On Sunday, we headed out to the Ripley’s Aquarium in downtown Gatlinburg. The drive in takes you just inside the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and along a river (I'd have to look it up to find out which one) until you come into Gatlinburg. While Pigeon Forge consists mostly of a main highway lined with strip malls touting cheap souvenirs, As Seen on TV stores, and a variety of Go-Kart choices, Gatlinburg is more like a little Frankenmuth with streets and alleys lined with little shops and attractions. For today though, our only plan in the Aquarium (though on the way in we saw a Cooter’s and made a plan to get back there on another day and pick up a souvenir for Mike).
The Aquarium was definitely worth the ticket price. Better than a Zoo (didn’t really stink) and Sea World (since we were inside and close to the animals), for what it was showcasing it was arranged beautifully. The exhibits were laid out in a very kid friendly manner so that there was plenty of room for the wagon and a running Sophie. It was also neat that a lot of the tanks were in a dark room and just the tank was lit. Great for viewing but terrible for pictures. Again, I’ll have to add a last post of pics from the other cameras to supplement what I got. It was also neat that they would change the music depending on the exhibit: a stroll through the shark tunnel had a slightly ominous tune while the jellyfish music was more ethereal. I figure the best way to give details on what we saw is to go through the pics and post a few and narrate what was happening.
Sophie & Caitlyn match today (and if you notice Max is also coordinated in plaid; cue the “awwwwws”). It’s been great having her on vacation because not only does Sophie love having her around (“Want to ride in my car, Caitlyn?”) but she’s also been helpful at holding Sophie’s hand or getting stuff for the kids if we ask her to. Of course, this value is in addition to just having her on vacation too!
Should restate that pictures are hard to see but I’m still going to include them.
Moray Eel – Very cool. Oh, and the sign said “That’s A-Moray” :)
Tried silhouette with Tom and Sophie, bummed that it didn’t turn out clear.
The little jellyfish and Sophie looking at them.
The giant sea turtle – always a favorite with Sophie. She saw a costumed sea turtle character as well and didn’t run screaming; even waved “hi” as it walked away. Making progress there! Maybe one day we’ll be able to go to Disney…
My little photographer. Unfortunately her pictures didn’t really turn out (too dark and too much movement.) She also likes to read the signs, sometimes telling us what they say or in this case pointing out the “Big A”.
The sea horses were pretty cool – plus it was feeding time. What we thought were baby seahorses was apparently lunch. Or maybe 
it was both – not really sure what they were but they were definitely eating them! The coral reef exhibit was awesome. It would have been really cool just to sit on the bottom of the tank and let everything swim around you. Max really got a kick out of all the colorful fish and liked to bang on the glass and squeal.
Very cool in the shark tunnel (not just sharks, but they were prominent). This was just before Max ended up peeing on Tom’s shirt. The moving walkway was at a good pace and the wagon stayed on it. Plus, you could get off and stay awhile; it’s just nice because if you want to be up by the glass, it moves you along. The crowds weren’t too bad; I guess we are just past the busy season.
da-dum…….
Which caption: “Umm, don’t look now, but……” OR “How thick is that glass?”
They had a Discovery Cove area after the shark tunnel with a lot of interactive type of stuff for the kids. There were a couple of exhibits to follow but this was a nice break where you can actually let them run around. Plus, they had these cool aquariums that you could “get inside”. I think we have a picture of Sophie on Michelle’s camera.
Family photo time. The kids were pretty spent and a few exhibits later Sophie got her fingers smashed under a chair so that didn’t work out well. However, Aunt ‘Chelle saved the day with some french fries and all was well in the world. She rallied and enjoyed the penguins at the end. Max was pretty spent though and he watched a few more exhibits in the next dark area and then had a little bottle at the penguin exhibit before leaving. It was a good time there for sure, and Sophie was asleep before we left Gatlinburg. Max chose this day to stay awake until about 5 minutes before the cabin. He was talking and yelling and giggling in the car. Whenever I would turn around to look at him in his mirror he’d cock his head and smile. I’m amazed that Sophie didn’t wake up with all of the ruckus. Ok, let’s join our Aquarium tour in progress:
Though not a fan of jellyfish where they can actually touch me, I thought the exhibit was absolutely amazing. I probably could have sat there for an hour and watched them. We’ll have to talk to Max about not touching jellyfish at a more appropriate time. :)
Apparently, this fine penguin is “Bob”. The penguin exhibit was cool because there was a tunnel through it for the kids (and Tom) to crawl through. Added bonus: it was completely enclosed so it doesn’t smell like a penguin exhibit!
There are always a few shots that I feel are worthy of sharing but don’t quite make the cut of the blog – for those, there’s the album of the Aquarium:
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