I wonder where they found a toilet big enough to flush them.

The name is the Valhalla site, privately owned, and it's closer to
Abilene Texas than Lubbock.  A number of Texas shops schedule group
visits.  Lots more available from a google.

On Jun 12, 6:28 pm, Don <aussie.impo...@gmail.com> wrote:

The Toronto Star published my 3-page featuring on swimming with the
whale sharks at the Aquarium in Atlanta.  The story and some of the
photos can be read/seen on my website www.stephenweir.com

   Very, very cool.

Pretty cool opportunity, and a pretty nice article on your experience.
Thanks for sharing.

As it happens, I was at the Georgia Aquarium last Friday.  Unfortunately, my
experience was not as enjoyable as yours.  The aquarium is nice, very nice,
but the operation leaves a lot to be desired.  My experience was
significantly affected by the fact that school age children were out for the
summer.  There were thousands of them, all pushing and shoving to ensure
that they are at the front.  I understand that's how children are, but I
can't help but wish that their parents had made at least a little effort to
teach them better manners.

Things started off badly.  When we got to the Aquarium, the lines to
purchase tickets were long, very long, over an hour long.  That would not
have been a surprise on a weekend, but it did surprise me on a week day.
After a long wait in line, with no shade at all, we finally reached the
ticket sales window.  I was pleasantly surprised when I found that they
offered a discount for the whole party if even one member of the party is
over 50, which I am.  There aren't many advantages to getting older.  This
was one.  The general admission wound up being just under $30 per person.
That's not exactly cheap, but it's a lot less than I'm used to paying to
visit major tourist attractions.  I don't think you can even park at Disney
for $30.  There's another line once you have your tickets, but it moves a
bit faster.  All told, it took a bit over an hour to get to the entry point.

The discount took a bit of the edge off the long wait, but my joy was short
lived.  As you enter, there's a sign that says "no guns or pocket knives."
I can't say that I was surprised that they don't welcome guns.  While
Georgia has had a statewide concealed weapon law for a long time, it's
considerably more restrictive that Florida's.  Combine that with a history
of problems with violence, including, but not limited to terrorist acts
during the Olympics held there, and worry over what someone with a gun might
do in the world's largest marine aquarium make a bit more sense.  I don't
normally carry a weapon when visiting tourist attractions.  Right or wrong,
I don't think the small added security is enough to offset the inconvenience
of ensuring a weapon is safely secured and under my control at all times.
Others are free to disagree.

I was surprised at the restriction on pocket knives.  This is the deep
south, where pocket knives have long been almost universal and where, as far
as I know, there has never been much or a problem with them.  Not only was I
surprised, I was directly affected.  My money clip is a small pocket knife.
We're not talking an attack weapon here, just a pocket knife big enough to
clean finger nails, open packages and remove loose threads from my wife's
clothing.  It's small, but beautiful and too expensive to throw away, about
$60 at the local Bass Pro Shop.  So, here I am, after paying for parking,
walking the block or so to the entrance, waiting for more than an hour in
the blazing sun, standing in front of a sign that says I can't go in unless
I make the round trip back to my car and, once again, wait in line to enter
the aquarium.

Rather than do that, I decided to see how things went.  Things went well for
me, not so good for aquarium security.  At the desk, every body is required
to empty their pockets.  I complied, taking my money, including the
knife/clip, my wallet, phone, camera and my keys out of my pockets.  I was
not asked to place anything on the desk for inspection, everything remained
in my hands.  I didn't mention my pocket knife, but I didn't hide it either.
Nobody every looked.  They did, however, wand my pockets to ensure I was not
concealing anything else.  I must say that, given my position on the right
to keep and bear arms, I found the attempt to ban pocket knives more than a
little excessive.  I also found it completely ineffective.  A few minutes
later, I was inside the "weapon free safe zone" armed to the teeth with my
fingernail cleaning, money clip pocket knife.  The point is that all the
aquarium's overly restrictive policy did was ensure that the majority of the
people there were at the mercy of the few who, whether for good or bad
reasons, didn't comply with the policy.  Lucky for them I'm not a terrorist.
I could have nicked dozens before being forcibly subdued.  At any rate, the
security arrangements were enough to pretty much ensure I would not again be
spending money at the Georgia Aquarium.

While I'm on the subject of security, anybody that might have chosen to
conceal a much more significant weapon in a boot, ankle holster or anyplace
other than their pocket, would have waltzed right through that security.  I
have at least three ways of carrying a small firearm that would not have
been detected.  While I can never know for sure, I'd be willing to bet that
more than one person in that aquarium not only knew this too, but had taken
advantage of it to bring their gun with them.  So much for weapon free
zones.

Things went down hill from there.  I think the displays at the aquarium were
pretty spectacular, including the whale sharks.  It's hard to tell because
there were so many people, including a lot of exceptionally rude children of
all ages, that it was hard to tell.  The crowds significantly detracted from
my enjoyment.  If you're considering visiting the aquarium, I strongly
suggest you schedule it for day and date when children are in school.  A few
children around add to the experience by sharing their wonder with those old
enough to have become more jaded.  Thousands of them are almost too much to
bear.  In fact, we left the aquarium sooner than we normally would have
specifically to get away from the crowds.

The whale sharks were great, as were the zebra sharks and saw fish.  The
whale shark display, however, was a bit of a disappointment.  From almost
all viewing areas, the sharks were above the visitors.  A whale shark is
beautiful form above.  It's plain white from below.  Everything else was,
more or less the same as you might see at any other aquarium.  The downside
to this aquarium is that pretty much everything is indoors and there are no
shows to further enhance the experience.  While I liked the aquarium, on the
whole, I like the Miami Seaquarium and Sea World better.  YMMV.

Lee