Sharks and Celebrities at the GA Aquarium

To conclude our CUTCO celebration, we took a field trip to the GA Aquarium where we spent hours gazing at sharks, seahorses and celebrities.

Moanna wasn’t able to take part in a lot of the CUTCO celebrations, so we wanted to do something special for her to cap off the festivities, and we knew the GA Aquarium would knock her socks off. (PS. I want one of these in my house. Add a few pillows and you have the perfect chill spot.)

Our adventures at the aquarium began in the touch tanks. It took some time for Moanna to warm up to the idea, but we finally got her to put her hands in the water to touch the rays and other creatures that were in the tank. After she realized we weren’t going to let her fall in the tank, it was hard to pull her away.

Andy has what I call “Cheese Syndrome.” Whenever he notices that someone is taking his picture, he stops the activity that the photographer is trying to capture so he can smile and pose. It is very hard to get pictures of Andy in action. Moanna suffers from “Cheese Syndrome” occasionally too.

From the rays, it was onto the starfish tank. I got in trouble at the starfish tank. One of the starfish had it’s little arm stretched out so I touched the bottom of the his arm. You do NOT touch the bottom of the a starfish.

This guy looks like he has a lot to share about the world. You can see the wisdom in his eyes.

It’s hard to say who had more fun at the aquarium. Andy or Moanna?

Steve took over the camera when we got to this albino fellow. Steve was obsessed, and as a result, we have over a dozen pictures of him.

Moanna wasn’t so sure about the anemones. The water was super cold and their tentacles (is that what they’re called on an anemone?) kept sticking to her.

Meet Mr. Penguin. He looks very skeptical of the strange man taking his picture.

Penguins like shiny things, so make sure you bring a flashy watch when you visit the aquarium. They also dig friendship bracelets.

And now for the part that you’ve all been waiting for… the celebrities. I will disappoint you now, and let you know up front, we did not get any pictures or autographs. It wasn’t appropriate.

We were sitting down having a snack after we visited the penguins.

Steve, “That guy walking this way kind of looks like Ben Affleck.”

Andy, “Yeah kind of.”

Me, “That’s because it is Ben Affleck. There is his wife Jennifer Garner, and there two little girls.”

Steve and Andy, “No way! It’s them.”

Andy, “I guess you don’t see things like that in Virginia, do you?”

Me, “Hey! Lexington has it’s fair share of celebrity sitings.”

Steve, “Look at them. They’re just having a family day, like normal people.”

Me, “I feel like we should put them in one of the fishtanks for observation. ‘Look at the famous people in a normal every day setting.’”

While we were eating our snack, they stopped about 10 feet from us to fix their oldest girl’s shoe situation. They ended up taking off both shoes and rolling up her tights to calf length. I giggled a little because before we left for the aquarium, Steve and Moanna were having an intense battle about what shoes to wear. After the shoes were fixed, they walked right past our table (the oldest daughter tripped on my chair a little) to go get a snack. They sat in the most discrete location they could find, and Ben sat with his back to the room to avoid any more attention than they were already getting.

The smallest Beniffer child sat on this  mermaid while her sister was having her shoe situation.

While we were watching these a-listers trying to have a family day, I was pulled in many directions. On one hand, it was sad. You could tell they didn’t want to be bothered and that it was stressful for them to have a shoe situation with a ton of people watching with a microscope, and to have to walk with their heads down to get through the place in peace. I’m pretty sure I saw them refuse pictures and praises, probably trying to keep their family day sacred. On another hand, I was thinking, “This is the life you created for yourselves, put a smile on your face and embrace it.” Then again, if they were living it up, would they ever be able to enjoy the aquarium, or would they spend the entire time taking pictures and signing things? Then I thought, “You have a ton of money. Why don’t you just pay for a private after hours tour? I guess if you do that, then you don’t get to feel like you had a “normal family day” then do you?”

I have so much to think about before I become famous… Back to the fish…

After the celebrity tank, we moved onto the giant tanks that the GA Aquarium is known for. The giant tanks are filled with giant sharks and other giant sea creatures. (I’m telling you I need one of these bubble nooks in my future house so I can relax with the fish, read, paint my toes, eat lunch, whatever. It will be like my hideout when I’m too famous to enjoy the aquarium in peace.)

Throughout the aquarium, you can find touch screen computers that tell you what kind of fish are in the tanks and some information about them. I think Moanna found and played with every computer in the place.

Our last stop at the aquarium was in the tropics, where we finally found someone to take our picture. The entire time we were in the aquarium there was either no one around to take our picture, or the lighting was bad, or it was too crowded. Not that this is the best picture (we need to learn how to use our camera in aquarium type settings) but at least we have proof that we were all there together.

When we were done at the aquarium, we had a late lunch slash early dinner, dropped Uncle Andy off at the airport so he could return to Miami, and then spent about two hours in traffic driving home in the pouring rain. But it’s all good. Moanna fell asleep on the way home, so we know she had a great day.

The first time Steve and I went to the aquarium, it was a Friday and it was packed. This time we went on a Tuesday, and it was much quieter. There were a few a field trips, but other than that, it was quiet, no lines, no stinky kid smell. We also went earlier in the day which was less stressful (minus the traffic – we’ll plan to stay downtown for dinner next time that happens) because we rushing to see everything before they closed. The GA Aquarium often has specials and coupons, and they do a lot of combo deals with other attractions in the area, so before you go do some research and you’re likely to pay much less than full price.

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