Downtown Aquarium

My children like aquariums. They will watch the fish swimming in their tanks at Petsmart for longer than seems fun to me, and even after four months, Abbey is still happy to see her Beta fish every morning. So while we were in Houston, we visited the Downtown Aquarium. This is not a normal aquarium. It is actually a theme restaurant with carnival rides and gift shops, and oh yeah, there's an aquarium over there.  

Elliott waiting patiently while I stood in line. This is false advertising- there are no dancing swordfishes inside!

The first thing we did was to ride the little train, like you would ride at the zoo. But this one goes into the shark tank part of the aquarium! You can see them swimming on both side and above you.

Then the train keeps going, comes around a curve, and...

THIS pops out at you. Then you make sure your 4 year old hasn't jumped out of the train from fear.

We also rode the Ferris Wheel (with a lovely view of I-10) and carousel. 

Thumbs up for family fun!

By this point it was very hot outside and I would have looked at Petsmart fish tanks, as long as they were in the air conditioning. Fortunately the aquarium was better than that! There were several different displays, and a sting ray pool where you could touch the rays. I think Chad was the only one who touched a sting ray, but Abbey has done it before. We took our time going through the aquarium, and Abbey was really interested in reading the signs about each animal. Elliott survived, but as usual, she was getting hungry, so nothing was all that interesting to her.

Deep Sea Diver Abbey

Remember how I said this is not a normal aquarium? Further proof: There is a white tiger exhibit at the end. I don't know why. There was only one tiger out. He was beautiful, and I really felt sorry for him in that small space. 

It looks like they are in the cage, right?

Grrrrr!

We all had a good time. I was glad to end our touristy outings on a positive note, since the girls didn't enjoy the space center as much as I thought they would. Abbey is just more interested in animals and that is okay! Even though it seemed kind of odd to leave San Antonio (a vacation/tourist town) to go to Houston, it was a good trip- just far enough away to feel like we were on vacation, and close enough that we didn't spend too much time in the car. And it was definitely the best hotel stay we have ever had with the girls. They did not act totally nuts like they have in the past in hotels, and everyone even slept well! It was a good end to a good summer with my Girls on the Go. 

This is how I always think of them- dressed in pink and purple and being silly!