The nation's youngest woman ever elected to Congress made a surprise visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and other California sites during a recent trip.

In a video posted to Twitter Saturday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, was seen having fun with a penguin at the aquarium, located in Monterey.

"A new day, a new friend," her tweet said.

The short video showed her moving from one side of the penguin's tank to the other, bending up and down as the penguin followed her moves.

As of Monday morning, the tweet had close to 300,000 likes and more than 27,000 retweets. More than 10,500 people had replied to Ocasio-Cortez's post.

An email to the congresswoman's office was not immediately returned Monday.

Emerson Brown, a spokesman for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, confirmed the congresswoman's attendance in a tweet Monday.

"Glad people are enjoying this fun moment that happened at (the Monterey Bay Aquarium) this weekend," he tweeted. "For those that might be wondering, she just came as a regular visitor during public hours."

"When any elected official visits Monterey Bay Aquarium, our aim is for them to gain a better understanding of the importance of the ocean and why we should work to protect it," said Margaret Spring, the aquarium's chief conservation and science officer, in a statement.

In a Thursday morning Instagram story, she was seen visiting another California ecological site, Kings Canyon National Park, in the Sierra Nevada, as The Fresno Bee reported. She took a tour of the park's Sequoia forests on horseback, advocating on social media for park space and climate change awareness.

Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, took to Twitter Monday to say she was getting back after "a few days' road trip - including our National Parks!"

The tweet went on, "We all should fight to protect the land, *and* so every American can have the ample, necessary time off to recuperate & enjoy it."

At 29 years old, Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman elected to Congress after she defeated longtime Democrat Joe Crowley to represent New York's 14th congressional district encompassing the Bronx and Queens in 2018.

Ocasio-Cortez has become a top voice in the House for progressive issues like the Green New Deal and "Medicare for All." She has also challenged Democratic leadership under Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of San Francisco.

In July, President Donald Trump launched racist attacks against her and three other liberal congresswomen, all of whom are women of color including Ocasio-Cortez, who became known as "the Squad."

The aquarium is located in California Democrat Jimmy Panetta's district.

According to its website, the Monterey Bay Aquarium averages 1.8 million visitors annually. It operates as a nonprofit corporation and first opened in 1984.

It has been featured in television shows like "Big Little Lies," set on the Monterey Peninsula, and "Finding Dory."

The aquarium is open daily except Christmas Day.

Contact reporter Eduardo Cuevas at ecuevas@thecalifornian.com or 831-269-9363. To support this kind of work, please subscribe.