On Wednesday morning we woke up at our hotel room at the Hampton Inn just outside Georgia Tech, so we had our free breakfast and then decided to hang around awhile. A couple days before I decided to finally take the plunge and spend the money to go to the Georgia Aquarium. It had been on my bucket list for years, but like I always say- anything times 5 is a lot of money. Now that it's often times just me and Asa doing things though, it is much more affordable. When we bought the tickets the night before you had to select a time of entry. I went with somewhere around noon, because the game was at 5, so I figured that'd give us plenty of time to walk down to the aquarium, see the aquarium and then walk through Centennial Park to go to get to the stadium for the game.
That, however, meant we had time to kill before we walked down for the game. We decided to take a stroll across the street from our hotel on the Georgia Tech campus, just because the weather was so nice (it's funny how 90s feel when the humidity is just a bit lower). Plus the campus looked gorgeous from our hotel window.
I'm much less enthralled in college campus's than Asa (probably because I lived on one... and he didn't... really- Baker College didn't even have a food hall), but I was happy to get some steps in and enjoy the weather.
We were at one of those campus maps trying to find the library when a lovely GTech Student named Natalie offered to show us where it was. She said she wanted to show us something really cool there. Normally, I am not into random tours from random students- but Asa is always down for a unique experience like that. And to be fair, Natalie was awesome and took us up to the roof of the library for some good views.
She also showed us the lovely inclusive rainbow staircase before departing.
We continued to loop the campus, and then headed back to the hotel with plenty of steps already accumulated.
Back in the room, we put on our Brentford gear. I made Asa this shirt a long time ago, but I made mine days before this. I couldn't find a good shirt for it, so finally I grabbed a yellow clearance shirt off a Kohls rack, that was much too big- but I made it work. We had a light lunch, since we still weren't all that hungry from breakfast, and then we headed down to the aquarium. It was probably about a 10 minute walk.
Before you even scan your tickets to get into the aquarium, you're greeted with all kinds of Jellyfish!
As soon as we walked in, I was a little overwhelmed. There's so many areas to go to, and a lot of people around. Asa helped hone me in, and we decided to just sweep from left to right, making sure we at least got to see everything. So, we started with the sharks.
We walked in, and immediately saw all kinds of hammerheads and other sharks. The first glass area is raised, so nobody can really block your view. But there were lots of people.
You do get to make your away around the shark enclosure with lots and lots of viewing spots, and the crowd really thinned as you went on. So, that's my pro tip- don't stop at the first viewing area, there are lots of them!
The views for all kinds of enclosures are viewable from all kinds of angles which really impressed me. It wasn't just the sharks- it was the alligators, and penguins, and baluga whales- basically everything.
And you don't just get to see their enclosures. The otter area had lots of different viewings- and you even got to see their feeding and training sessions in a bit of 'behind the scenes' viewing too.
There were a lot of various kinds of seahorses- but some of my favorites is always the weedy guys.
And while not in my top three birds (which are obviously penguins, flamingos, and pelicans), I do enjoy a fun puffin view.
The penguin exhibit is really cool. Not only can you view them like normal, but you can crawl into a penguin viewing tunnel. Yes please!
From the tunnel, you could see them swimming all around you.
And some of the windows in the tunnel offered some fun penguin swimming.
Plus it has those little pop up sections where you can get face to face with the penguins. All around five stars for the penguin exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium!
Moving on, we spotted the Beluga Whales! I hardly ever get to see these guys in person, and I've always loved them. They look like more approachable whales and less snooty dolphins. Yes, I said what I said.
But also- you guys, I learned that Beluga whales don't have an olfactory nerve. Meaning they can't smell! Just like me! (As a result of this info, I made sure my magnet from the Georgia Aquarium had a Beluga on it).
There are a couple of shows at the Georgia Aquarium too. You have to register for a time to go, though it's free as long as it isn't full. We were able to get a time for the dolphin show, and while I enjoyed it, I didn't find it super impressive. Pretty generic for a dolphin show.
