Once inside, I was in awe of just the big, open hub which had entrances to each exhibit area. It was still decorated with trees and wreaths for Christmas and undulating colored lights.
The Ocean Voyager was our favorite exhibit. It began with some fairly modest tanks with beautiful jellyfish, then lead into a 100-foot long underwater viewing tunnel. The tunnel went through a huge tank filled with whale sharks, manta rays, snapper, grouper, swordfish, hammerhead sharks, blacktip sharks, etc...
Inside the tunnel!
The tunnel lead to some other large tanks, including a coral reef exhibit which happened to have a diver inside with a mic on to answer questions from the audience. Among all the fish in the tank, Paul suddenly shouted, "Nemo!" Sure enough, I looked in the area of his pointing and found just one little clownfish among many other kinds of fish. I have no idea if he actually spotted it, or just had an idea, but it seemed to me like he saw it. He had been watching a lot of Nemo on our trip, sometimes on repeat on long car rides. It was perfect timing for our trip to the aquarium!
If you follow the line that starts at the top middle of the above picture, you will see the diver at the end.
Before exiting the Ocean Voyager area, there is a huge viewing room for the tank the tunnel runs under. I could have stayed in there all day! It was amazing to watch the whale sharks, manta rays and various types of sharks and fish swim by. You could stand right against the glass, with all kinds of creatures gliding right by. It was mesmerizing.
One of the four whale sharks. If you look in the right bottom corner, you will see Michael holding Paul and pointing up.
Manta rays have always been one of my favorites, although I was once chased out of the water by a pack of them. All I could see were shadows and I thought for sure a shark was going to get me, since it was the same year and area a horrible attack had occurred in Pensacola.
I won't be able to go into as much detail for the rest of the trip, but that first part (which we went back to later) was my favorite and I had to try to do it justice. Anyways, we next went to the Coldwater Quest area, which had touch tanks, beluga whales and penguins.
After being a little shy, Paul warmed up an hour or so in, eventually wandering on his own (we were close behind, watching him) and pointing at fish swimming by while jabbering to strangers. Michael took him into a tunnel to view the penguins, and although he was hesitant and scared at first, he ended up loving it and went back through several times. We also went through all together, as you can kind of see in the picture below.
Aside from the whale shark viewing room, the dolphin show was a major highlight. And by that, I mean probably the best part of the whole day. I was a little skeptical, and worried that we might get in there and Paul wouldn't make it through. It was a huge theater-type room with a huge pool where a stage should be. It was jam-packed with people -- the arena seats 1800 and I didn't see many open spots, if any. Once the lights darkened, and the show began, I knew we were going to be fine. Paul was absolutely entranced! And so was I. It was not really a dolphin show, but a play in which dolphins had a huge role. The 30-minute show is a must if you go to the aquarium! We all loved it, but Paul especially so. He watched intently, clapping and pointing at appropriate times. He even began saying "dolphin" afterward. We couldn't take any pictures during the show, but we got this one of Paul and I right after. The look on his face in the second picture gives you an idea of his general attitude after the show.
We loved the Ocean Voyager exhibit so much we went back through it again in the afternoon. Paul was pretty tired at this point, having skipped his nap, but he was a trooper and held it together. The following pictures were all taken in the tunnel.
The next pictures were taken in the big viewing room.
Paul checking out a blacktip shark.
The whale sharks are massive. This picture doesn't do their size justice!
This manta ray is clearly much larger than Paul.
The whale sharks traveled 8,000 miles from Taiwan via boat, plane and truck to get to the Georgia Aquarium. These whale sharks would have been killed to be eaten if the GA had not acquired them.
I loved the lights and decorations in the central atrium, as you can tell...
After spending six hours at the aquarium, it was time to leave. Paul was worn out! And so was I... We all hung out at our hotel for a little while before heading to Quinn and Erika's. That night they took us to Mary Mac's, a Southern soul food restaurant in its 75th year. This was not only one of their must-visit places for us, but also a place I've heard talked about many times by Michael's family. His great-grandmother Ritchie lived nearby and they would always go there when they visited. She lived to a very old age, by herself in Midtown for a long time. The restaurant used to have a policy that said people over 90 ate free. Well, she would go every day! And sneak home rolls in napkins in her purse. They kept upping the age for the free meal but she just kept reaching those older ages and kept coming. She lived to be 103 (I think that's right, over 100 at least!). It's a fun story, one of many that makes me wish I had gotten to meet her!
I got grilled pork chops, cinnamon apples, fried green tomatoes and tomatoes and okra.
Michael got smothered chicken, okra and green beans.
The food was amazing! I loved the homestyle cinnamon rolls that were served with regular rolls and corn bread. I definitely wrapped a roll or two in a napkin to take back to the hotel. ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment