Georgia Aquarium

On Saturday we made the 3 hour drive to Atlanta, Georgia, to visit the fabulous Georgia Aquarium. It is either the largest aquarium in the world or they have the single largest aquarium tank in the world, I never could figure it out which they meant. Either way, it was awesome. This particular exhibit was an oceans exhibit. This room was amazing. You can see one of the whale sharks up in the corner.Here is another shot of a whale shark from the less populated ballroom--yes they have a ballroom that people can have events in for up to 6000 people. I have to say seeing it swim right at you was a bit intimidating and I even had to step away from the glass a bit.
We were also able to see a Titanic exhibit that was there but we weren't allowed to take pictures. They had 190 artifacts recovered from the wreckage site. Very neat. They also had recreated rooms and lots and lots of facts and things to read--my favorite. Tyler and I were very glad we paid the extra $5 or so to see it.Our favorite exhibit was the beluga whales. Tyler likes beluga whales and they were so cute to watch. They resembled seals in the way they swam and did tricks all the time and looked like they loved their lives. They were sweet.More than just fish, this aquarium provides the whole experience (and are rewarded handsomely for it). I was impressed at how nicely it was done. I don't think any expense was spared and the architecture and decor are very modern. It is also very Disneyland-esq complete with themed music everywhere, engaging lighting and lighting features (above), staging and themes for each exhibit, overpriced food and gift shop, and it was very very crowded as the day went on. Luckily we avoided the pricey food by packing a lunch and eating it in the car before hand and also avoided the out of control crowds by being as early as possible.
Here's an example of the staging I mentioned. And of course there are the corporate sponsor. Some people don't like that stuff but I don't mind it. I think it's smart. Cameron proved a bit of trouble, but who could blame him as he was being toted around an aquarium when he should have been napping. I don't know if you noticed from the pictures, but Cameron went through 3 different modes of "toting." First he was in the backpack but got fussy so we put him on the monkey leash. That didn't work at all so we went back to the car and traded the backpack for the stroller which worked fine. We're glad to be getting this figured out before the big Disneyland trip in June. But Cameron did have a good time and really like watching the fish...and the other kids, he definitely like watching the other kids.After finishing at the aquarium earlier than we'd planned, we decided to walk around a bit. We walked by Coke World, which faces the aquarium, and while we didn't go inside we got free Coke Zeros from vendors outside. We ended up strolling through the Centennial Olympic Park (remember the 1996 Olympics were in Atlanta). The park, and this part of the city in fact, were beautiful and so green. We decided Atlanta was another place we wouldn't mind living. We got to watch the water fountain show for a while--kind of like the Belagio but much smaller.And then we walked by the CNN Center and I told them to suck it after throwing up in my mouth a little bit from the overwhelming smell of liberals.On the way home we decided to eat dinner at Cracker Barrel. It's a chain and I've been to one in Utah before but it is out of control down here. They are everywhere and always packed. So we decided to go for the experience. I got my first Chicken n' Dumplings and Tyler got all kinds of southerly sides like hash brown casserole and fried apples with his loaded Chicken strips--read: Chicken layered with bacon and cheese. We were very happy to have the food and stuffed ourselves silly. Another satisfying day in the South!