Day 29 Chattanooga to Atlanta

Wake up early and hit the road to get to Atlanta and the Aquarium. We got there about 9:30 (they opened at 9). Pretty good for being about 2 hours away. The Aquarium was awesome. It was big and had lots of cool stuff. We saw lots of fish, seahorses, turtles, frogs, sharks, rays, lobsters, piranhas, albino alligators, otters, etc. We even got to touch a small ray. When we first got there it wasn't to busy, but it got really busy really quick. We went to a Dolphin show that was pretty good. The show would have been a little bit better without the guy singing, but it was still cool. There is a cool area where you walk through a tunnel type place that the sharks and fish and rays swim next to and over the top of you. That was neat to see. Sora and Nakai loved the show. After the show there were so many people it was hard to walk around. We got a meal that was one of the most expensive meals we have had on this trip, but it was o.k. While eating Sora told us that she wanted to live there, because she would have lots of pets and be able to be them all the time.

Jellies!

More Jellies!

Giddy up! YEEHAW!

 

Belugas

that's a lot of fish.

turtles are fast.....

Eels are shocking.

Loggerhead

goofballs waiting for the Dolphin Show

"my future's so bright, I gotta wear 3D shades."

the little things poking up through the sand are a type of eel.

 

acting like penguins

Otters

Albino Alligator

 

Frogger

poison dart frogs

This frogs eyes looked like a chameleon

Shell and Shell

Up close and personal with the penguin.



chillin' with the piranhas

"Hey, you gonna eat the rest of your popcorn?"

Manta Ray...

guitarfish

whale shark

OH Crab!

 

 

squirreling away part of our $55 lunch...

 

After the Aquarium we walked across the street to the Olympic Legacy Park. It was cool to see where it was. It was also kind of fun to remember the Olympics that were here in 1996 (a good year).

 

Reflecting pool at Olympic Legacy Park

 

Tomorrow we are headed to a place I spent a few months in about 13 years ago. Yep... Charleston South Carolina. We might spend a couple/few days there so I can go surfing, uh, I mean show them a few of the things I did when I lived there. Things like crabbing, Riverdog baseball games, etc. We will probably camp at the place that I used to work at. 



 

Day 28 Cave City to Chattanooga

Drive about 3 1/2 hours to Chattanooga. We are now in Eastern Time zone. After getting here we talked with Michelle (our sister-n-law) that lives here. We went to dinner with her, her son Will and her friend. It was a good dinner. Afterwards we went to her house so the kids could play for a few minutes. Thanks to her for a great dinner place and letting the kids play for a while. At the hotel we finished off the rest of our Liquor chocolates, We had Bourbon, Brandy, Tequila, Irish Crème, Butterscotch, and Rum. They were good. Now hopefully a good night sleep and an early morning. We are heading to Atlanta in the morning to go the Aquarium. It should be good.

Sweet Heat Light in our hotel in Cave City

Day 27 Mammoth Cave Day

With our base in Cave City we headed out for the long 15 minute drive to Mammoth Cave. We arrived about 30 minutes before our tour started, so we got the kids started on their Junior Ranger books. Before we even started the tour our topic was about ghosts in the cave. Sora was thinking that she might see a ghost. Nakai says "what if the ghost sucks your soul?" They talked about ghosts for a few minutes until we got to the cave. Our tour started at 10:00 and it was different than other caves we have been in for various reasons. First of all there were 120 people, a lot more than others. Second, there weren't all of the stalagmites and stalactites and other formations like other caves. Third, it was an old mining area for saltpeter (ingredient for gunpowder). This third element made it look like a huge mine tunnel and similar looking to a subway tunnel. The Mammoth cave system has over 400 miles worth of tunnels. It was really cool because of how big it was. It was amazing. The tour was cool. There were a few spots were even Sora had to duck. Her favorite part was a space called Fat Man's Misery. It was a spot that was very narrow for about 100 yards long that snaked through the rock.

After the tour the kids finished their Jr. Ranger books and received their 10 badge over the past few years and 5th of this summer. After finishing Junior Ranger Book we went to a program for Junior Rangers. We thought it was going to be packed, but Sora and Nakai were the only 2 kids there for it, They did a game of win, lose or draw/Pictionary game about the park. They got some stickers for playing. It was cool to have that one on one attention.

 

 

After that we had lunch than went on a short hike through the forest area. That was pretty cool because we were walking through the tall poplar and maple trees. We saw a couple of fawns hanging out near the trail. We also walked down to an area called the Mammoth Sink. This area is full of sink holes that drain down into the cave area. As we drove away from the park we saw about 12 turkeys along the road back to Cave city. We stopped at a Fudge shop before the hotel and they have Bourbon, Irish cream, Tequila, Rum, Coffee Brandy, and Orange Tequila fudges. We bought an Irish Crème and a Tequila Fudge. They are good.

fawn

Sink

 

Turkeys

Liquor chocolate. OH YEAH!

 

For the first time on this trip we have a plan for more than just the next day. We are headed to Chattanooga, TN. to go to dinner with our new  step sister and her son. Then we will be headed to Atlanta and the Aquarium there. The Aquarium is supposed to be one of the best in the world. It should be exciting.

Funnies for the Day:

Nakai heard a joke from Looney Tunes-- "Why didn't they call the Grand Canyon the gargantuan Canyon? Because Gargantuan made it sound fat."

Nakai bought a fruit candy and after eating it for a while he looked at me and said " I think I'm getting addicted to these things."

"I think I'm getting addicted to this thing."