Today started early. We had planned to go to the Atlanta Aquarium which was over three hours away so we needed to leave by 9 to make it. Amazingly we left on time, made good time, and made it there early! We were a little worried by the gas shortage in the area and there were some stations that were out but we had no trouble filling up. James and I were driving Ally and Chris had all the adults in his car.
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| My favorite picture from the aquarium |
The Atlanta Aquarium is amazing! The first thing we saw when we walked in was a group of very playful otters and they entertained the kids while we all got settled after the long ride. Then we headed into the River Scout section which had numerous overhead tanks which were really cool. I do love the experience of looking up at fish...and at the bellies of alligators! It looked like the aquarium also had some great kid sections which were unfortunately closed because of Covid.
The next section we visited was the Cold Water Quest where we were immediately met by a pod of the most playful Beluga Whales I have ever seen. They were SO active! One of them kept blowing bubble rings and chasing after them which was adorable. A couple of them were playing with each other, bumping and nipping and circling round each other. And the others, I think there were 5 or 6 in total, would come up and swim right by the glass as if they were saying hi. They were all so enjoyable and fun to watch that I didn't want to leave! We also got to see more playful sea otters and a large octopus in that area.
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| Belugas at play |
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| Watching the Belugas |
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| This guy was pretty cool |
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| Joyful, Ally, & Sava |
And now we come to the highlight of the aquarium and the reason we were willing to make a six hour round trip; whale sharks! They have three of them in the most amazing and gorgeous tank I have ever seen. The walk down to the tank wasn't impressive, just a couple small windows which let you get a glimpse. But then we turned a corner and found ourselves in a large undersea tunnel. It was breathtaking. (I find myself running short of adjectives.)
The whale sharks were huge and impressive but so were the two manta rays with their giant wingspan. The rays frequently swam together and bumped into each other. The tank was also full of other fish which made a full and vibrant picture. There are currently three whale sharks, the largest died just last year, and the oldest of those left is named Alice. But it was the younger male Yushan that most captured our attention as he had an entourage of fish swimming with him at all times. Being in the tunnel and feeling surrounded by the tank was such a wonderful experience.
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| Photo by Sava |
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| Chris, Joyful, Ally, Xenaz, me, Christian, Sava, Jon, & Will |
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| Christian "I just love the deep" |
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| Jon, Christian, and Ally enjoy the view |
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| Christian's favorite fish is the Goliath Grouper |
But it didn't end there! After the tunnel we walked up and around the tank to find a giant window into it. The scene was mesmerizing and endlessly interesting. The kids though started to get a bit wiggly after about 15 minutes.
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| The large tank is so full of life |
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| Photo credit to Chris |
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| Photo Credit to Sava |
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| Yushan with his groupies. - Photo stolen from Sava |
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| The kids |
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| The pirates from Sea of Thieves - Photo by Joyful |
The rest of the aquarium was a bit anti climactic after that. We saw jellyfish, sharks, alligators, dolphins and more. The dolphin tank was particularly disappointing after the wonderful displays we'd already seen. But perhaps they put all their creativity into the tank for the paid dolphin show. There was also a touch tank where the kids got to touch a small ray.
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| Hammerhead! |
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| Joyful and Ally - Photo credit to Joyful |
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| Jellyfish - photo by Sava |
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| Splendid Garden Eel - photo by Joyful |
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| Lionfish - photo stolen from Chris |
After the aquarium we went out for an early dinner but the nearby area looked like it wasn't doing well as quite a few of the restaurants were closed. But we did find a waffle house only a block or two away and that has been on our list of things to try while we are in the South. Unfortunately it it didn't have seating that could accommodate our party so we had to split up. But the kids enjoyed sitting at the counter. The food was good although as a New Englander I'm always disappointed when a breakfast place doesn't have real maple syrup. (It has to come from a tree!)
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| The kids at the counter |
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| Our first Waffle House - photo from Joyful |
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| The guys table - photo by Joyful |
Then it was time for the long drive home. Joyful rode with us this time and we spent most of the drive playing round robin on Spotify and singing along to the songs. It was so much fun I was a little sad when we got back to the house. Joyful is, as his name suggests, an absolute joy and so much fun. He's really made me feel welcome down here too.
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| Christian got this "Otter Things" shirt at the aquarium |
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| I love Sava's new hat! - Photo by Sava |
Today was wonderful but I'm looking forward to another rest day tomorrow!
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