Living on the Wildside

Every now and then I like to get in touch with nature. I love to see animals up close and personal whether it is snorkeling, hiking or whatever. However, the animals that I like to see most are either not in my region or ones that are friendly. My craving is not satisfied by simply watching Man vs Wild. Therefore I am forced into the next best alternative, the zoo and aquarium.

Recently, my wife and I were in Atlanta and decided to visit both the zoo and the aquarium and were thankful we did. The Zoo Atlanta was really clean and well organized. All the animals were in exhibits that fell into Africa, Asia, etc., type environments.

All of the normal zoo animals were there, and Atlanta is even home to three panda bears. They were party poopers that day as they were just sleeping. The one cage that I normally run to is the monkeys who always act silly and entertain me. However, these guys were also in relax mode. I was even tempted to slip them some coffee to get things going. The gorillas saw my desperation and decided to come through. They were very fun to watch. Two young ones were instigating one another over some toys. It was funny to be an outsider and actually see them plotting on each other.

Then it was off to the Georgia Aquarium, which happens to be the largest in the world. I was finally in my element, the ocean. There were some very cool tropical fish that I felt I knew from my handful of snorkeling adventures and many new friends. Every single tank was impeccably clean and the staff was very knowledgeable.

Have you every seen a whale shark up close or how about three? If you go to the aquarium, you could. They were humongous. We even were privileged enough to watch the feeding. It was not gruesome, unless you are a fan of plankton. These fifteen foot long creatures only eat tiny little creatures. Regardless, every single tank brought a new experience.

Check it outa€¦

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