SeaWorld treats its employees right. I stayed at a Hilton hotel, literally across the street from the aquarium, which is in the middle of downtown Atlanta. For those of you who remember the Olympics in Atlanta, I was also across the street from the Centennial Park. This is the view from my window--aquarium on the left, park on the right.
Unfortunately, that meant I had no rental car, and therefore was stuck in that same part of town unless someone wanted to take me somewhere else. That meant I ate all my meals out as I had no grocery store to make a pbj. Ever tried eating out every meal for four days in a row. YUCK.
But the weather was beautiful, and between walks in the park and swims on the roof of the hotel I stayed active enough.
This last one is the Olympic fountain they have in the park. It goes through a pattern of water spouts and falls, and looks really pretty at night.
But here's the main reason I was in Georgia.
These two little guys perked up right away after the transport. I'm grateful they travelled so well, and I'm especially grateful I don't have to lie flat on my stomach to feed our whales from the sides of the pool.
I also got to see an old friend while I was there...Beethoven!
I really enjoyed checking out the rest of the aquarium, although it was a really quick trip. (I think I worked harder on that trip than I typically do on a regular work week!)
Check out the size of those crabs! No joke.
They have pools that you can walk right under, and that wind all around you. By far the coolest thing I did was SCUBA in their Ocean Voyager exhibit. They have FOUR whale sharks, FOUR manta rays, TWO hammerhead sharks, and hundreds of other myriad fishes to swim with. AMAZING! I wish I had someone take pictures of me in the exhibit, but I wasn't going to start asking for favors, especially since they let me swim as a guest.
The manta rays were especially fun. They would do a looping behavior right above you and play in your bubbles. Here's one in the middle of a loop.
All in all, really great trip. And then Adam and I got to go to Austin for Thanksgiving with the family! I didn't take too many pictures, but we had a great time playing with everyone. I especially loved the Turkey Trot a bunch of us did on Thanksgiving day. Close to 17,000 people ran that race, so it was really more of a "dodge and weave" sort of deal, but very fun.
And, of course, Adam and I made the traditional calendar to start off the Christmas season right!
I was very glad to be home after all that time away, but I sure do miss those babies something fierce.
