Atlanta...5: a whole lotta fish

Aquarium day!  We started bright and early in an (somewhat vain) attempt to avoid the crowds.  We were definitely the early ones in, but the masses were right behind us.  It wasn't as bad as I expected though, and maybe that was because we waited a couple days and didn't go to Atlanta's biggest attraction first.  Who knows.  Regardless, we had a blast.  Evan again didn't make it home before absolutely crashing in the stroller, and all of us were wishing we were in his shoes.

We went on our little "aquarium adventure" with Connor and his mom.  Like the adults, the boys were completely enthralled with just about everything... though a couple of the jellyfish and other random creatures got an "eeeww - let's move on!" So here you go - a nice long post with tons of photos because I couldn't choose!

There were several places where you were encouraged to touch the fish/animals/creatures.  Unfortunately most of the tanks were made for adults or very big kids to lean over - I think we nearly dropped Evan in a tank or two trying to get his little arm far enough down to touch something.  Here's a stingray spot.  The second tank had starfish and spiky thingies, but Evan wasn't interested in touching the things that didn't move. 

On to the big cool tanks with glow in the dark fish, sea turtles, sea dragons, and crazy spiky fish.   

 

 As cool as it always is for me to be so very close to these amazing creatures, I kept thinking how totally awesome and new this was for Evan.  He's never been to an aquarium before, and his look of wonder as his face was pressed against the glass was precious.  (He told a very detailed story to his teacher when we returned home about being in the aquarium and how the sharks almost ate him... I guess sometimes they were a little TOO close!)

The aquarium did a nice job of alternating: letting you see some super cool stuff, then sneaking in some of the less-popular exhibits, then dropping you into another oh-so-cool one.  Next up: tiny fish from I can't remember where, jellyfish, funky bass-like fish, and these strange eels/worms that stayed anchored under the sand but extended really tall and waved in the current. 

The Georgia Aquarium boasts the world's largest underwater habitat, meaning one ecosystem that hosts a number of different species.  There were plenty of different places to view it - one entire side of the lunch room/ballroom (how cool to have a wedding there!!) was a glass into the habitat, and there is a tunnel literally through the water where you stand on a slow flat escalator watching the fish swim around you.  From their website: "The Ocean Voyager exhibit was specially designed to house whale sharks, the largest fish species in the world. Schools of jacks, squadrons of small and large stingrays, manta rays, guitarfish, enormous goliath grouper, and sharks all ply the waters of this ocean habitat containing more than six million gallons of saltwater. [There are] 4,574 square feet of viewing windows and a 100-foot-long underwater tunnel..."  It was truly amazing. 

 

 

Then it was off to the cold-water section. A huge family of penguins hopped on rocks and dove through the and sat on nests and played with toys.  There was another tunnel - significantly smaller and definitely for the under-30 set but still quite cool.  Drew woke up from a nap in the Bjorn to watch the penguins - he giggled and thought they were pretty neat.  After that were the otters, who were just as playful as the penguins.  A keeper dropped a big bucket of ice on the floor for the otters, and Evan and Connor loved watching them take chunks of ice in their flippers and tossing it around like a ball. 

 

 

Then to another massive wall of windows where four beluga whales live.  Huge and graceful, they seemed to enjoy performing for us.  Evan was enthralled by the people-legs in the corner of the exhibit.  If you choose to pay the price, you can get in wetsuits and stand in the whale tank and feed and pet them.  As interested as he was, I don't think Evan's quite ready for that adventure yet, but maybe some day!  This exhibit also looked out onto another lunch room, so we braved the cafeteria prices and lunched with the whales.  Guess we won't be able to say that too often!  

The last exhibit was creatures of the Great Barrier Reef.  As expected, the colors were incredible and of course the photos don't do it justice.  There was a wave-pool action happening too, so every minute or so there would be a big wave that would shake everyone up, just like the real tides do.  Fascinating.  Evan got quite interested in the computer nearby, and we spent some time investigating the stories of many of the fish in the exhibit. 

It was another great day on vacation.  Why can't every day be like this??  Do we really have to go home?