The Florida Aquarium Part 2

Today, I took my parents to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa.  I had bought a membership in December and was happy to find out that I could bring anyone with me on any visit.  We arrived close to 11 a.m. this morning and were surprised with how many people were there on a Monday in the middle of January.  It didn't matter, however, as there was so much to do, the extra visitors never got in our way.  

We started in the Wetlands of Florida area.  It was like walking right into the middle of a river.  We could see fish and turtles in almost every exhibit.  There were alligators and otters as well.  My favorite part was all of the birds.  The scarlet ibis were beautiful.  I couldn't believe that the birds didn't fly away.  They were being fed while we were there and very active.  I was not sure what the connection was to the Wetlands, but upstairs there were lemurs and other animals of Madagascar.  They were very interesting as well.

The stingrays were next on our list and we enjoyed seeing them splash someone who was being too aggressive with them.  We spent the next hour in the coral reef watching the fish swim.  There were sharks, rays, shrimp, jelly fish and so much more.  We saw animals that blended so well into their environment that we could barely find them.  There were also geckos, chameleons and even a few poison dart frogs.  Our last stop of the day was outside to visit the African Penguins hopping on the rocks.

We headed to the gift stop and looked at the photo that they took of the three of us when we walked in this morning.  It was nice.  We asked about a place to eat lunch near the aquarium.  They suggested an area next door that had a lot of different small restaurants and one tequila bar.  It looked like a lot of fun, but most were outside seating or were pretty pricey.  We were glad that we checked it out, but decided to eat elsewhere.  Instantly, I thought of McAlister's and we headed there next.  The soup was perfect for a chilly Florida day and a great way to unwind after a successful day at the aquarium.