A post in which we see the whale sharks!!**

When I bought my tickets on line, I had to specify a time to be at the aquarium. I guess they use that to control crowd flow or something, but since my tickets were for 1pm, we had plenty of time for breakfast. We got out the trusty GPS and made our way to the Original Pancake House (relieved that it was not in the vicinity of any U-Haul dealership), one of my very favorite places to get breakfast, and proceeded to have a capital repast. I got the mushroom omelet with sherry cream sauce, as I am wont to do, and it was as delicious as ever. It did bring back memories. This was the same OPH that I had been to with Jaimie, Rhonda, and Michael several years ago when we were in Atlanta for New Years. At the time, it had been kind of in the hood (Jaimie was most skeptical when we arrived), but now there are some nice condos across the street and it isn't scary at all.

Mother, pleasantly wishing she could eat her breakfast in peace

After breakfast, though, we were at a bit of a loose end. I called the aquarium but they wouldn't let us in early. We eventually just decided to head on over that way and we would just walk around and shop or do whatever was in the area until it was our time. It took us about a half hour to make it across town and get parked, but we still had about an hour and a half to kill.

There wasn't any shopping to speak of. The aquarium is right off the Centennial Olympic Park (built, of course, for the 1996 Olympic Games), new since I was there last. It's pretty amazing - this huge expanse of greensward in the middle of downtown Atlanta. The Coke Museum is there as well, and I remember the Coke Museum as being in the middle of bustling downtown Atlanta. I wonder how many millions the land alone is worth. I tried to remember what else had been there that wasn't any more, and looked over a map, but couldn't puzzle it out. It is very impressive though.

The Atlanta skyline, as seen from Centennial Olympic Park. The Coke Museum is just off the right border of this picture.

We strolled in the park a bit, watching them set up tents for an event. I wanted to see the Fountain of Rings. When we got close to it, they were doing a memorial service for the 9-11 victims. Mom saw some motorcycle guys in the same rider's club of veterans that Rod is in, and went to talk to them.

The Fountain of Rings, in Centennial Olympic Park

It was a misty, overcast kind of day, but at least it wasn't a million degrees. It did start to sprinkle a little rain though, so we headed back down the hill to the aquarium. We found an overhang and sat there for a while, but eventually brazened it out and got into the aquarium 20 minutes early.

The Georgia Aquarium is amazing! The main tank is 280 feet long, and holds 6.3 million gallons of water.

One of the Whale Sharks, in the main tank (photo courtesy Wikipedia)

Tunnel through the main tank (photo courtesy Wikipedia)

But all the exhibits were really great. There were several touching pools where you could touch stingrays, which I had already done at Myrtle Beach, but hey, you just don't get to do that every day. You could also touch a baby hammerhead shark. Their skin really is rough, but not like sandpaper like you always read. More like sand scattered over very firm jell-o. It's a very odd feeling.

The Beluga Whales, which Mother particularly wanted to see (photo courtesy Wikipedia)

There were great exhibits of brackish water fish, from African Cichlids to electric eels to Louisiana river fish. We watched a presentation about the reefs and estuaries of Georgia, and a movie with a little orange fish (not so) mysteriously name Deepo. The movie was aimed at kids, and was peripherally about pollution, but mainly about being colorful and entertaining. There was a sea turtle that did Aretha Franklin, and it was in highly vaunted "4-D". 3-D, and then they sprinkled you with water and shot streamers at you at the end. It wasn't as cool as the IMAX movie we saw at Myrtle Beach two years ago, but the tickets for that 'extra' were only like $3.50 each, so I didn't feel too ripped off.

The rest of the aquarium was so amazing that the movie really didn't make a dent in the overall experience. The penguins were off display, which was a disappointment, but it was really worth the price of admission to see the only whale sharks in captivity in the western hemisphere. There most likely won't be any more, due to the difficulty of maintaining them, and the fact that their export is now illegal, apparently. Still it was quite a spectacle to see them majestically glide across the front of the tank. The need for education really does exist as well. There were many people there asking questions that showed they knew absolutely nothing about whale sharks, so it's not much of a leap to realize that they don't think much about water pollution. I read once that zoo animals give up their freedom to be ambassadors for their kind. Let's hope these ambassadors are successful in making people think a bit more.

We were there until about 4:30, and by that time Mom was ready for lunch. Since we were downtown anyway, we just went on over to The Varsity. I usually eat my one real hot dog of the year at Peaches in Myrtle Beach, but since we weren't there, I figured The Varsity was a pretty good bet.

After demolishing some hot dogs, home cut fries, hand-battered onion rings, and a cinematic sized Coke, we of course started thinking about supper. There is a 4 star Thai place just around the corner from the hotel, we discovered on our way home last night. They aren't open on the weekend, so if we were going, tonight was the night. I called and made reservations for a late meal.

We went back to the room for a bit, and Mom wanted to rest, but I was restless. Eventually she sent me out to play. I messed around downtown for a while, and got back in time to iron a shirt and get us to the restaurant.

Nan Thai was a pretty impressive place. I gave my car to the ubiquitous Atlanta valet and went inside. Carved out of a small downtown area, it had an atmosphere of quiet and expense. There was a fenced patio with a planting of bamboo as a view from the large windows inside. An obsequious waiter approached our table, but became less obsequious as we declined cocktails, appetizers, or salads. He took our order, brought our drinks, and then disappeared. Truly. After a half hour, we still had no food. Eventually a food runner did bring me a plate - with the wrong food on it. Our waiter, of course, was nowhere to be seen. I flagged down a busboy to fetch him, and he came back with the manager. Mother's food was still nowhere to be seen. I explained the problem, and he took my plate away to have it corrected. Mother's food then arrived solo. I told her to go ahead and eat, because who knows how long I would have to wait now, but my correct food actually showed up a few minutes later. The food was pretty mediocre, I have to say, especially at those prices, but Mom said hers was good. Our waiter miraculously appeared with the check at the end of the meal. I felt kind of the way I had a Phipps Plaza the day before, but the manager had been nice enough, although I noted he had not knocked a dime off of the check.

It was quite obvious to me that since we weren't a high-dollar table, the waiter could have given a shit. I was disappointed. After reading glowing reviews of this place, the service was terrible, and the food was lack-luster. Frankly, I expect more from a AAA four-star rated restaurant. This was going to be our Nice Dinner Out - I usually try to have one every year on our trip, and it was pretty much spoiled.

But Mom was really nice about it. I think I was more disappointed than she was. I'm not going to let it spoil my vacation. Tomorrow she'll pick the restaurants, and I'm sure people will be nicer. The waitress this morning at breakfast was a sweet as she could be (at half the price too).

It's hard to be too down when tomorrow is flea market day. There are about 14 in the metro Atlanta area, and Mom and I are ready to tear 'em up! I can also safely bet that the flea market people won't look down their noses at us too.

We read for a while, me flipping through my Depression Glass book to bone up on the newly listed patterns for the morning, and then turned in.