We started off at the Florida Aquarium on Friday. It had been years since any of us had been and the first time for my Aunt. After walking through the doors, the first thing we came upon was a tank where you could pet sting rays. Autumn wanted no part of that. She was happy to stand on the floor and peer at the sting rays swimming through the glass, but as soon as I picked her up to look in the tank, she turned away. My nephew on the other hand, took a little bit to warm up, but after getting the courage to pet one sting ray, he wanted to pet them all!
After the sting rays we moved onto the floor to ceiling tanks. These tanks were impressive! Filled with tons of different types of fish, a sea turtle, eels, sharks, and of course tons of colorful coral and reefs. Autumn was scared at first, afraid that the fish would be able to bite her, but once she understood that she could touch the glass and nothing could touch her, she was mesmerized!
I loved watching Autumn and her cousin Aidan looking into these huge tanks, pointing out every "Nemo" and "Dori" they saw swimming around.
Before leaving for the day, we decided to catch the penguin show. The Florida Aquarium does not have a penguin area, so the only place to see them is during the show. The show was awesome! They allow you to sit on the floor, in front of the penguins, as they walk around on the floor. The handlers answer any questions asked and ask questions for the kids to answer. It was the closet I have ever been to a penguin!
Unfortunately, you are not allowed to pet the penguins. This took a while for Autumn to get over.
On Saturday, we woke up and headed to Busch Gardens. Busch Gardens is a great cross between a zoo and a theme park. It has several large roller coasters for the adults, numerous animal exhibits, and a great kid friendly area with a Sesame Street theme. The kids had a ball riding the rides and seeing their favorite Sesame Street characters, but if you ask them, their favorite part was the water! There is a miniature water park filled with water spraying up from the ground and falling from buckets in the sky. It was the perfect place for the kids to spend some time cooling off in the Florida heat.
After two busy days, Sunday was a day of rest before making the trip back home. A week later, Autumn is still talking about all of the animals she saw and how much fun she had chasing her cousin through the water!
