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Chattanooga

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies

August 10, 2019 by 21 Comments

Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies

While we were in the Great Smoky Mountains a few weeks ago (see my photos from Parrot Mountain), we visited Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. I was surprised to learn that it is owned by the same company that does the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not books, comics, and TV show.

Mr. Handsome and I have somehow become aquarium and zoo people. I didn’t grow up spending time at either, but since we have been married, we have visited quite a few (Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium,  St. Louis Zoo, New Orleans Audubon Zoo, and Memphis Zoo). We also went to the Knoxville Zoo on our way home from the Smokies. We both agree that going to a zoo or aquarium isn’t the absolute most exciting thing that anyone could ever do with their time, but we love how relaxing and therapeutic it is to walk through the exhibits and watch the animals. You can allow yourself to lose track of time for a few hours.

The aquarium has a huge shark tank, where you can see the sharks from above water and then walk through a glass tunnel and watch them swim above you.

Gatlinburg Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies shark lagoon

Gatlinburg Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies shark lagoon

The creature in Shark Lagoon that fascinated us the most is not actually a shark, although it looks like one. It’s a sawfish, and while it can cause harm to prey with its “saw,” it is not aggressive towards humans (unlike actual sharks). It also has what looks like a human face on its underside.

Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies sawfish

Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies sawfish
The penguin exhibit was my favorite, and it was hilarious to put Little Buddy up to the glass and watch a swimming penguin try to grab his swinging pacifier.

Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies penguins

Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies

The stingrays were also pretty neat and reminded us of our honeymoon on Grand Cayman, when we swam with wild stingrays at Stingray City. Mr. Handsome enjoyed seeing the jellyfish, but he now unfortunately wants one as a pet.

Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies

 

Filed Under: South, TN, Travel, U.S. Tagged With: Chattanooga, Great Smoky Mountains, Knoxville, Nashville, Parrot Mountain, Ripley's Aquiarium of the Smokies, Ripley's Believe it or Not, sawfish, Smokies

Exit Tactics

March 25, 2018 by 14 Comments

Exit TacticsEach week, Mr. Handsome and I attend three Bible studies. One of the groups is made up of 15 young married couples, which has been a great opportunity for us to grow in our walk with God and in our marriage.

A couple weeks ago, the guys had planned to go camping in East Tennessee, while the girls had planned to go hiking in Chattanooga. The weather didn’t cooperate, so we canceled the trips and found an activity to do together in the Nashville area.

We ended up eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then spending a couple hours at Exit Tactics, an indoor activity center where we did archery tag, axe throwing, and bubble soccer (photos below). Have you ever participated in any of these activities?

I also posted a video to my Facebook page.

Exit Tactics
 Axe Throwing
archery tag
 Archery Tag
archery tag
bubble soccer
Bubble Soccer

Filed Under: Ellie's Life Tagged With: archery tag, axe throwing, bubble soccer, camping, Chattanooga, East Tennessee, Exit Tactics, hiking, Mexican restaurant, Nashville area

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EllieMr. Handsome and I married four years ago and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Between recipes, photos from our travels, money saving tips, DIY suggestions, post about our daily life with our son, and more, our lifestyle blog features a little bit of everything. Read More…

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