polka dot suitcase

Next up on our tour of Atlanta was the Georgia Aquarium. In a word: Amazing. Get thee to the Georgia Aquarium if at all possible.

It’s laid out in manageable sections, so although it’s inevitably going to be crowded, you can plan your visit so you easily dodge school groups and such. Just skip one section and return to it when the wave of peeps passes. There are a few touch tanks and some “touch me” stuff, but the real sensation is the viewing. The tanks are strategically placed all over — even overhead. And there’s the walk-through tank where you’re surrounded by fishies. It’s an eyeful — a visual fishy smorgasbord. With music softly playing in the background, you could easily slip into a catatonic state, just staring.

And these weren’t all itty bitty fish, either. Manta rays, beluga whales, whale sharks. At the whale shark tank — a floor-to-ceiling monstrosity packed with fish of every size, shape, and color — people were completely mesmerized. The room was jammed with people of all ages just staring. And then a little plastic bucket dropped into the tank from up on the surface, and the whale sharks turned their massive bodies, popped open those gaping mouths, and began chasing after the dumping buckets. Feeding time!

The beluga whales were drifting calmly through the water, turning the occasional somersault and making me want to go give one a big old kiss on the snout. And the sea otters — wow, you think you know your otters when you spot a sea otter and realize all you knew were river otters. These things are huge!

But it’s not all about the huge at the George Aquarium. Some of Sir’s favorite sea critters are sea horses, and we got to spend some time watching them horse around. And Mister got some great video of the clown fish playing in the sea anemones.

My only quibble? Unlike Zoo Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium staff are a bit lacking on the bedside (tankside?) manners. Within the first ten minutes, we ran into a couple rude staff members that kind of soured the experience on this side of the glass. I learned quickly not to interact with them. So, visitor beware.

But, Mom, if you’re reading? The upstairs restrooms? Spectacular. Spotless, upscale, and I didn’t even have to hold my breath when I walked in.

Anyhoo. Worth the hype? Absolutely. Plan to spend several hours at the least. Couldn’t hurt to brush up on a few key species so you know what you’re looking at and can dazzle the people around you with well-timed, informed comments. Final assessment — Georgia Aquarium: Two flippers up.