~Vacation 2013 - Day 2~

We got up on Day 2 and headed to Kentucky.  The Newport Aquarium was running a special.  For every adult ticket, 2 kids got in for free! 

 

 We met some real penguins in the lobby, but Kiersten liked this penguin better.

We have spent most of the school year studying all the swimming creatures so this was an excellent way to really "see" what we learned.

We listened to divers in the water tell about the animals in the tank.  I was curious as to why she was dusting the fish that went by with small rocks.  They seemed to really enjoy it.  I was able to ask about it at the end... fish in the wild have cleaning stations (which we read about) but they don't have them here in the aquarium.  The rocks actually feel good to the fish and actually can clean them. 

The first time we were at this aquarium I think we only had 3 boys in this window... I can't wait to compare the photos!

 My favorites... I really liked the jellyfish, the alligators and the penguins.  I could watch the penguins for hours!

Having fun in the gift shop :-)

 

We were there from opening until closing... minus lunch break.  There was a Five Guys just outside of the aquarium... wow, those were great burgers.  It took us a long time to order all those burgers, and then we had to order all the drinks.  They had one of those fancy soda machines with 100+ drink choices.   That took forever!  It was delicious!

We were not hungry when we arrived at our hotel... and much to my delight, there was a Hobby Lobby across the street.  I did a little shopping :-)  We went swimming and then walked across the parking lot to Chick Fil A for a late night snack.

I was not looking forward to vacation... the stress of keeping everyone together and happy... finding bathrooms at record speed... and the cost of everything.  At the end of Day 2, I was relaxed and having fun!