On the way back to Atlanta last weekend, we made a little pit-stop in Chattanooga. There were a few items on other itinerary (to be written about when I finally get around to editing the photos), and the Tennessee Aquarium was one of those items. I had been once before, but I went for work and didn't get a chance to explore both buildings. There are two buildings: River Journey and Ocean Journey. The event my company planned took place in the evening time, in the River Journey building. I was impressed with just half of what was available to all the guests, and I knew I'd enjoy the Ocean Journey if I ever got the chance. Well, I finally got the chance on Labor Day, and I did, indeed, fully enjoy it.

We started in the River Journey, and this time was better than I remember. Maybe because it was the daytime and I was only there for fun, but this time around was better than the first. You start at the top and work your way down through each exhibits. In the first area, there were birds, sting rays, baby sharks and other fish you'd find in the river. After that, we made our way to the butterfly room.


Those little butterflies move fast. They hardly stayed in one place, so it was difficult to actually get any pictures of them. The photos above have a couple sprinkled here and there, but they blend in so they're had to spot. The area was fairly small, so they'd fly over your head and zip past your face like it was no big deal.

Then it was on to the next part.


And then on to the jellyfish. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of jellyfish.


Upside down ones. Spotted ones. Ones as small as snowflakes. Amazing.

Next we moved on to the Ocean Journey. The seahorse looked like an old man in the face IMO. The starfish was wicked-cool-looking while pressed against the glass. The otters were my favorite, even though there were only two of them.


Personally, I find the Tennessee Aquarium more engaging than the Georgia Aquarium, and even though the Georgia Aquarium claims to be the largest in the world, the TN Aquarium has a bigger and better variety of marine life. And the GA Aquarium doesn't have otters, so there's that.