#8

Today we marked #8 off of the 2010 list! The boys and I got up late this morning and decided to go for it. T actually suggested the zoo but it was too cold. So we pried our sleepy, lazy selves out of bed and got the boys up and dressed. It took D longer to eat breakfast than it took the other three of us to get ready but then we were out the door. We had to stop at the gas station right out side our neighborhood to get T and I something to eat since we had forgotten. Soda, a beef taquito and candy bars. Breakfast of champions. I did discover though that the cell phone holder in the new van may not hold my cell phone but it will hold two gas station taquitos like that is what its made for. Maybe it was....

Anyway, so we got down there pretty easy since it was a Sunday and the parking garage was actually not bad too. Got D all strapped to me and K all strapped to his daddy and walked into the aquarium.

 

Once we got in we looked around the main area for a few minutes. Its really a pretty place inside for looking so bland outside. Then we checked out the different areas. Its split up into 5 big exhibits and they don't connect to each other so we decided the best idea was to just pick a wall and follow it all the way through. We decided to head left and just stick to the wall.

The first place we stopped was the touchy feely with the sting rays and shark tank. They felt about like I figured they would. Slimy and firm. Kind of like a wet suit. They also had a feely tank with sea anemones and shrimp. D was not going to put his hand in any tank no matter what we coaxed him with. It was pretty funny actually. K thought they were pretty fun to watch but he likes to watch the back of his eyelids more than anything. Needless to say, he was asleep pretty soon after that. They had a huge indoor play area too including a tunnel you could climb into and crawl around above one of the random tanks of fish and eels. D wasn't interested so we kept moving.

The next exhibit we went through was kind of anticlimactic. It was supposed to be the exhibit with the Beluga Whales  but they were painting it so the whales had to be moved to a tank out of view. Stupid thing is we KNEW they were doing it. One of T's best friends from high school is in charge of the project. Oops. There was however a faux skeleton of some sort of huge whale that D got all excited about. He didn't know anything was missing. Plus there were some pretty fish so not a total loss.

After that was the BIG tank. The one everyone comes to Atlanta to see. Its called the Ocean Voyager exihibit and is complete with a six-million gallon tank containing four Whale Sharks and the only two manta rays in an aquarium in the U.S.. Impressive, no? It really was pretty spectacular. The only problem with a tank that large is that it makes it damn near impossible to get a good picture. We spent the most time in this area though. They really did have some pretty awesome fish. The giant groupers were almost as big as T's Hyndai. The whale sharks are still relative babies and they are expected to grow to over 30 feet long. Which to me.. is nuts. They also have a myriad of sharks including sand tigers and hammerheads in there and I was half expecting to see some kind of feeding frenzy but it didn't happen. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

After that is the tropical reef exhibit. Its the "pretty" one. With all the super bright fish and nice colored coral backgrounds. They have one tank, that I guess is the big one for that area, that curves up over your head and it looks like a reef. D though that was pretty cool. He stood and looked at it for awhile but he was getting too tired and cranky to stay long. We did get to see the clown fish which had him immediately exclaiming "NEMO! MAMA! NEMO!!". I'm almost sure that is the only reason these places have those little guys anymore. They are a hit with the kids.

After that exhibit came the gift shop. After touching and naming (or repeating the name) of every fish or crustacean shaped object in said gift shop, D finally attached himself to a stuffed alligator with magnets in his feet. He insists its a dinosaur but whatever. I am always a little sad leaving places like this. One, because they are so cool and I always leave with such great memories. Also because I rarely do those type things. We really should do better about getting out with the boys and doing things like this more often. Which is part of the idea behind the 2010 list I guess. An objective to get us out more. I will definitely keep this on the to do again list though. It was fun for all of us. 

(I obviously didn't include all of the pictures. If you want to see the rest click HERE!)