The Georgia Aquarium

This past Thursday was Brad's first day off since we were in Charleston. We decided to spend it in Atlanta, and Dede treated us all to a trip to The Georgia Aquarium. All I know to say is:
Oh My Goodness!!!
God certainly had fun when He made some of these amazing animals! The whole experience was absolutely breathtaking! We all loved seeing the absolute joy on Alli's face, but we all had a terrific time, as well!

Alli loved every second of it, and we were there for 4 hours. When we left, she had to think about it before deciding that the otters were probably her favorite. Sadly, we do not have any good pictures of them ~ they were moving around so quickly!! :) They were cute, and all of them were sisters, which Alli liked because she said, "I have a sister, too!" They were also extremely playful; Alli said they were playing hide-and-seek, and it really did look like they were doing just that!

There are several places for children to actually touch some of the animals ~ starfish, sting rays, sharks, shrimp ~ and we did it all! Here is Alli touching a sea anemone.

Words nor pictures can begin to describe or show the wonder of this place! All of it is simply AWESOME! I loved several of the areas, but my favorite was "the big room," where the 'window' to the tank is the size of an IMAX screen. Of course, I couldn't begin to get the whole thing into a picture. Below is an attempt to get a portion of it, taken from a viewing balcony ~ you can't even see the floor! It is such a peaceful place to be.

These are some of the tropical fish. I only wish these pictures could begin to show the brilliant colors of the fish!

This shark was swimming above us as we walked through the glass tube, which is very much like the glass tube in "Jaws." It was incredible!

The penguins were cute and lots of fun! There are lots of places where kids can crawl through a tunnel and 'pop up' in one of the exhibits. The penguin exhibit is one of those ~ so cool!

In the glass tube, you can barely walk for looking in every direction! Both girls loved being so close and so surrounded by under-the-sea wonders. There was utter joy on both of their faces!

I can't remember what these are called, but they are literally translucent ~
and SO beautiful!!

Beluga Whale

Sea Horse

Clown Fish ~ Just like Nemo!

The Aquarium's mascot is also a clown fish, named Deepo. While Dede was in the gift shop, we walked outside, and Alli and Boots got to meet Deepo! He really liked Alli, and they played and even danced in the square!

What a fun, amazing experience!!
Brad and I have been talking about it since we left, and we already can't wait to go back!! Thanks, Dede!!