Legendary Mermaids Come To Life In Aberdeen, Washington

The Mermaid Museum in Aberdeen, Washington is the perfect spot to visit this MerMAY (yes, that's a thing). Here, you can embrace the fantasy of Mer-people (men can have fins, too) and learn the folklore attached to these sea-creatures, while also learning valuable lessons about ocean ecology.

You may even encounter a "real-life" Mermaid, a popular cosplay choice, though they weren't present during my visit.

I did get to see some beautiful artwork, including sculptures and paintings, some donated by locals, some from farther away.

The gift shop is full of all kinds of Mermaid items that you never knew existed but will now desperately want; books of fairy tales, and oceanography, pillows, benches, mugs - fins!

We think of Mermaids as beautiful sirens, tempting sailors to veer off course to their doom. Well, actually, we forget about the doom stuff quite frequently, but you'll encounter good and bad Mermaid tales (and tails) at the Mermaid Museum.

One look at this curiosity-shop-worthy skeleton would've cured me of my boyhood crush on Darryl Hannah in Splash, or Aerial in Disney's the Little Mermaid. I mean, that's some Stephen King stuff right there!

The Mermaid Museum is worth a look if you're in the area, and it's attached to a winery, so make a day of it! You'll find them at 1 South Arbor Road, Aberdeen, Washington. And they're open daily from 11am to 6pm.