My other 'let down' was their touch tank game. They only had one touch tank, and the sting rays weren't in any mood to be touched.
We had a bit of time before our next show, so we hopped across the rope bridge..
...this time it was so we could view the alligators from above!
Like most aquariums they also have a little reptile area. No poison dart frogs, which are my favorite, but this guy reminded me of Kermit the Frog. They could totally be related.
Just outside the reptile area, you can get a birds eye view of the giant tank that holds the stars of the Georgia Aquarium: two whale sharks rescued from Asia. We'll get a closer look at them later...
..because for now, we're headed down to the sealion show.
These guys danced, and did tricks, and splashed the first couple rows. It wasn't as crowded or as hard to get in and out, and I found it more entertaining than the dolphins- so if you have to pick between shows, I highly recommend this one! I loved it.
After the show we had two areas left to hit: the Diving area, which had mostly the types of fish and things I saw in Hawaii
...and some more really impressive jellyfish..
...and a big tank with all those bright colorful nemo like guys.
It's a good display, but nothing too unique to this aquarium.
We saved the best area for last. We were finally off to the tunnel to find the Whale Sharks! Though, you can also spot them swimming by the giant window that opens to the main spoke of the area.
They don't photograph nearly as impressive as they are in person, however.
The tunnel itself is pretty cool. It's full of animals from all kinds of different ocean areas, so in the wild- you'd never see all the guys together.
The tunnel and subsequent halls finally open to this view. It's something else.
Asa and I walked up to the glass and sat down to take it all in, while a guy over the microphone told us all about getting the whale sharks here from Thailand.
And we even got stories about how the injured sea turtle ended up here.
We even spotted some very lucky (and/or rich) visitors getting to scuba in the aquarium!
Overall, it was totally worth the price of admission. And it is a pricey admission. But, it's probably the best aquarium I've ever been to- the variety of animals, the shows, the various viewing points- the displays, the info- it's all wonderful. I can't recommend it enough. And I'm so glad I finally got to go.
But my bucket list item was complete and it was time to head to Asa's: to see Brentford play in person. He's been a fan for a couple years now, and it just so happened for their summer series they were coming to Atlanta. Sure, it's the equivalent of a pre-season game, but we could see them in person! On our way to the stadium, we strolled through Olympic Park.
Luckily, we beat those dark clouds to Mercedes Benz stadium. I am on a mission to take my picture in front of every NFL Stadium- which is a difficult feat when teams keep building new ones. I had my picture in front of the old Falcons stadium- but they had since replaced the Georgia Dome with this monstrosity.
The place is gorgeous. A far cry from the outside of Ray Jay. And it's a dome. Because in the south you really should have at least a dome option, something no Florida team seems to understand. I was almost as excited to finally see this stadium as I was to watch Brentford.
They were all decked out for the Summer Series, and even had a giveaway for us!
As soon as we walked in, I was so impressed with the stadium.
Not only is the stadium pretty, but it's decorated so well with all kinds of Atlanta-ish people, movements, places. So cool.
Our seats were way up high, but not too pricey. Not only did it get us into the Brentford (against Brighton) but it also got us into the next game, though we didn't stay because it was Chelsea (blah!)
Another perk of the Atlanta stadium- cheap food! We got a refillable cup (all on your own, no waiting) and pizza for $10. Later we got some cheeseburgers and fries all ridiculously cheap as well. Shout out to the Falcons owner for making affordable food and drink!
Before the game started, they did play 'Hey, Jude' a Brentford staple!
The game wasn't super exciting, and Brentford didn't even score a goal, but it was so fun to see them play in person after watching them on tv from across the pond for so long. Someday we'll make it over to the UK for a match!
After the game, we headed out as the Chelsea fans were pouring in.
And then we took a nice evening walk back to the hotel. Overall, it was a fantastic day and totally worth the trip!
Next up: Headed home on a very leisurely road trip!
No comments:
Post a Comment