A good trip and an even better experience

We had a good trip and a couple of good days with my wife’s folks Saturday and Sunday.  The Georgia Aquarium was nice and a few exhibits were spectacular.  I especially liked the …
 

• Wall of glass (probably 50’ high and 150’ wide).  In this tank they had four Whale Sharks (monsters) and several manta rays that had 12-15’ wingspan.  There were several divers on the bottom cleaning the bottom of the tank and the mass of air bubbles rising to the surface created another interesting event.  One large manta ray was performing for us by doing inverted 360 degree loops in the middle of the rising bubbles.  Its mouth was wide open.  An employee said that the rising bubbles tickles the gills of the ray and that is why it was doing the loops. 

 

• Of course I have always been a sucker for the Beluga whales (there are two of them).  They swam and performed while some wonderful music was playing in the background making it especially memorable.

• One exhibit is the largest indoor coral reef formation in the world.  It was filled with hundreds of colorful Pacific Ocean fish.  It reminded me of the days when I was able to scuba dive in the Philippines or snorkel in Hawaii.
• And, anything to do with otters (Sea and Asian) is always entertaining.  They four Asian Otters were rather docile having just finished a meal, but the Sea Otters were having a great time frolicking in the water.

The aquarium was very crowded at times during the day and that occasionally made it difficult for me to see some of the exhibits from my wheelchair.  However, if I was patient and waited it out, an opening would show up and I could slide in.  Parking was also an issue.  My wife’s father needs a cane to walk and tires easily these days.  We had to walk a couple of hundred yards from (and to)  the designated parking area to the entrance.  If I was still walking, I am not certain I could have lasted very long yesterday.

One impression that I need to share is how considerate the teenagers were yesterday.  We always hear about the bad elements, but there were hundreds of teenagers visiting the aquarium yesterday (many in small groups or with dates) and everyone I met was respectful and courteous.  I was especially impressed how often they were notice I was behind them and they would apologize and open up a whole so I could slide up to better see an exhibit.  This attitude and concern was most impressive and left me with a “warm and fuzzy feeling” inside.

In hindsight, I prefer the Chattanooga Aquarium more than the Georgia Aquarium.  I am glad I went, but it is not something that I need to return for anytime in the near future.  We try to go to the Chattanooga Aquarium at least once a year and find it better organized in regards to how traffic (crowds) flows.  I feel it is also a little more “handicap friendly.”  

Yet, what will stick with me most from this trip was our next generation.  It was truly refreshing to see their concern for me.  Perhaps the world is not coming to an end.