and for telling us about Chuck. And I agree with you about people.
stinger
Great pics and story!
pat
Love the big green whatever…
I think evolution has been going on in the sea many billions of years longer than on land. It certainly came up with some…interesting things.
Thanks for the photos and the story.
Dan Almont
Chuck. Spineless. Yeah, that tracks.
ema
Thank you all!
HarryBee
@ema: your pics are beautiful but I was not prepared for the magic and transport in your linked video of the Aquarium. Chuck twining and furling in all his powerful, mysterious ways. The sharks cruising past seemingly oblivious prey. Glimpses of a world that took me, for a while, out of this one on dry land to the place we all came from. Thank you.