Under the Sea...

On a whim, Ava and I hopped in the car and drove to Chattanooga to visit the Tennessee Aquarium. The day was beautiful and the drive, just right. Not too long, but far enough away to feel like we were on an adventure!

Our first exhibit was the Sea Horses. We took an escalator down to see them and Ava was so excited with the moving stairs, that after seeing one sea horse, she grabbed my hand and led me back to the escalators so we could ride up. I was afraid we'd paid good money to ride the escalators...

Luckily, there was a looooooooooooong escalator that took us way up to a rain forest. The chirping birds and waterfall enticed her into the wild and away from the moving stairs. We watched otters swim, she climbed rocks to peer at snakes and birds, and walked down some steps to see turtles and trout.

"Where is the baby turtle's mommy?!" she gasped, watching a little turtle swim in the deep water. We found it's mommy swimming not too far away, and she was relieved enough to go on to the Shark aquarium.


I had no idea she'd be so taken with sharks. She ran towards the glass and 'ahhhhed' over the hammerheads. We peered into the tank for what seemed like hours, watching the stingrays, the starfish, the sharks and other large, menacing bug-eyed sea creatures glide through the water.


After the excitement of the sharks, we got chocolate/vanilla swirl ice cream cones and enjoyed our walk to the IMAX theater. We had tickets to "Under the Sea" and Ava hoped we would see Ariel, since Sebastian the crab sings the song ('Under the Sea')in her favorite movie, "The Little Mermaid". We were excited when handed glasses, not knowing we'd get a 3D experience.


It was amazing! Ava reached to touch the coral and seals as they swam by. We made it through the whole movie. Afterwards, I gave Ava the choice of going back to the aquarium or going home. "Let's go home, Mommy."

Not more than 10 minutes into the ride home and she was asleep. It was a fun day together. We'll go back soon, to visit Camp Discovery and spend some more time under the sea!!