georgia aquarium - 06.15.06

we went to the georgia aquarium.

it was pricey
– adult tickets were $22.75
and kid tickets (3-12) were $17 –
but it was worth it.

i went for the girls,
but i had fun myself.
the different sections were amazing and beautiful.
refreshing, even.

there is a behind the scenes program
that cost $50 above the cost of admission
where you can learn about the aquarium’s filtration system,
or how they create salt water and what not.
maybe we can check this out when the girls get older.

they say the georgia aquarium is the largest in the world.
they seem to be doing a great publicity campaign
cause i saw cars with tags from tennessee and the like.

to get the scale of this “fish tank” look at the people’s heads in the bottom left corner of the picture

it was kinda crowded,
but the crowd moved.
they only allow so many tickets to be bought
per 1 hour block
so that it doesn’t get too crowded.
i read on the site that they even lowered the max capacity
from 8000 down to 4000 over several months
due to visitor feedback.
they opened in november (’06)
and welcomed their 1 millionth visitor in 98 days!

we saw all types of fish
– those that live in seas, in rivers around the world, and those along the georgia coast –
as well as baluga whales, skates and rays,

sea lions, african penguins, jelly fish,

hammer head and saw sharks,

and the HUGE whale sharks.

there was one part of the ocean voyager exhibit
where you are under a tunnel with the fish swimming above you!

but wait!
if you’re in so much awe that you can’t move
or bump into people in front of you
because you’re looking up
you can stand on the moving floor
that slowly moves you through the tunnel
so all you have to do is let your jaw drop and point.

there is another part of the ocean voyager
where you come out of this narrow hallway
and before you is a floor to 30 foot (something like that) view
of nothing but moving fish.
they had stadium like rows for you to sit on and just enjoy the view.

it was awesome!
yes, awesome, there ain’t another word for it.