N.J.'s second-in-command soldiers on

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno dropped by the Adventure Aquarium in Camden on Tuesday, observing African penguins, sand tiger sharks, and a swarm of jellyfish as she promoted the waterfront attraction during her weekly state tourism tour.

Such appearances are part of the workday for Guadagno, who has maintained a steady schedule of speaking engagements, ribbon-cuttings, and tourism promotion while Gov. Christie is on the presidential campaign trail.

"People need you to show up at parades. People want their public officials to show up at parades," Guadagno said, pausing from her aquarium tour to field questions.

As Christie travels, "you do a little more of that," Guadagno said. But apart, perhaps, from attending more ceremonial events in his stead, Guadagno said, her role has changed little in response to the governor's absence from the state.

"They created the office of the lieutenant governor to step in for the governor when he's out of state," she said. "My role, in that sense, hasn't changed at all in six years. I understood that to be my job when I took this job, and that's what I do every day."

"The governor's in-state today, by the way," she added.

Christie, in Newark on Tuesday for a meeting with transportation officials to discuss a new Hudson River rail tunnel, will head to New Hampshire on Wednesday and the Iowa State Fair this weekend.

Guadagno - who has expressed interest in succeeding Christie as governor - occasionally acts on legislation. This month, she issued her first veto, a conditional one of a bill that would have required the state Board of Education to develop computer-science curriculum guidelines to be incorporated by school districts.

Guadagno said Tuesday that she and Christie were in communication often and were advised by "one policy office. We have one lawyers' office. . . . If you could tell any story that I don't think we've told clearly enough - we set it up to work this way."

Beyond public actions, Guadagno also works on economic development, coordinating efforts to attract business to the state.

Walking through the aquarium, she noted that a nearby Camden business - Catapult Learning - was the first company she called after taking office, gleaning information on its decision to relocate from Philadelphia.

She also described her efforts to promote tourism - "Tourism Tuesdays" - by focusing on attractions that did not benefit from the marketing push targeting the Jersey Shore following Hurricane Sandy.

On this particular Tuesday, the spotlight was on South Jersey, where tourism grew last year. Salem County saw an 11.3 percent increase in tourism-related demand - second-highest in the state - while Camden County saw an 8.8 percent increase, according to the governor's office.

Camden "is obviously safer because of all the work everybody's done at every level," Guadagno said. "Over the next five years, Camden isn't going to look the same."

She continued through the aquarium, getting a rundown of the highlights from public relations manager Deanna Sabec, who told Guadagno the venue was "the only aquarium in the world to have hippos."

Guadagno offered observations - "That hat is fabulous," she said of a little boy in a shark hat - and posed questions on topics ranging from the educational backgrounds of employees to the life span of a penguin.

An hour later, it was time to move on to her next stop, a winery in Salem County.