So today we decided to go on a last minute day trip to Chattanooga and see the new (to us) “ocean journey” part of the aquarium. Sorry Aunt B. I would’ve tried to come up with something interesting for your NiT guest hosting gig, but I was actually busy doing something.

We left Nashville around 11:10am and zipped on over to Chatt by around 1:30p. Of course, we forgot about the whole Eastern time zone thing, so it was really more like 2:30 when we got there. No biggie. We got tickets and headed into the “ocean” building first. It starts off with a hands-on pool where you can pet little sting rays and little sharks as they swim by. I managed to pet a shark while it was laying on the bottom of the pool. Kinda cool. Of course then I had a wet sticky arm for a bit, but I survived.

Then there was a really neat butterfly exhibit where the butterflies just flew around you in an open-like outdoor environment. It was still closed in, but it had the feeling of being outside. Anyway, you had to check yourself before you left to make sure you didn’t take any hitch-hiking butterflies with you. Cause that is a felony or something like that. Serious business.

After that, we headed to the larger tank to see the tiger sharks and hundreds of other fish. After that, it all gets kinda blurry until we left and went over to the “river journey” building, the building that was “The Aquarium” until they added the ocean one. The river journey starts with a quick jaunt downstairs to see the seahorses and leafy sea dragons. If you’ve never seen those, heck, even if you have, they are truly stunning creatures. I just find it amazing that creatures like this exist and most people don’t even know about them.

Anyway, after the seahorses, you take a ride up a long escalator with TV screens that show the evolution of a tiny drop of water into a rushing river. Kinda neat. Except I had to pee by the time we got to the top and there were no bathrooms in sight. The rest of the exhibits are focused on specific rivers all over the world, but mostly in Tennessee. There are tons of turtles, snakes, common river fish and not so common fish. Its a lot to take in and I’ve already mentioned the things that really stand out in my mind.

I’d have to say the most informative and entertaining bit was after lunch at the IMAX. It was a 3D Deep Sea movie that went into the depths of the ocean to show us some of the more exotic and lesser known sea life. I was truly impressed. I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know about anemonies and starfish, but I don’t really blame myself cause its hard to really understand something without seeing it. This movie was pretty extraordinary in the way it was able to capture the hunting and feeding rituals of these otherwise static creatures. It was a great way to end the day and I highly recommend the IMAX to anyone visiting the aquarium.

Now, I must not forget to comment on the road trip experience with the Fit. Overall, it was a very pleasant ride. We played around with the sound system, got some tunes crankin, and cruised along with ease. Going up the mountain was a little rough, but only cause I’m not used to the car yet and how it uses its power to accelerate or maintain speed going up a pretty steep and steady grade.

Oh, and I have to mention the windshield wipers because they are the best I’ve ever seen or had. We got hit by some heavy rain on the way back and my wipers saved the day. It may be because I was used to such crummy wipers on the Pontiac, but just looking at these ones, you can totally see the difference. That makes me wonder, though, if the replacement, when the time comes, is going to be difficult or costly. Oh well. When it comes down to it, I was sure thankful to have them today.