It was raining when we woke up this morning - not a heavy rain but a series of showers as the system passed over the area. After eating breakfast and relaxing for awhile, we decided to go over to Tampa and visit The Florida Aquarium. With city traffic, it was about a 45 minute drive and we arrived about 1:30 pm.
The aquarium is located on the waterfront along the Channelside shopping and dining area next to the Tampa cruise ship terminals and port area. Adjacent to and associated with the aquarium is a working WW II steamship, the S.S. American Victory - one of only four operational WW II merchant steamships in the U.S. You can tour the ship and it serves as a national training site for military, police, and firefighters and hosts public ceremonies, special events and semi-annual fundraiser cruises. We did not tour the ship today due to time constraints, but might go back to do that if we have time later on in the trip.
The aquarium is very well done and has a lot of interesting exhibits, not just of fish and other marine life, but also about the different aspects of Florida ecology and other types of wildlife. The aquarium is very "kid-friendly" with lots of things for kids of all ages to touch, feel, and learn about. There is also an outside kid's play area with water cannons, a pirate ship, and plenty of things to climb on, over, and through. Toddlers also have a separate place to play. A nice touch is a Caribbean Cantina overlooking and close to the play area where the parents can have a drink while watching their kids get wet and have fun.
The aquarium tour is self-directed through 8 different areas: Wetlands Trail, Journey to Madagascar, Bays and Beaches, No Bone Zone, Coral Reefs, Dragons Down Under,Ocean Commotion, and Explore A Shore (The kids play area). Each section highlights different aspects of it's theme with lots of hands-on things to do related to that section. There are also many different shows that go on during the day. One we saw was divers going into the shark tank to feed them. There is also a nice cafe restaurant with reasonable prices where you can feed a family and kids without spending a lot of money. As you might expect, there was also a large gift shop that was very busy. Additional adventure guided tour options are also available including a Wild Dolphin Cruise on the aquarium boat, the Penguins Backstage Pass, Behind The Scenes Tour, and Feeding the Sting Rays. For those who want to get in the water, you can also Swim With The Fishes and Dive With The Sharks.
All-in-all, it is a very nice aquarium and we are glad we took the time to visit it. The trip back took longer as we got caught in rush hour traffic. Dinner was take-out pizza from Tony's in Dunedin - very good. The weather cleared up nicely by the end of the day as the front moved through. More baseball tomorrow as the Yankees are in town. It should be clear, but cooler and a little breezy.
Day 16 Pictures
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